Quite interesting as I also had a report yesterday from a friend ( non- birder ) that she saw a large flock of sandhill cranes going over her place outside Union City in Erie Co. That was around 2 in the afternoon, and while she told me it was enormous she estimated 30-40. I expect that it was indeed more than that, as she did send a recording she made and I could clearly hear a fairly large flock calling. I wasn't able to get an estimate how high they were flying but she said they were heading south. She sees them around periodically throughout the year, but I assumed they are moving further south in groups just for feeding with all the heavy snows they have had over the past several weeks, probably at least 5 in total over the past month or so. I only wish I could have heard some here to add to the new year yard list !
Carole Winslow Sligo, Clarion Co.
On Fri, Jan 2, 2026, 7:26 AM Kendall Zook <kendallzook98...> wrote:
> I had an interesting bird report from a friend and neighbor yesterday. He > photographed a large group of Sandhill Cranes flying high overhead > mid-morning. I one picture, he has 109 birds so the flock had at least that > many individuals. Sandhill Cranes are quite common in Crawford by now, but > the local cranes winter here, mostly at Pymatuning. If I remember > correctly, > 200-300 cranes winter in smaller flocks across the Pymatuning area. So I > doubt a flock this large would be local Sandhills. Would these be migrating > Sandhill Cranes from further west, blown east by the storm system passing > through right now? I'd be interested in hearing comments or thoughts. > > Kendall Zook > > Crawford Co. >
