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Cranes return to Willcox Playa Wildlife Area in September and stay to March

Sandhill Cranes in Arizona: Where and When to See Them

2 viewing sites, the months their managers name, and today’s sunrise and sunset at each.

Sep to Mar
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
2
Viewing sites
2 on the map
140
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Winter

How sandhill cranes use Arizona

Sandhill cranes by the thousands are once again returning to their wintering grounds at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona.
Arizona Game and Fish Department, published October 16, 2024, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Where to go

2 places to see sandhill cranes in Arizona

Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area

Arizona Game and Fish Department, state wildlife area, McNeal

Sandhill cranes by the thousands are once again returning to their wintering grounds at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona.
Arizona Game and Fish Department, published October 16, 2024, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“For the next several months, more than 20,000 of these fascinating birds, along with waterfowl and other wetland-associated species, will provide an unparalleled wildlife-viewing experience.” Published October 16, 2024.
Time of day
“The best time to view the cranes is 30 minutes before and after sunrise, just before they leave to feed for the morning. The leggy birds generally return to the wildlife area before noon, where they will remain for the rest of the day.”
Counted
“Other locations surveyed include AZGFD’s Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area near McNeal with 12,209 cranes” Published January 13, 2025. Source

October 8, 2026 at this site, MST

Sunrise
6:17 AM
Sunset
5:55 PM

Arizona Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026

Willcox Playa Wildlife Area (and AEPCO Apache Station and Cochise Lake roosts)

Arizona Game and Fish Department, state wildlife area, Willcox

Cranes Sep to Mar
This year’s count estimates 38,707 cranes, with the largest concentration near Willcox Playa.
Arizona Game and Fish Department, published January 13, 2025, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“The cranes typically begin to arrive mid-September to early October. They begin to leave around mid-February, sometimes departing all at once, but others may stay until the middle of March.” Published January 13, 2025.
Time of day
“The cranes usually fly out as a group at dawn to feed, gleaning grain from farmers’ fields. Most of the cranes follow this feeding pattern, but some linger in or near their roosts. Most return from feeding between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.”
Counted
“The 23,522 cranes there include those roosting at Arizona Electric Power Cooperative’s (AEPCO)’s Apache Station and Cochise Lake, both in Willcox.” Published January 13, 2025. Source
Festival
Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival, January 14 to 17, 2027. Organizer’s page

October 8, 2026 at this site, MST

Sunrise
6:18 AM
Sunset
5:55 PM

The map pin and the times above are worked out from the named lake or bay, close to the site but not the viewing spot itself.

Arizona Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Arizona crane sites by month

Style
Layers

1 of the 2 mapped sites name October. A pin is colored only when the refuge or agency that runs it prints that month. The shaded grid is where people have logged a verified sandhill crane on iNaturalist in October, in any year, brighter where more have been logged; it maps reports, so it thickens where observers stand.

Festivals

Sandhill crane festival in Arizona

  • January 14 to 17, 2027

    Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival

    Willcox Playa Wildlife Area (and AEPCO Apache Station and Cochise Lake roosts), Willcox Community Center, 312 Stewart Street, Willcox, Arizona

    As the organizer prints it: “January 14-17, 2027”

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Arizona

More reports come in January than in any other month. The tally runs from October 8, 2025 for the twelve month figure; the bars combine every year on record.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
964 research grade records from Arizona, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in January. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

140 research grade sandhill crane reports from Arizona in the twelve months to October 8, 2026.

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Arizona

Arizona holds a sandhill crane hunting season.

Three (3) sandhill cranes per 3-day hunt in a season; possession is six (6) per calendar year, with no more than three (3) taken in any 3-day hunt in a season.
Arizona Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
The Willcox Playa Wildlife Area (in Unit 30A) and Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area (in Unit 30B) are closed to all sandhill crane hunting.
From the same source, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Waterfowl and crane season dates in this state

Arizona sandhill crane questions

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Sandhill cranes in other states

Sandhill cranes in every stateThe map of where the cranes are this month, the gatherings and the festivals.Fall migration in ArizonaThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Duck migration reportThe waterfowl counts the refuges publish each week.
About seventy grey sandhill cranes standing in shallow open water and on a strip of tan grass in front of a green tree line
Cranes standing in shallow water in October, the habitat every site on these pages shares. The water keeps them safe overnight; the harvested fields around it feed them through the day. “Flock of wading sandhill cranes”, USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, Public domain

Every fact about Arizona’s cranes links to the refuge, agency or festival page it comes from, each read October 8, 2026. Tour loops, platforms and festival programs change between seasons and close for weather and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. Sunrise and sunset are computed for each site’s coordinates. Report tallies are iNaturalist research grade records, which count sightings, not birds. Every state is on the sandhill crane migration hub.