The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced the 2012 Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival will be held on Jan. 14-15, 2012.
The Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival is a celebration of the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that migrate through or spend the winter on and around the Hiwassee Refuge in Birchwood, Tn., as well as an opportunity to focus attention on the rich wildlife heritage of the state and the Native American history of the area.
The presenting sponsors of this free family event will be the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Ornithological Society, and the Mapp Foundation in partnership with the Birchwood Community and the Birchwood School, the Cherokee Removal Memorial, Meigs and Rhea County Tourism.
Beginning in the early 1990s, the recovering population of eastern Sandhill Cranes began stopping at the Hiwassee Refuge near Birchwood, on their way to and from their wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has been managing this refuge for over 60 years for waterfowl, and the cranes found a perfect combination of feeding and shallow water roosting habitat. Now as many as 12,000 of these majestic birds spend the entire winter at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers. Hiwassee Refuge is now the best place in eastern North America to view Sandhill Cranes.
Already the first Sandhill Cranes have been spotted at the Hiwassee Refuge, and soon tens of thousands of cranes can be viewed at Hiwassee Refuge gazebo, which is always open to the public, www.tnwatchablewildlife.org.
The Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival will be held January 14 -15, 2012, from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. both days. Special programs will be held throughout the day at the Birchwood School and Cherokee Removal Memorial. Check the festival website www.TNcranefestival.org as the program develops.
Take the family for a great day trip to the Hiwassee Refuge in Birchwood during the festival to watch and photograph the cranes, and spend a day looking at nature’s bounty as the cranes dance and call to each other. Guides with spotting scopes will help visitor see the cranes up close as well as help spot Bald Eagles, other wildlife, and hopefully find a rare Whooping Crane or two.
In conjunction with the wildlife viewing at the Hiwassee Refuge, the Birchwood Elementary School will be a major point of interest throughout the festival, offering merchandise, food, special displays, wildlife exhibits and a full schedule of entertainment including music, films and a raptor show presented by the American Eagle Foundation. Wildlife Cruises on the Blue Moon will also be offered.
Other special activities and educational programming will be featured throughout the weekend at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park and at the Rhea County Visitor’s Center, including a special presentation by artist and naturalist John James Audubon, as depicted by Brian “Fox” Ellis.
Whether you’re an avid birder or you’ve never seen a Sandhill Crane before, the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival represents an extraordinary opportunity to witness a natural phenomenon that is truly unforgettable.
During the festival, the Refuge will only be accessible by shuttle buses, which pick up at Birchwood School. With the exception of a limited number of parking spaces for the physically disabled, there will be no automobiles permitted at the Refuge on Jan. 14 and 15.
Driving directions to Birchwood School may be found at www.TnCraneFestival.org. Watch for more information about scheduled times and events coming soon.