Thanks, Brad, I have an ulterior motive. I met with our newly appointed MDNR Director, Dan Eichinger, at a meet-and-greet with the UP Winter Habitat Work Group, prior the Natural Resources Commission meeting held at NMU's new conference facility. Essentially, we have a loose agreement that will put establishing sandhill cranes as a game species up for an NRC vote in a year or so. From there, the Region 1 Wildlife Division director and his adjutant ( an avid waterfowler) Bill Scullion will help me spearhead an initiative to establish an experimental season for the greater sandhills that make up our eastern population, at two to three sites( Rudyard area in the eastern U.P. and Jackson county in southern peninsula) in Michigan.
The principal push-back from the birding community and anti-hunter consortium that has occurred in any previous discussions when legislators have initiated any discussions of sandhill hunting as an offset to depredation in these areas within Michigan has largely centered on the disparity between natality estimates and annual mortality values for the Central Flyway population, that is currently being hunted.
Two ommissions from your summary: 1.) Minnesota has a hunting season for greater sandhills in the Eastern Population. 2.) Florida contains a non-migratory sandhill population as well.
Here is a picture of a pair of florida birds at the Orlando Dollar Store, trying to pick-up some paper plates.
They eat VERY well! We have hunted them in NoDak since the 1990s. I smoke them with apple or mesquite, roast them, grill them rare, etc. The breasts are a mild dark meat. Legs and thighs are best directed to making jerky.
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I have seen whooping cranes twice, both times flying, while out in NoDak. Initially, I thought that they just looked white from the sun reflecting off them, but I pulled over and grabbed the binoculars to get a good look...and they were white. They were in a kettle migrating across country. I found them north of Ryder and followed them for a number of miles as they drifted on the updrafts southeast, since I was headed down to check a pheasant spot out down by Max.