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Sandhill cranesApproximately 3,000 Sandhill Cranes have been counted by a Game and Fish Department game management team on the dry Willcox Playa in the southeastern part of the state.This number has increased over the past 20 years. When first observed in 1956, only 50 of the birds were known to be using the Playa. In 1971, the 1,000 figure was passed.Two migratory species, the Lesser Sandhill and the Greater Sandhill (the latter was at one time listed as rare), stop at the Playa every winter. The Greater nests in the northern Rocky Mountain states, and the Lesser in the arctic tundra of North America and Siberia.This population of Sandhill Cranes has changed its migratory pattern because of increased grain crop production around Willcox. During the day the cranes fly out into the stubble of harvested crops and feed on fallen grain. At night they return to roost on the Playa, sitting on the flat, dry lake bed where they can detect danger approaching from a distance.The cranes will migrate north from Arizona in March.
Newspaper Details
Payson Roundup
Payson, Arizona, US
Thu, Feb 17, 1977
Page 17
Full Page
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USA 12 Feb 2022
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Payson Roundup
