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Sandhill cranes in Minnesota: fall staging, passing through, breeding

Sandhill Cranes in Minnesota: Where and When to See Them

One viewing site, the months its manager names, and today’s sunrise and sunset at each.

Fall staging
In the state
Passing through and breeding
1
Viewing site
1 on the map
546
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Fall staging, passing through and breeding

How sandhill cranes use Minnesota

In central and northern Minnesota, sandhills spend spring through autumn in large open meadows and farm fields.
Minnesota DNR, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Where to go

Where to see sandhill cranes in Minnesota

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge

The low water level in St Francis Pool will greatly reduce this impoundment's suitability for roosting sandhill cranes this fall unless the refuge receives considerable rainfall. Several hundred to several thousand cranes are expected to roost in alternate refuge impoundments west of County Highway 5
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“this fall”
Where to stand
“Crane enthusiasts are encouraged to monitor the refuge website and Friends of Sherburne NWR Facebook page for crane viewing updates.”
Time of day
“each morning”

October 8, 2026 at this site, CDT

Sunrise
7:22 AM
Sunset
6:42 PM

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Minnesota crane sites by month

Style
Layers

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.

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Minnesota

More reports come in April 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
2,943 research grade records from Minnesota, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in April. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Minnesota

Minnesota holds a sandhill crane hunting season.

Sept. 12-Oct. 18 Sandhill crane (Sandhill Crane Zone only) 2 6 ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
Minnesota DNR, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Waterfowl and crane season dates in this state

Minnesota 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 MinnesotaThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Eagle watching in MinnesotaThe winter eagle sites and the months to visit them.Snowy owls in MinnesotaWhere the winter owls are reported in the state.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 Minnesota’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.