Doug Leier: The often overlooked – and underappreciated

WEST FARGO – Have you ever been sandhill crane hunting? Not just a chance opportunity when a few sandhills drifted through while goose or duck hunting. If you haven’t, I’d suggest it might be a new or different way to enjoy North Dakota outdoors this fall. Here’s a little more information about these overlooked and underappreciated migrants.

John Palarski, North Dakota Game and Fish Department migratory game bird biologist, explains: “There are four populations of sandhill cranes that migrate through the United States: Rocky Mountain, Lower Colorado River, Eastern and Midcontinent.”

The latter population of birds are those that color North Dakota’s skies gray in spring and fall. To the pedestrian looking for, say, color or size differences between one group to the next, there’s not much