For the second successive year, our club undertook daily counts of Sandhill Cranes on their spring migration on the Douglas Lake Plateau near Merritt, B.C. Funding this year came from a Club Support Grant (BC Nature and BC Naturalists’ Foundation) and a grant from the BC Field Ornithologists. The funding covered volunteer travel and allowed us to hire a part-time contractor, Opal Charters, who lives at the Spax’mn Reserve, Upper Nicola Band, within the survey area. Opal was our contractor in 2024 too.
Sandhill Cranes on the Douglas Lake Plateau, 2025. Photos: Vic Newton (L), Loekie van der Wal (R)
Based on our daily 2024 counts, we focused on morning counts (06:00 – 10:00) in 2025 – these give higher numbers and more reliable data than the evening counts, because some cranes arrive at the resting sites after dark.
A typical large flock of Sandhill Cranes stopping over on their spring migration, 13 April 2025. This flooded pasture was the most-used location for the cranes along our survey route. Photo: Vic Newton.
As in previous years, we used high-resolution photos stitched together in Photoshop to count big flocks of cranes. Here are a few examples from 2025:
A section of the panorama photo used to count a large flock of cranes, 12 April 2025. Photo: Paul Willms
Panorama used to count cranes on a hayfield on Douglas Lake Ranch, 20 April 2025. Photo: Loekie van der Wal.
Photographs can also be a useful way of counting flying flocks. Here is an interesting example:
See any cranes? They are not really visible. Photo: Opal Charters
But a flock is visible when zooming in on the photo. Photo: Opal Charters.
And even though the cranes are just dots in the sky, they can be counted. Photo: Opal Charters.
In total, over 42 morning surveys we counted 18,715 Sandhill Cranes through the spring migration. This is the highest count ever made of cranes using this interior migration flyway. The daily tallies varied quite a lot but most cranes passed through between 12th and 23rd April, with a few early birds and some stragglers.
Daily counts of Sandhill Cranes between 29 March and 9 May 2025.
As in previous years most of the cranes stop over at a partly flooded pasture on the Douglas Lake Ranch. Several thousand cranes are here on some nights.
Sandhill Cranes along the edge of the flooded pasture, 19 April 2025. Photo: Yvonne Lord
Hayfields were the next most-used habitats ……
A big flock of Sandhill Cranes on a Douglas Lake Ranch irrigated hayfield, 19 April 2025. Photo: Yvonne Lord.
Cranes on a hayfield after an unexpected snowfall on 30 April 2025. Photo: Paul Willms
A few cranes foraged in the bare feedlots, often among the cattle. Photo: Opal Charters
Natural bunchgrass was used by relatively few cranes for foraging. Photo: Paul Willms.
The cranes regularly mingled with cattle on the pasture. Photo: Opal Charters
Cranes wading in the flooded pasture. Photo: Gerry Sanford.
Some other interesting critters were seen on the crane surveys …..
Porcupines are uncommon on the high elevation grasslands. This one was found on the May 4th crane survey. Photo: Angelina Brooymans.
In early April, White Pelicans are often found on lakes and ponds on the Douglas Lake Plateau – on their way to breeding grounds further north in the B.C. Interior. Photo: Opal Charters.
Range management and hay production on the Douglas Lake Ranch are compatible with migration rest-stops for thousands of Sandhill Cranes heading north on their spring migration. Photo: Loekie van der Wal.
An article on our 2025 crane surveys has been published in the BC Field Ornithologists newsletter – click here for a copy: SaCr article BCFO Newsletter.
A journal paper analyzing the 2024 and 2025 surveys is also under review and will be posted when published.
Thank you to our sponsors, our keen contractor Opal Charters and the 21 club volunteers who did the surveys (Angelina Brooymans, Alan Burger, Margaret Carlson, Shelley Cressy-Hassel, Mike Hassel, Loretta Holmes, Alex Jeffries, Liis Jeffries, Yvonne Lord, Susan Newton, Vic Newton, Corinne Pitt, David Pitt, Gerry Sanford, Bev Scafe, Bob Scafe, Henrik van der Wal, Loekie van der Wal, Joan Willms and Paul Willms).
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