December 13, 2025
Yesterday (Friday, December 12), we were meeting friends for lunch in Decatur, AL at Big Bob’s BBQ.
We agreed to meet at 1:00 PM for lunch to avoid the lunch rush.
Bruce and I left early so we could see the cranes at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
The volunteer at the desk said 10,000 sandhill cranes were currently in the refuge and another 10,000 were expected in January. There were 15 whooping cranes in the park and four of them were in the field behind the visitors’ center. When I asked her for the closest location to see the cranes, she said, “Go out the back door, take the path on the right and you’ll be at the observation building.”
With so many sandhill cranes making noises, it was a din!
From the observation building, we were able to see sandhill cranes and three of the whooping cranes.
We decided to come back after lunch and soak up the experience some more.
We went to lunch and enjoyed the BBQ with our friends. We enjoyed hanging out and eating good food. Bruce suggested to our friends that they might enjoy seeing the cranes. They thought that sounded fun, so they followed our car to the Wildlife Refuge.
We parked in the back so they would have an easier time walking out to the photo blind and the observation building.
Two of the whooping cranes took to the air and put on an amazing display.
The cranes are majestic birds and seeing so many in one place was an extraordinary experience!
After saying goodbye, our friends headed back to their RV. We went inside the Visitors’ Center and looked around. They had displays of the animals found in the Wildlife Refuge.
After looking our fill, we headed home. The sunset was spectacular, with glowing pinks.
By the time we arrived home, most of the pink color in the sunset had faded, and a deep orange-red hugged the horizon while fading to a golden orange that met the blue sky.
Blackberry Homestead 
WOW! What numbers!!!
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Yes, I was expecting a few hundred cranes. It was an amazing experience I hope to repeat next year!
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☺️👍
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We get the Sandhill Cranes up here in Michigan. I love watching them, especially after their egg hatches in the spring.
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I bet the chicks are very cute!
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That is a lot of cranes!
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It was an amazing number of cranes and they were so loud.
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Julie, this is so exciting to me. I am glad you got to see so many Cranes! And I’m sure the volunteer was happy that you were so excited about it – it comes through in your post! We’ve looked at volunteering at Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, but the timing – with our other gigs – hasn’t worked out yet. Still, it’s on my list as a place I’d love to go and learn more about these special birds. Another beautiful sunset, too. A great way to end a great day!
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I hope you’ll get a chance to volunteer at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge when the cranes are there.
It was an amazing experience for us. I was so excited to see the cranes. We lucked out big time that we got to see the whooping cranes walking around the sandhill cranes. The sheer number of sandhill cranes was almost unbelievable. It is hard to believe that 10,000 more are coming in January!
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Wonderful post about the whooping and sandhill cranes. I envy you because I’ve never seen a whooping crane – they are so rare. On the other hand, I’ve watched Tancho (Japanese Red Crown Cranes) which are equally rare, but endemic to Asia. Cranes are all fascinating birds – so majestic! What a great day’s outing.
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It was a great experience! I wasn’t sure we’d get to see the whooping cranes. They are so tall!
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I can’t imagine the sound of all those cranes!
As always, you have the loveliest sunsets. 🌅
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It was an incredible sound.
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