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Sandhill Cranes in eastern TN--near Carolinas



While traveling back to North Carolina from Chattanooga, Tennessee over the Christmas holidays, my wife, daughter, and I were treated to a wonderful spectacle of Sandhill Cranes (and one Whooper) at the Hiwassee Wildlife Area in eastern Tennessee. This is not, technically, in the Carolinas, but is just a long day trip from the western part of North Carolina. I have been making the holiday trip to visit family in Chattanooga for years and had no idea I was so close to so many cranes!

Directions to Hiwassee Wildlife Area:
The site is in southeastern Tennessee (Meigs/Hamilton Counties) off of state highway 60 between the towns of Cleveland and Dayton. This is northeast of Chattanooga. From Interstate 75, take the exit for highway 60 at Cleveland and head north and west (away from Cleveland). Continue past the intersection with highway 58. Pass through the small community of Birchwood. Just beyond that, and past the boundary between Hamilton and Meigs County is a well marked road to the east (right). Follow the signs to the Hiwassee Wildlife Area. The last turn is a left onto a gravel road which is in good shape but had a couple of muddy spots when we visited.


(From Chattanooga, Tennessee, one could either come north on I-75 or take highway 58.)

There is a very nice covered viewing area looking out on cornfields and a lake at the site. Educational material at the site stated that some cranes winter, but that maximum numbers are present in February and March. Most birds breed in the northern US and Canada, and stage in Indiana and then Hiwassee before continuing south to Florida. We visited on December 30, 2002, and observed two huge flocks of Sandhills, numbering perhaps 2-3,000 birds or more. Presumably these were wintering birds. They made a tremendous racket, flying from one field to another, calling. I noticed two types of calls amidst the cacophony: a loud trumpet and also a whiny peeping. The latter was given by just a few birds, and sure did sound like a begging call, so perhaps these were juveniles. The birds seemed completely undisturbed by our presence--the observation platform is within 100 yards of where some were hanging out, and many flew over us at low altitude. In addition, one Whooping Crane was mixed in among them. Apparently this bird was a left-over from the experimental migratory flock which is being led from Wisconsin (?) to Florida by an ultra-light aircraft. Though the bird was not ABA countable, presumably, it was neat to see. I saw it dominate the smaller Sandhill Cranes several times.

All-in-all, this was a wonderful crane experience. I have seen Sandhill Cranes before, but never been close to large flocks. I am not aware of anywhere else close to the Carolinas where one can see such a large concentration.

If birders visit the cranes via the Chattanooga area, I recommend Brainerd Levee as a good incidental birding spot. One can see waterfowl, Savanna Sparrows, and many Common Snipe in the flooded fields below the levee.


Reference web pages on the cranes:


Tennessee Overhill page on Sandhill Cranes, including map:
http://www.tennesseeoverhill.com/ohexp/sandhillcranes.html

Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge page on Wildlife Watcher site:
http://wildlifewatcher.com/se/hiwassee.phtml
--

Patrick Coin (patrick@coinconsult.net)
web master , field trip chair
New Hope Audubon Society
P.O. Box 2693
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2693
http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/