Sand Hill Cranes

[llg]

So why the last 2-3 years have sand hills become so common? Where have the Canadian geese gone? Did sand hills take over their habitat? Are sand hills a threat to our local environment or wildlife?
Strange that they seem to be staying around my springs in the edge of the woods rather than my ponds or picked soybean fields.
They are big.

[roadrunner]

The geese are here in Crawford County Illinois which is located between Vincennes IN and Terre Haute IN on the Illinois side of the Wabash. We have lots of geese wintering here for about the last three to four years. Never had them before we have canadians snows and speckle bellies

[smashdn]

So why the last 2-3 years have sand hills become so common? Where have the Canadian geese gone?

Conservation programs on and protection of their breeding grounds to the north. The pop that winters in KY and TN is growing fast. Pop is large enough for regulated hunting. But they smart critters and tough to decoy.

As far as the geese, if you are talking about migrant geese from the north, this is the first year in quite a while that they got this far south. Not sure on the resident geese over towards you though.

[roadrunner]

These are not resident geese nod they have been here for about three years in a row

[DJD]

I believe Tim Tipton wrote an article on these birds.....going on memory there. Also remember them being called the "ribeye in the sky" since they are supposed to be good eating.