[mou] Lesser Sandhill Cranes

[Pat DeWenter]

On July 4th, on a county road in Stearns Co., between St. Cloud and Clearwater, we saw a pair of very rufous Sandhill Cranes.  I had never seen Sandhill Cranes that color before, so we looked them up and Sibley showed them as Lesser Sandhills, which normally breed much further north.  Then on the way back to Bemidji yesterday, we saw another pair in a swamp along Hwy. 71, near Camp Ripley.
   
  Questions:  How unusual is this subspecies in MN, would these cranes have stopped here on their northward migration, or would these be birds that have breeded up north and are starting their southward journey??
   
  One unrelated question on Yellow Rails:  Would they still be calling in July?
  Thanks!
  Pat DeWenter
  Bemidji, Beltrami Co.

  
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