The story behind the maze

Sandhill Cranes are common in southern Wisconsin. There’s a pair that usually nest on the far side of the Treinen Farm pond, and they spend the summer busily raising their two chicks. They are large, interesting birds, with complex behaviors.

But Wisconsin’s other crane species, Whooping Crane, was very near extinction not that long ago. Down to only twenty-one birds in the wild at one point, the Whooping Crane population is increasing in the United States, thanks in large part to the efforts of the International Crane Foundation.

The ICF, located very near the Treinen Farm outside Baraboo, Wisconsin, works hard to save critical habitat, propagate cranes in captivity, reintroduce them to the wild, and educate people living nearby about their relationship to wetlands and cranes. They collaborate with people worldwide, as there are fifteen species of cranes spread over the globe. 

We’ve been catching glimpses of this rare bird hiding in the maze.

We’ve had to put the machinery away at night, or we end up with this situation every morning.