HABITAT PREFERENCE AND DIURNAL USE AMONG GREATER SANDHILL CRANES

We examined patterns of habitat use by Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grus c anadensis tabida) in the Intermountain West, April-October 1991-92, to determine whether cranes exhibited a specific preference for crops, f ields, and areas within a field. This information will help farmers an d wildlife managers direct nonlethal control methods to the sites wher e crane damage is most likely to occur. We conducted surveys along two 37-km transects weekly in Cache Valley, Utah, and biweekly in Bear Ri ver Valley, Rich County, Utah, and Lincoln County, Wyoming. We recorde d 5814 cranes in 662 separate groups. Most were located in pasture/hay (34%), small grain (39%), alfalfa (9%), plowed (9%), fallow (4%), or corn (1%) fields. An index of feeding activity for each field and habi tat type suggested cranes fed at approximately the same rate in each f ield and habitat type. Crane diurnal activity patterns during summer a nd fall revealed that grainfields were used heavily throughout the day .