Anchorage Daily News

A dying wish of a Trapper Creek homesteader has preserved a rest stop for sandhill cranes migrating to and from Alaska.

Famed for their powerful calls, majestic flight and wacky mating dance, sandhill cranes migrate to Alaska each spring and depart in late August or early September.

Along the way, some would stop at an 80-acre Susitna Valley parcel owned by farmer Dale Saunders, attracted by his barley fields and wetlands.

Saunders, who was afflicted with Parkinson's disease, died in 2003. He willed his property to Great Land Trust in the hope that the cranes can continue to use it during their migrations. Birders do too.

"Each spring," said Rick Ernst, his Trapper Creek neighbor of 23 years, "the cranes saw Dale's fields as a great pit stop to fuel up for the continuing journey to their breeding grounds. They would hunt and peck for days at the grains and stalks left over from the previous fall's harvest.

"It seemed to be an obligatory stop for them on their spring migration north with many stopping again on their way back in the fall."

In the last years of his life, Saunders would put out extra barley in the spring if the snowfall had been deep and he thought the cranes could use it.

"Over the years," Ernst said, "the cranes became Dale's surrogate family. Dale was quite content living by himself, but I think the cranes gave him a comfortable feeling of being needed. He enjoyed looking forward to their yearly visits like old friends and relatives returning to visit for a spell."

Cranes, which stand nearly three feet tall and boast a six-foot wingspan, feed on waste grain and small animals found on farm fields. The ground feeders also like insects, seeds and berries.

Virtually all of Alaska's sandhill cranes pass through two migration funnels. Birds using the Pacific Flyway pass through the Copper River Delta and end up in central California. Nearly a quarter-million mid-continent cranes pass through the Tanana Valley.

In flight, cranes are often heard before they're seen, producing a loud, musical rattle. They fly quite high and can cover 350 miles a day.

"I always knew (Saunders) was pretty affectionate toward the cranes," Ernst said. "He'd put out some of the grain for them."

"When they're coming in, it's pretty spectacular."

FAIRBANKS CRANE FESTIVAL

While hundreds of sandhill cranes may stop at the Saunders property in Trapper Creek each spring -- with a smattering returning in the fall -- thousands visit the 1,800-acre Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks.

So many, in fact, that the popular Sandhill Crane Festival Friday-Sunday marks the cranes' final days in Alaska. More than 3,000 sandhill cranes have been estimated in the refuge at the peak, but the birds are usually gone by the first week of September.

Earlier this week, younger birds that did not breed this season arrived on the refuge. Laurie Boeck, the Creamer's Refuge biologist who works for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the number of cranes dropped slightly this week to 427, but was expected to pick up before the festival.

The festival includes talks, bird watching, nature walks and workshops, with ample opportunities for observing cranes and other fall migrants.

More than 1,000 bird lovers visited the refuge during the festival last year.

Dale Saunders Crane Sanctuary

GETTING THERE: Turn right (east) from the Parks Highway onto Susitna River Road (also called East Petersville Road) at Milepost 114.8. Go 1.5 miles, turn right onto Bradley Road. Go 0.5 miles to Saunders Road and turn right again. About a half-mile down the road is a 75-acre barley field. There's no admission, but visitors are asked watch the birds from the road.

Crane festival

11TH ANNUAL TANANA VALLEY CRANE FESTIVAL: Friday-Aug. 24 at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks. Featured speaker is John Acorn, also known as The Nature Nut. Acorn is a Canadian naturalist known for his infectious love of nature. Among his books is "Birds of the Paci?c Northwest Coast." He's perhaps best known as host of the television series "Acorn, The Nature Nut," a family-oriented show that airs on the cable TV channel "Animal Planet." For information on the festival, www.creamersfield.org or call 1-907-452-5162.

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