BIRCHWOOD, Tenn. - With their long, outstretched necks and powerful wings, the sandhill cranes were lovely in flight.They also made a lot of noise. It was a large flock, even by Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge standards, and as they landed in the cornfield, they sounded like the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz."
Among the 500-or-so sandhills were two 5-foot-tall whooping cranes whose snow-white plummage stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the flock.
"Whooping cranes have star quality," said Dan Hicks, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which manages the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. "Seeing one in the wild is about as good as it gets."
Over the years, the Cherokee Indian Heritage and Sandhill Crane Viewing Days has grown into the largest wildlife-related festival in the South. Last year's event drew about 7,000 people to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, and organizers this year expect an even greater turnout thanks to the presence of a handful of whooping cranes, the most famous endangered bird in North America.
Located in Meigs County at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers, the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge has for years been a winter stopover for thousands of sandhill cranes that migrate 1,228 miles every year between Wisconsin and Florida.
In 2001, the United States and Canada launched a joint project to establish a flock of wild whooping cranes along the same migratory route. Using a technique previously tested on Canada geese and sandhill cranes, ultralight pilots lead captive-reared whooping cranes on their first migration, hoping that the birds will imprint on the route and teach it to their young.
Biologists estimate that about 45 whooping cranes may be flying the new migratory route between Wisconsin and Florida thanks to the reintroduction effort. That's not including the 19 whooping cranes that flew behind the ultralights last fall, or the four more captive-reared cranes that were released to fly with older whooping cranes that have already learned the route.
Like the sandhills, the whooping cranes are expected to use the Hiwassee Refuge as a food and rest stop. Managers of the refuge say the first whooping cranes appeared on the refuge just before Thanksgiving and that as of last week, three whooping cranes were in the area.
Birding enthusiasts observe the cranes from a viewing platform perched atop a knoll. About 150 yards from the viewing site across an open field is a small impoundment where the cranes like to congregate. At night, to escape predators, they move to the mud flats around nearby Hiwassee Island, where they sleep standing up.
During the late 1960s, there were only about 700 sandhill cranes in the flyway between Wisconsin and Florida. Today, biologists say the flock has expanded to about 65,000 birds thanks to habitat restoration, hunting regulations and captive breeding.
The number of sandhills that over-winter on the Hiwassee Refuge has increased dramatically in recent years, which puts a strain on the 450 acres of corn, millet and milo the TWRA grows for food. A decade ago, the refuge attracted only a few dozen sandhill cranes. Today, as many as 15,000 sandhills use the refuge every winter.
While sandhill and whooping cranes may be the star attractions of the annual event, they are by no means the only wildlife that has been spied throughout the spotting scopes. In past years, coyotes have crossed the field in front of the observation platform, as have raccoons and wild turkey.
Bald eagles are relatively common, and from 2000 to 2001, the TWRA released 42 golden eagles, one of which made a surprise appearance at a Viewing Days festival four years ago when it appeared out of nowhere to kill a sandhill crane in full view of the crowd.
Here's how Hicks remembers it: "All of a sudden, a huge flock of sandhills took off together, which sounded like a jet engine. I looked up, and here was this big golden eagle coming out of the sky. I saw a puff of feathers, and I thought to myself, 'Dang if he didn't catch one.' "
Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.
