Sandhill Cranes and Pets in Florida

Sandhill cranes are the tall gray birds with red foreheads strolling across Florida lawns, golf courses and road shoulders, and the Florida subspecies is a state-threatened species. Keep your dog on a short leash, never let it chase or rush a crane, and give crane families with chicks a very wide berth. A crane can hurt a dog with its bill and feet, and dogs and cats are a real threat to crane chicks.

Two kinds of crane, one set of rules

Florida has its own resident population of Florida sandhill cranes, which live here year-round. According to FWC, roughly 4,000 to 5,000 of these non-migratory birds live in the state. From about November through April they are joined by around 25,000 migratory greater sandhill cranes that nest in the Great Lakes region and spend the winter here. Winter visitors will see the most cranes, but a resident pair can be in the same neighborhood any month of the year.

The Florida sandhill crane is listed as State-designated Threatened, and all sandhill cranes are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. FWC counts habitat loss, from wetland drainage and prairie converted to development, as the main threat.

They are easy to recognize: gray bodies, long legs and neck, and a patch of bare red skin on the crown. Florida sandhill cranes stand close to four feet tall with a wingspan over six feet, and their rolling, bugling call carries a long way.

Where dogs meet cranes in Florida

FWC describes the Florida sandhill crane’s range as the pastures, open prairies and freshwater wetlands of peninsular Florida, from the Everglades north to the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. In real life, many dog owners meet them somewhere much less wild. Cranes have adapted well to open lawns, subdivisions, golf courses, parks, airports and road shoulders, where they probe the grass for insects and other food.

That means the encounter often happens on a sidewalk, in a front yard or at a park, not deep in a preserve. It also means cranes are often near traffic. They walk across roads at their own pace, and a dog pulling toward one can drag you toward the road too.

Nesting season and chicks

Cranes nest in late winter and spring, building platforms of vegetation about two feet across in shallow water. Females usually lay two eggs, and the chicks, called colts, can walk with their parents within about a day of hatching. They stay flightless for weeks after that, which is when families are most vulnerable.

FWC’s crane management guidelines treat December 1 through May 1 as the breeding season. During that season, hazing (deliberately chasing or scaring cranes away) is not allowed at all, and it is never allowed within 400 feet of a nest or of adults with flightless young. Young cranes remain flightless until roughly 70 days after hatching.

A dog lunging at a crane family is precisely what those rules are written to prevent. FWC also notes that cranes that get used to people face greater predation, especially of young cranes, by dogs and cats. Keep cats indoors in crane neighborhoods, particularly in spring.

What a crane can do to a dog

Cranes look placid, and most will simply walk or fly away. But a crane has a long, sharp bill, strong legs and big wings, and a cornered crane or a parent defending colts can strike at a dog’s face and eyes. A crane standing still is not a crane that is harmless. If your dog is struck, especially anywhere near the eyes, have a vet look at it the same day. Eye injuries can get worse quickly.

Cranes also fight their own reflections. FWC notes that cranes defending territory may scratch at windows, screens and shiny cars. If one is attacking your rental’s sliding door, the solution is covering the reflection, not letting the dog out to chase it off.

The law on feeding and harassment

Since 2002 it has been illegal in Florida to intentionally feed sandhill cranes, under Florida Administrative Code 68A-4.001(6), according to FWC’s Living with Sandhill Cranes page. Fed cranes lose their fear of people, approach homes and cars, spend more time near roads and can become pushy around food. Spilled birdseed under feeders counts as a problem too, so clean it up.

Outside the breeding season, FWC allows certain noninjurious ways to haze problem adult cranes, such as spraying water, clapping and yelling, or opening an umbrella toward them. Using a dog is not on that list, and we would not recommend it any time of year.

Walking a dog in crane country

• Use a short, fixed leash. FWC recommends keeping pets on non-retractable leashes six feet or shorter around wildlife, and attended even in fenced yards.
• Give cranes the right of way. Cross the street, take a different path, or stop and wait for them to move on. Do not walk a dog between two adults or between an adult and a chick.
• Keep the dog quiet and behind you if a crane approaches you, and back away. Do not feed it or offer anything.
• Keep pet food, trash and birdseed secured. FWC names these as attractants that pull cranes into yards.
• Take extra care near roads. Hold the leash short when cranes are on a road shoulder, and watch for them crossing when you drive.
• Do not let the dog out to chase cranes off a lawn, even if they seem tame and even if the neighbors have been feeding them.

If you find a hurt crane

Keep your dog well away and do not try to handle it; an injured crane is big and can strike hard. Report injured cranes, cranes hit by vehicles, and illegal feeding or harassment to FWC’s Wildlife Alert line at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922), or contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. If your own dog was injured in the encounter, get it checked by a vet.

For more bird-and-dog advice, see Florida birds dogs should never chase, our guide to great blue herons and dogs, Florida birdwatching with a dog, and the best pet-friendly places to watch wildlife in Florida.