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Counts at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge usually peak around December 28

Sandhill Cranes in Tennessee: Where and When to See Them

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

Oct to Mar
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
2
Viewing sites
1 on the map
750
Last season’s latest count
Hop-In Refuge, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency survey, February 2, 2026
97
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Winter and passing through

How sandhill cranes use Tennessee

Fall migration lasts from late October to late December, and spring migration is from mid-February through late March.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Where to go

2 places to see sandhill cranes in Tennessee

Hiwassee Refuge

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, state wildlife area, Birchwood

Cranes Oct to Mar
Populations have increased over the last 60 years, and we may now find over 20,000 cranes in the Hiwassee River area of southeastern Tennessee in winter, with thousands seen from the Observation Platform.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“from mid-October through February (sometimes into March)”
Where to stand
“Their habit of congregating near the Watchable Wildlife viewing platform at the Hiwassee Refuge from mid-October through February (sometimes into March) provides Tennesseans with one of the most spectacular wildlife watching opportunities in the state.”
Festival
Sandhill Crane Festival, January 16 to 17, 2027. Organizer’s page
Festival parking
“No parking is permitted at the Hiwassee Refuge (except for those permitted and holding a handicap placard).” Festival page

October 8, 2026 at this site, EDT

Sunrise
7:40 AM
Sunset
7:14 PM

The latest Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency count at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge is from last season: 3,245 on December 12, 2025. Across 10 seasons the peak usually falls around December 28.

2015-16: 10,240 on January 4, 201610,2402015-16Jan 42016-17: 35,505 on December 15, 201635,5052016-17Dec 152017-18: 26,160 on January 2, 201826,1602017-18Jan 22018-19: 11,877 on December 15, 201811,8772018-19Dec 152019-20: 13,250 on January 9, 202013,2502019-20Jan 92021-22: 20,479 on February 10, 202220,4792021-22Feb 102022-23: 4,750 on December 16, 20224,7502022-23Dec 162023-24: 8,250 on January 5, 20248,2502023-24Jan 52024-25: 11,379 on December 23, 202411,3792024-25Dec 232025-26: 3,245 on December 12, 20253,2452025-26Dec 12
The highest published count in each season, with the day it was made.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026

Hop-In Refuge

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, state wildlife area

A few thousand cranes have also been wintering at Hop-In Refuge in Obion County, and over ten thousand on and around the Hiwassee Refuge in Meigs County.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

The latest Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency count at Hop-In Refuge is from last season: 750 on February 2, 2026. The last completed season peaked at 4,800 on January 2, 2026. Across 11 seasons the peak usually falls around February 1.

2015-16: 7,200 on January 17, 20167,2002015-16Jan 172016-17: 12,500 on February 15, 201712,5002016-17Feb 152017-18: 10,500 on February 1, 201810,5002017-18Feb 12018-19: 8,400 on January 7, 20198,4002018-19Jan 72019-20: 7,500 on January 31, 20207,5002019-20Jan 312020-21: 13,500 on February 16, 202113,5002020-21Feb 162021-22: 10,500 on February 1, 202210,5002021-22Feb 12022-23: 8,000 on February 2, 20238,0002022-23Feb 22023-24: 4,500 on February 2, 20244,5002023-24Feb 22024-25: 3,500 on December 16, 20243,5002024-25Dec 162025-26: 4,800 on January 2, 20264,8002025-26Jan 2
The highest published count in each season, with the day it was made.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Tennessee 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.

Festivals

Sandhill crane festival in Tennessee

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Tennessee

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
497 research grade records from Tennessee, 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.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Tennessee

Tennessee holds a sandhill crane hunting season.

Sandhill Crane | Dec. 3, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027 Statewide tags are valid statewide, including the Southeast Crane Zone, except during the three (3) day closure in that zone from Jan. 15– 17, 2027.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Waterfowl and crane season dates in this state

Tennessee 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 TennesseeThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Eagle watching in TennesseeThe winter eagle sites and the months to visit them.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 Tennessee’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.