Gary Ivey is writing a management plan for the Greater Sandhill Crane
in WA. His request for information includes May-July sightings of
cranes in Washington outside of the greater Conboy Lake area. If you
have sightings during this potential breeding period, please provide
me with information on date, location, number of birds, and any
indication of breeding, and I will pass on the information. The Blue
Mountains and NE WA higher elevation meadows are of special interest.
Thanks.

Just this week I noticed at least 40 Greater Sandhill Cranes on the
Royal Slope. They seem to migrate north toward the end of the spring
period after most of the Lesser Sandhills have passed through. Any
observations of definitively identified Greaters would be appreciated
as well.

We still have more than 1000 cranes around, but most will probably be
gone by next week. Scooteney Reservoir south of Othello, the Royal
Lake area (Road E SE at Freeman's Dairy), and a roost south of
milepost 30 along highway 26 are the most consistent locations.

Randy Hill
Columbia NWR