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Sandhill cranes in Texas: winter

Sandhill Cranes in Texas: Where and When to See Them

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

Sep and Dec to Feb
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
1
Viewing site
1 on the map
370
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Winter

How sandhill cranes use Texas

Sandhill cranes use the refuge in the winter for roosting habitat.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Where to go

Where to see sandhill cranes in Texas

Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge

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

Cranes Sep and Dec to Feb
Sandhill cranes use the refuge in the winter for roosting habitat.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“The cranes typically begin arriving in September with peak numbers between December and February.”
Where to stand
“Visitors can enjoy the scenery at Paul's Lake, White Lake and Goose Lake. During the winter sandhill cranes use these sites for roosting areas.”
Time of day
“Wildlife is most likely to be seen in the morning and evening hours when temperatures are not hot.”
Also
“From 2002-2014, approximately 15% of the Mid-Continent Population of sandhill cranes wintered on Muleshoe NWR.” Source
Getting there
“From Muleshoe, Texas: Take Highway 214 south 20 miles. Go west on Caliche Road for 2.25 miles to refuge headquarters.” Source

October 8, 2026 at this site, CDT

Sunrise
7:51 AM
Sunset
7:26 PM

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

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On the map

Texas 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 Texas

More reports come in December 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
3,760 research grade records from Texas, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in December. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Texas

Texas holds a sandhill crane hunting season.

Zone A Oct. 31, 2026 - Jan. 31, 2027 Zone B Nov. 27, 2026 - Jan. 31, 2027 Zone C Dec. 12, 2026 - Jan. 17, 2027
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
191 of 254 counties have Sandhill Crane seasons.
From the same source, read October 8, 2026

Waterfowl and crane season dates in this state

Texas 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 TexasThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Snowy owls in TexasWhere 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 Texas’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.