(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson for the information and photo in this story.)
The survey team at Haehnle Sanctuary recorded more than 8,100 Sandhill cranes on Nov. 19, topping the previous record of about 6,200 on Nov. 5.
Counts are performed on Monday evenings.
The crane numbers should remain high as long as the warm weather lasts, so folks looking for something different to do with out-of-town guests this Thanksgiving weekend might consider a visit to the sanctuary one evening.
The majority of the birds are coming in after 5 p.m. and an updated crane viewing map can be found here. Crane Map 2012
Cranes can still be seen in the fields in large numbers as well, sometimes as many as 200-400 per field.
For more crane information click here and here.
WOW it is nature at its best!