vtfireman85 Posted January 6 Posted January 6 Will Cain was talking about hunting sand hill cranes. We don’t have them here, we have herons, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to eat one, but apparently they are a thing. I would expect them to be fishy, I am sort of interested, do you hunt them like ducks, with a dog and a boat? like a turkey and you have to get up before them and pretend to be a stump? Or is it more of an upland thing? Quote
Chester5732 Posted January 6 Posted January 6 We have them here but I don’t know if there is a hunting season for them. I did hear one fella refer to them as the rib eye of the sky. 2 Quote
Drysleeves Posted January 6 Posted January 6 3 hours ago, Chester5732 said: I did hear one fella refer to them as the rib eye of the sky. That is the word. Not sure if or where they can be harvested. Quote
Ihfan4life Posted January 6 Posted January 6 https://www.google.com/search?q=hunting+sandhill+cranes&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari Sorry Nick, no hunting allowed near you…@Lazy WP Quote
from H to 80 Posted January 6 Posted January 6 4 hours ago, Chester5732 said: We have them here but I don’t know if there is a hunting season for them. I did hear one fella refer to them as the rib eye of the sky. A friend of mine's daughter hunted them and i asked him if that was true,he told me "maybe, if you compared them to the Ribeye from a broken mouthed cull cow" 3 Quote
Sledgehammer Posted January 6 Posted January 6 There are fairly strict regulations on hunting them from what I have seen. I know people who have hunted them. They are migratory so you won't have to be a stump to find one. The ones I've seen were a lot larger than a heron. A heron is about like a chicken with longer legs and neck. Not much substance for their size. 1 1 Quote
sandhiller Posted January 6 Posted January 6 In a major north south migration corridor here. (insert Captain Obvious) I have never hunted them on purpose but I think they would be similar to goose hunting with decoys and calls. Do some scouting, find out where they roost, some preparation required As far as "ribeye of the sky" I was told they cook just like a beef ribeye. It is even helpful to cook one of each side by side When your beef ribeye is done your bird ribeye will be done also Then you can toss the bird to your dog and enjoy the beef yourself. Just the word on the river..........you're welcome!🤠 2 8 Quote
Lazy WP Posted January 6 Posted January 6 Nebraska doesn’t have a season on them, Kansas DOES!! The corn farmers in the Platte Valley HATE them with a passion. Much like pheasant, geese or deer, you get to many in one area and they destroy crops. My old boss swears that they are the best tasting bird there is, and he travels all over the country, to hunt them. 1 Quote
searcyfarms Posted January 7 Posted January 7 lots of them south of jeff and nick, oklahoma, texas, kansas have seasons not sure about braskie but as jeff said they migrate thru that corridor - i looked into a bucket list hunt for them and texas has the best limit on them of 3/day and possession of 9 so i could potentially bring that many home after looking at licenses and fees i decided against it, a couple grand for 9 birds is a lil over my reasonable budget so saving my money up for a thermal scope for coyotes missouri is opening up the season for night hunting on them here so that will be a fun new adventure i am working on building an inductive annealer for my reloading brass i dont think you can shoot them with a rifle but that would be fun in my book Quote
lotsaIHCs Posted January 7 Posted January 7 A little trivia...Steele ND is home to the world's largest Sandhill Crane. Stands 40 feet tall. Quote
searcyfarms Posted January 7 Posted January 7 5 minutes ago, lotsaIHCs said: A little trivia...Steele ND is home to the world's largest Sandhill Crane. Stands 40 feet tall. that woudl be a big ribeye 2 Quote
sandhiller Posted January 7 Posted January 7 17 minutes ago, searcyfarms said: lots of them south of jeff and nick, oklahoma, texas, kansas have seasons not sure about braskie but as jeff said they migrate thru that corridor - i looked into a bucket list hunt for them and texas has the best limit on them of 3/day and possession of 9 so i could potentially bring that many home after looking at licenses and fees i decided against it, a couple grand for 9 birds is a lil over my reasonable budget so saving my money up for a thermal scope for coyotes missouri is opening up the season for night hunting on them here so that will be a fun new adventure i am working on building an inductive annealer for my reloading brass i dont think you can shoot them with a rifle but that would be fun in my book You may need a rifle for the ones that circle overhead above me Robert! I hear them first, then have to keep refocusing eyes for distance until I see them. They are (can be) waaaay up there and it can take awhile to zero in on them. I wonder if they are the highest flying of the migratory birds as far as altitudes reached. Quote
searcyfarms Posted January 7 Posted January 7 7 minutes ago, sandhiller said: You may need a rifle for the ones that circle overhead above me. I hear them first, then have to keep refocusing eyes for distance until I see them. They are (can be) waaaay up there and it can take awhile to zero in on them. I wonder if they are the highest flying of the migratory birds as far as altitudes reached. maybe so = according to the googles = Sandhill Cranes typically fly at 3,000 to 7,000 feet during migration, using wind currents and thermals to conserve energy, but they can soar much higher, sometimes reaching altitudes of 13,000 to 20,000 feet, especially when crossing mountains or utilizing strong updrafts, allowing them to glide vast distances with minimal flapping. 1 Quote
searcyfarms Posted January 7 Posted January 7 other high fliers Altitude Record: A Rüppell's vulture was involved in a bird strike at 37,000 ft (11,300 m). Adaptation: It possesses a special variant of hemoglobin to absorb oxygen in the thin air of the upper troposphere. Habitat: These African vultures soar vast distances searching for carrion. Other High-Flying Birds: Bar-headed goose: Known for migrating over the Himalayas, reaching heights over 23,000 ft (7,000 m). Common crane: Recorded flying at 32,800 ft (10,000 m) in the Himalayas. Alpine chough: A crow family member that routinely forages at over 25,000 ft (8,000 m) in mountain ranges. Quote
460 Posted January 7 Posted January 7 We have a pair here that seem to keep coming back, year after year. We feed them whole corn. They have not had any babies since 2022. We live off a marshy lake (not actually large enough to be a official lake). 2 Quote
dale560 Posted January 7 Posted January 7 We used to be the hot zone for crane hunting and flyover here in central nd years ago. The migration pattern changed to the west about 1990 or so. Back in the 70s with all grain swathed and chaff saved in piles cranes would wreak havoc. I remember dad chasing flocks of 1000s of cranes away from feed piles and crops. The weirdest thing I had ever seen was a 80 acre stubble field full of cranes and they were walking down a rare for the time corn field eating cobs off standing crop. They always said to boil a crane with a rock and when done discard crane and eat rock. Quote
1965Dennis Posted January 7 Posted January 7 We have the Muscatatuck Wildlife Refuge in our back yard, which is a rest area in their migration. Every year, we have a lot hanging around for a few weeks, then move on. These in the picture are within 75 yards of the house. 1 Quote
Sask466 Posted January 7 Posted January 7 52 minutes ago, dale560 said: They always said to boil a crane with a rock and when done discard crane and eat rock. Thats the sentiment around these parts too! I have also heard of a similar themed recipe that involves cooking them on top of a 2x4. We winged one when I was young (maybe 12?) and went into the bush to recover it - assuming it was dead on landing. It wasn’t - I stumbled upon it, and it was probably 3 feet in front of me. They have a loud hiss - it scared the heck out of me! They fly over our region in large numbers. Now that it was mentioned - yes they are way up in the air. I often hear them before noticing them. They make a loud, sort of trumpeting sound in flight - it’s a nice sound. 1 Quote
pt756 Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Friend went to Olkahoma paid 5 hundred a day for 3 days allowed 3 birds a day, said he only got 2, didnt mention how they tasted. Quote
DT Fan Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Couple of thoughts; Regarding the quality of the fare, younger is better. Like anything else made of meet. When I was young, we shot a lot of Canada geese, a lot. Got to the point I could stick the knife in the breast and tell if it was fit to eat or if it was going to grind. Gooseburger is actually quite good, very lean! Just like anything else, care and preparation is everything. 1 Quote
vtfireman85 Posted January 7 Author Posted January 7 31 minutes ago, DT Fan said: Couple of thoughts; Regarding the quality of the fare, younger is better. Like anything else made of meet. When I was young, we shot a lot of Canada geese, a lot. Got to the point I could stick the knife in the breast and tell if it was fit to eat or if it was going to grind. Gooseburger is actually quite good, very lean! Just like anything else, care and preparation is everything. I don’t think I could eat goose after seeing them by the hundreds swimming and feeding from the sewage treatment lagoons in Rutland. Quote
DT Fan Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Should add, they don't come through central Ia. If they did, I'm sure the cousin would have had me hunting them with him. I've seen a few, mostly in Canada/Northern Mn. Ross the Oliver Man had some corn, from the '24 crop, I think, that didn't get harvested until the next March or April? Anyway, the cranes found if and stayed! 2 minutes ago, vtfireman85 said: I don’t think I could eat goose after seeing them by the hundreds swimming and feeding from the sewage treatment lagoons in Rutland. We probably wouldn't want to scrutinize any of our food too closely! Quote
vtfireman85 Posted January 7 Author Posted January 7 33 minutes ago, DT Fan said: Should add, they don't come through central Ia. If they did, I'm sure the cousin would have had me hunting them with him. I've seen a few, mostly in Canada/Northern Mn. Ross the Oliver Man had some corn, from the '24 crop, I think, that didn't get harvested until the next March or April? Anyway, the cranes found if and stayed! We probably wouldn't want to scrutinize any of our food too closely! True, but I won’t touch bear for the same reason Quote
DT Fan Posted January 7 Posted January 7 3 hours ago, vtfireman85 said: True, but I won’t touch bear for the same reason Well, I'm with ya on bear! Quote
lotsaIHCs Posted January 7 Posted January 7 5 hours ago, vtfireman85 said: I don’t think I could eat goose after seeing them by the hundreds swimming and feeding from the sewage treatment lagoons in Rutland. We had goose once. Once. And most of it got thrown to the barn cats. Mom roasted one for thanksgiving one year instead of turkey because some family friends took me goose hunting and I ended up with a goose. Mom is a very good cook, but that thing tasted like slough water.🤮🤢 Quote
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