Spotting whoopers at J-P & noting first Illinois Outdoor Excellence Awards winners

Going two for one on columns today.

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Whooping Cranes

Whooping cranes mixed with the thousands of sandhill cranes gave watchers a bonus last week around Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana.

That's something I've been trying to see at J-P for many years. Fortunately, we saw a pair of whoopers a couple years when we drew a duck permit for Embarras River Bottoms State Habitat Area in Lawrence County.

Chicagoan Joel Craig has also been waiting a long time to see whoopers at J-P.

"My 14-year-old daughter Alex and I made our traditional pre-Thanksgiving trek to Jasper-Pulaski on [Nov. 26] this year," he emailed. "Numbers had been down up to this point, but the colder air has really kicked migration into high gear with huge numbers being seen over the city the past few days. We had and exciting day ourselves when we spotted this immature whooping crane (fitted with a GPS tracker) that flew in with a group of sandhills late in the afternoon.

"It was pretty cool! I’d been looking for years. There was a guy from the International Crane Foundation who showed up right after I shot some video—felt like Slugworth appearing after Charlie found the Golden Ticket in his Wonka Bar."

Anyone who drops that sentence deserves to see a whooper in the wild.

Craig had the equipment to capture the scene.

"I was using a Phone Skope attachment with an iPhone 12 Pro through a Vortex Viper HD 20x60x85 spotting scope," Craig explained. "I’m a longtime volunteer with the Forest Preserve District of Will County and I do a lot of my eagle nest monitoring with that setup."

He also has an extended video on YouTube, complete with some fun overheard conversation.

The ICF noted, "Only 20 whooping cranes remained in North America in the 1940s due to unregulated hunting, massive wetland drainage and feather collecting for the millinery trade. Today, in 2022, over 650 whooping cranes live in the wild across two flyways and two non-migratory populations."

The September update from ICF had the eastern population of whooping cranes (the ones who fly through our area) at 68. That population was reintroduced in 2001.

Bill Peak has dialed in the appearance of whooping cranes mixed with the sandhills around J-P. Last weekend he did some photography magic once again with a pair of whoopers.

Afterward he emailed, "Thanks for wishing me luck with whoopers at Wheatfield."

That's a town just northwest of J-P.

I don't think he needed my wish of luck. He has the patience to find whoopers with the sandhills.

Whooping cranes may be reported at savingcranes.org/report-a-whooping-crane-sighting/.

It’s best to see the sandhills at J-P just before sunset. I would encourage driving around the surrounding fields beforehand to see the sandhills feeding and, if you're lucky, see a whooper. Details are at in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/properties/jasper-pulaski-fwa/sandhill-cranes/.

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Illinois Outdoor Excellence Awards

There was a heavy Chicago-area flavor when the Illinois Conservation Foundation announced the winners of its inaugural Illinois Outdoor Excellence Awards last week.

Emma Magrady and Stephanie Swieca, who met as freshman in 2008 riding the 92 CTA bus down Foster Avenue to and from Northside College Prep, earned Outdoor Influencer of the Year for Fresh Air Friendship.

During Covid, they came up with the idea of Fresh Air Friendship to visit all the state parks. They built a list with about 135 sites that included some state forests, state fish and wildlife areas and state recreation areas. As of last week, they were at 68 sites visited. They also visit a brewery, winery, distillery or another place of interest, then blog and do social media posts.

Stacey Greene-Fenlon won Outdoor Business of the Year for Park Bait at Montrose Harbor. She became the first woman and non-governmental person to chair the Chicago Fishing Advisory Committee.

Kerry Luft, executive vice president of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in Kane County, received Outdoor Writer/Author of the Year.

Annie Oakley Shooters of Northern Illinois, which is based in Lake County, and Central Illinois Kayaking and Floating shared the Outdoor Volunteer Organization of the Year award.

The ICF will honor the winners as part of the Annual ICF Gala early next year.