Sandhill cranes in flight. (Jeff Huth / iStock)

The biggest buzz in Chicago on Tuesday was actually more of a trumpet sound.

Sandhill cranes were on the move by the thousands, winging their way over the city and suburbs in a mass migration. The bird’s signature call could be heard from Prospect Heights to Valparaiso, Ind., with one Hyde Park resident reporting 400 cranes passing overhead in a five-minute span.

Video: Sandhill cranes spied flying over Chicago’s North Side on Nov. 26, 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

It’s a highly anticipated annual tradition that even non-birders have come to enjoy as the cranes head from their northern breeding grounds to their winter home in Florida. Chicago is in perfect position to see — and hear — the birds on their migratory journey, particularly because the cranes tend to rest up in Indiana before making their final push south.

The Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, located about 35 miles south of Valparaiso, is a prime spot for huge flocks of the cranes to gather by the thousands. Staff at the refuge begin counting cranes on site in early October as the first wave of birds swings through. The most recent count, conducted Tuesday morning, was nearly 4,800 cranes, a number that undoubtedly swelled by nightfall.

The peak count in 2023 was close to 33,000 sandhill cranes on Nov. 28; in 2022, nearly 32,000 cranes were at Jasper-Pulaski on Dec. 8.

An observation platform has been set up at the wildlife refuge for people to view the spectacle of massive numbers of cranes rising from their roosts in the morning and returning to socialize in the evening.

The best times to see the cranes en masse are sunrise and sunset, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. 

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]