Sandhill Crane Habitat Shift May Be Due to Drought, Crops

"Every fall and winter at sunset, the sky above Staten Island fills with majestic sandhill cranes alighting in the fields. The sight is more spectacular than usual this year, as the number of cranes wintering on the island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has doubled over the same time in 2013.

Scientists say they’re not sure what’s causing the population boom but suspect the drought and a shift in what farmers are growing may be at its root.

The latest count by The Nature Conservancy, taken last week, found nearly 3,500 sandhill cranes at Staten Island. The geese population – mostly Aleutian cackling geese and greater white fronted geese – was also much larger than expected, with 14,000 counted, said Dawit Zeleke, conservation scientist with The Nature Conservancy."

Edward Ortiz reports for the Sacramento Bee November 7, 2014.