Thursday Night Euchre
December 1, 2025
Sticky Tires News | November 2025
December 1, 2025
Greetings fellow club members.
As I write this article for our December magazine, it’s just prior to Thanksgiving and firearms deer hunting season is underway (no big buck yet, just a doe with a bow). I have much for which I am thankful, including Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club and my relationship with those of you that I know.
At last month’s General Membership meeting, one of you posed the question, “when will we be able to hunt Sandhill Cranes?” My response included an inaccuracy that I will correct here. I said that Sandhill Cranes are in fact hunted in many states (true) and that the number of states could be as many as half the country (false). The actual number of states in which Sandhill Cranes are classified as a game bird and can be hunted is 17. It is possible that Michigan could be added to that number.
Sandhill Cranes are the largest birds in Michigan (by size) and stand 5 feet tall with a wingspan of over 6 feet. They can weigh as much as 14 pounds. They are the oldest living bird species on earth. Here’s some information on the Sandhill Crane from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ebird.org):
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) – Large, long-legged bird shaped much like a heron. Gray body, sometimes with intense rusty staining. Adults have red crown. Often in large flocks at migration and wintering concentration points. Favors marshes and agricultural fields where they eat primarily grains. In flight, neck is outstretched, unlike herons with tucked necks. Snappy wingbeats. Listen for farcarrying bugling call. Designated a “species of least concern’
My personal experience (which I think mirrors many others’) is that I didn’t see any Sandhill Cranes in Michigan 20 years ago. Then I started seeing (and hearing) more every year. Now, I feel like I see them almost daily! And I’ve been to places (Fish Point and Shiawassee) where I believe I have seen a thousand in a day! My point is, it’s obvious the population in Michigan has grown over the past several decades. It seems to me that the numbers could support a sustainable harvest. I’ll leave that to biologists to confirm, but I support it. Those familiar with eating these birds say they are delicious, thus the familiar nickname “ribeye of the sky”.
Current status in Michigan includes very recent news. In September of this year, Michigan House Bill 5067 was introduced and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism. This bill would establish an open hunting season for Sandhill Cranes. If passed by the House and Senate and then signed by the governor, the Natural Resources Commission would have to request and receive approval from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to have a season (they’ll get it) and then the NRC would have to establish the regulations and season dates. I’ll track it closely and follow up with you. What are your thoughts on allowing the hunting of Sandhill Cranes? Please let me know.
Kind regards,
Dave Budnick
OCSC rep to MUCC
(248) 978-3454
davebudnick@comcast.net
davebudnick.com
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