This extraordinary concentration of Tennessee’s tallest birds occurs every November through February, and viewing is always open to the public at the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency’s Hiwassee Refuge in East Tennessee. The festival on January 14th and 15th is a free event that highlights this spectacle with activities for the entire family. There will be guides with spotting scopes at the Refuge to help visitors view the cranes and other wildlife, speakers, workshops, films, and children’s activities at the Birchwood Elementary School, and special Native American presentations at the nearby Cherokee Removal Memorial Park.
Special presentations at the 2012 Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival include talks by the great artist and naturalist John James Audubon, as depicted by Brian “Fox” Ellis, and a birds of prey show presented by the American Eagle Foundation.
It is only since the 1990s that tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes have been migrating through and wintering in Tennessee, and no other wildlife gathering in the state compares to seeing thousands of these birds, with a magnificent 6-foot wingspan, cruising overhead! A few Whooping Cranes usually accompany the Sandhills and Bald Eagles are regularly seen from the gazebo at the Hiwassee Refuge.
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A rare Asian Hooded Crane, normally seen only in Southeast Asia, China and Japan, apparently “took a wrong turn” and has joined Sandhill Cranes wintering at the Hiwassee Refuge, bird experts say, drawing over 2,000 curious birdwatchers from 37 states and 7 countries along with it.
Our objective is to share the spectacle of these majestic birds and provide a potentially life-changing wildlife experience for visitors. We also want to build awareness for the need to provide adequate habitat and management for the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that winter and migrate through Tennessee, as well as for the Endangered Whooping Cranes that regularly accompany them.
Melinda Welton, Festival Co-chair
