EVENT: "CraneFest" north of Marshall, MI.
Official Website: http://cranefest.org
When: *Every October*, but in 2013 it will be October 12 and 13th.
Where: Calhoun County, at the Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area at 22300 15 Mile Rd, Bellevue, Michigan, 49021.
NOTE: Bring binoculars and some CASH. Some vendors take card, but to get in and to buy food, (and do some shopping), you will want to bring a little cash. :-)
When: *Every October*, but in 2013 it will be October 12 and 13th.
Where: Calhoun County, at the Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area at 22300 15 Mile Rd, Bellevue, Michigan, 49021.
NOTE: Bring binoculars and some CASH. Some vendors take card, but to get in and to buy food, (and do some shopping), you will want to bring a little cash. :-)
Every year there is a little known, but very fun little festival, called "CraneFest". This is a fun, family friend, and economically friendly event sure to please the whole family. There are always fun activities such as: nature chats, silent auction, non-profit displays, live birds of prey, kids crafts and events, and some food is available as well (but bring cash!).
CraneFest is a dual-sponsored event ran with the help of Michigan Audubon and the Kiwanis Club of Battle Creek. Usually about 10,000 cranes can be seen flying in throughout the weekend, but isn't just for this weekend. One of the things that struck me while living in Battle Creek, is that these birds are majestic, with a cannot-be-missed and incredibly loud song, these birds can be found every where. At one point, we had one walking around our place eating off of bird feeders. To see a 4 foot tall bird eating of the bird feeder was a little strange-- but stunningly beautiful. If driving around this area of Michigan in the fall, instead of looking for dear along the treeline at dusk, look for cranes in the freshly harvested fields.
The one thing to note, there are not cranes walking around the entire event-- these beautiful, ancient birds are beautifully wild. When you will really see the birds is at the "Fly-In", just before dusk.
I hope you enjoy our photos from our adventure!
CraneFest is a dual-sponsored event ran with the help of Michigan Audubon and the Kiwanis Club of Battle Creek. Usually about 10,000 cranes can be seen flying in throughout the weekend, but isn't just for this weekend. One of the things that struck me while living in Battle Creek, is that these birds are majestic, with a cannot-be-missed and incredibly loud song, these birds can be found every where. At one point, we had one walking around our place eating off of bird feeders. To see a 4 foot tall bird eating of the bird feeder was a little strange-- but stunningly beautiful. If driving around this area of Michigan in the fall, instead of looking for dear along the treeline at dusk, look for cranes in the freshly harvested fields.
The one thing to note, there are not cranes walking around the entire event-- these beautiful, ancient birds are beautifully wild. When you will really see the birds is at the "Fly-In", just before dusk.
I hope you enjoy our photos from our adventure!
Fall in Michigan: Nothing can compare.
There are usually about 20 or so little local vendors that make shopping quite a treat!
Even if you do not see many cranes right away, Michigan will provide plenty of awesome views for you and the family to enjoy. In the below photo, I enjoy the blue and the classic fall foliage colors against the stark contrast of the white, lifeless tree.
During the afternoon there are beautiful animal demonstrations. There were turtles, bugs, birds, and other beautiful animals.
A beautiful, wild Michigan dragonfly... on my shoe.
Many photographers come out for this event with their 400-500mm camera lenses. I HIGHLY advise you bring binoculars, as the birds fly in from a distance and often stay out there.
You will notice their amazing songs as you sit and watch thousands of them fly-in.
One of the viewing areas: This "left hand side" viewing area is one possible place to watch the cranes fly in, over looking Big Marsh Lake.
Some of the cranes flying in overhead.
As the sun sets, and the beautiful moon rises overhead, the majestic birds fly in along the distant tree line.
One of the viewing areas: This "right hand side" viewing area is the best one, in my opinion, to see these beautiful cranes.
Since these beautiful cranes are hard to photograph, unless you have a 300-500mm zoom lens, this below photograph is from the Michigan Audubon Society website and was TAKEN BY Tom Hodgson in 2008.
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