For Bird Watchers!
The yearly "Volunteer Wisconsin State Crane Count" will be done pretty soon aronud april sometime. I do a crane count for Wisconsin,once a year around that time. Just visit the International Crane Foundation or go to:
http://www.savingcranes.org
Her is the servey sheet you will need for the count.
http://www.savingcranes.org/data/pro...%20Edition.pdf
This web site should give you the person to contact for information as where to go in your stateor county to do your crane count.This will be my third year.I love doing the count and watching the cranes do their thing.You basically get a designated area in your county to do your count, You will also receive a paper which you note down the total cranes you count,Bird calls heard,kind of crane you see,young or older, and other birds they may want to be added in that count of that designated spot.
You may want to bring with you during that time: A orange vest so people know your doing some type of survey job, a yellow light so to put on your car so people will use caution when driving by your parked vehicle if it is a little dark when you get to your counting spot.I should also mention, knowing where your counting spot is during your first time out, is also helpful, so check a map if you are not formilar with the area.The state will give you one if you are not sure where it is.
If someone stops and asks what you are doing, let them know what you are doing, but always first! Be cautious for saftey aspects of strangers.Only go on land that is part of the State Crane Count otherwise do the count on the side of the road.Remember You still need to respect the law about private property and ask permission if you need to get in to do the count. A cell phone is nice for car emergencies and always let your family know when you will be doing the count, so if something happens they will be able to find you.The count starts around 5:00 until about 7:00 A.M..Last year I went to my spot very early and sat in the dark for about one hour,because I was not sure when to be there.I finally figured out He! He!....No one is perfect! :roll: You can't see birds in the dark, How-ever it was fun anyway..I heard coyotes,fox and deer.This year I will get there at the right time.A good set of binoculars are needed to do your watch also and extra pen and paper for extra stuff they may ask you to watch for.I also bring my camera, because you never know when a perfect picture for a contest might pop up.I saw some beautiful birds and animals last year and counting was fun to do.Volunteer work for the state is an honorable thing to do and the bird watching is fun also.
