Sandhill Crane Migration in Northwest Indiana (Video) – March 2012

I was sitting in the living room with the windows open this afternoon when I heard one of the strangest noises that I had never heard coming from outside. I went and looked outside on my balcony and saw swarms of Sandhill Cranes migrating through Northwest Indiana, thousands of them passing through while flying in circular motions and joining other large groups of cranes doing the same thing. This video was shot on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at around 12:30pm in Schererville, Indiana in a subdivision near the intersection of US 41 and US 30, about 35 minutes southeast of Chicago and just a few miles from the Indiana Dunes and the southern shores of Lake Michigan. The birds were headed almost directly north and slightly west as they head towards Chicago.

I did a little digging to find out more about the Sandhill Crane migration and found out that they usually fly through Northwest Indiana in early March and the majority of them are coming from Florida where they spend their winter months. Since they were in NW Indiana this weekend, they were likely in central and southern Indiana last week as they continue migrating north. According to several maps that I came across showing detailed migration patterns, Northwest Indiana is on the very southern most tip of where the Sandhill Cranes are known to nest. Typically, the cranes move further north into Upper Michigan, Wisconsin and well into Canada. There are several other flocks that have migration patterns out west and migrate through New Mexico and north to Colorado and Nebraska.

This video was shot in HD 1080p using a Canon 5D Mark ii camera and a Canon 100-400 telephoto lens. Video by Joey B. Lax-Salinas. Check out the my photo blog!

~ Joey B. Lax-Salinas is a Northwest Indiana photographer and video producer. If you are interested in purchasing the rights to use this video in a production of your own, please submit a request on this website.