On a recent trip to the Pungo Lake area of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, I saw birds that are becoming regulars in North Carolina – Sandhill Cranes. A small group of Sandhill Cranes has been coming to the refuge in fall and winter for the past several years. I counted 25 on a mid-December trip. More recent reports put the size of the group at 35-37.

It was not that long ago when the sighting of a Sandhill Crane was considered rare. Today, they are showing up across the state, from the mountains to the coast.

The species account from the Carolina Bird Club lists a possible sighting dating back to 1913. There were no photographs of the bird as it was seen over a baseball stadium in the Charlotte area during the “fourth inning.” Another interesting account from Birds of North Carolina (1919) was an individual in Brunswick County. The bird was known locally as the “Savannah Crane.” T.G. Pearson and H.H. Brimley, among the most knowledgeable ornithologists in North Carolina at the time, visited the area visited the area and could not verify that it was indeed a Sandhill Crane.

It was not until 1957 that the “first record of a true Sandhill Crane” was documented. Sporadic records were confirmed through the years since with most being from the coast. These days they are regular visitors to the state and have been seen with increasing regularity inland as well as on the coast.

I remember an account relayed to me while I was working at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in 1984. A National Park Service biologist was at Cape Point and heard the distinctive call of a Sandhill Crane. The bird was high and flying east. He watched the bird as it flew out of sight over the open ocean and said “I have no idea where it was going…”