Across Indiana
Indiana’s Sandhill Cranes
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Sandhill Cranes make a pit stop in Indiana on their great migration down south.
The Jasper Pulaski State Fish & Wildlife Area welcomes these avian friends every fall as they journey down to Florida and Georgia. Learn more about these beautiful birds with Across Indiana producer J. Robert Cook in this classic episode from 1991.
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Across Indiana is a local public television program presented by WFYI
Across Indiana
Indiana’s Sandhill Cranes
Clip | 3m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
The Jasper Pulaski State Fish & Wildlife Area welcomes these avian friends every fall as they journey down to Florida and Georgia. Learn more about these beautiful birds with Across Indiana producer J. Robert Cook in this classic episode from 1991.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- [Narrator] Autumn in Indiana, the fall colors, the mild days, the annual visitors, all are familiar elements to Hoosiers at this time of year, but some visitors come to Indiana for other reasons than the beauty of the leaves.
To them, we are but a brief respite on an annual cycle that has existed since time long passed.
(gentle music) Like an angel descending unto heaven is how one Hoosier poet described the Sandhill Crane.
And each year since before the time of man, these large and graceful birds revisit our heartland on their annual trek to warmer climbs.
- Well, the Sandhill Crane at one time, the population of cranes that comes through Jasper-Pulaski was endangered.
They are now off the endangered list.
There are between 25 and 30,000 estimated in this population.
They nest in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and a little bit into Southern Canada, and then in the fall, migrate through Jasper-Pulaski on their way to their wintering areas in Florida and Southern Georgia.
They're a large bird.
They stand about 3-1/2 feet tall, have a wingspan of seven feet.
They weigh 10 to 12 pounds.
They're basically a blue gray in color, and the adults have a bare skin patch on top of their head that's bright red.
- [Narrator] Our large visitors favor the northwest area of the Hoosier state, specifically the Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area near Rensselaer, an 8,000 acre reserve that for more than 60 years has provided sanctuary for each new crane generation.
- When the birds were at their low point in the '30s and protection of their nesting habitat began, this property was also being developed.
And at that same time, wetlands continued to decline in Indiana.
So it's been a gradual buildup.
The numbers that occur here today oftentimes in excess of 15,000 historically did not occur.
That's been a recent buildup since the '40s.
Cranes have an interesting form of migration.
Geese migrate by actually flying, they flap, in their entire migration.
Cranes, on the other hand, glide.
They do a substantial part of their migration by gliding.
And what they do and why it's so dependent on weather is they seek thermals on warm days with north winds, and they rise on those thermals to high altitudes and then glide to the south.
Depending on how far north their origin is, it could be either a slow or a fast migration.
They generally fly or migrate just during the daylight hours and stop at night.
So for instance, when the birds leave Jasper-Pulaski in November, it will take them three to four days to get to their wintering areas in Florida.
About the same as if you took a leisurely drive to Florida driving about eight hours a day.
- [Narrator] The greatest number of cranes will visit Jasper-Pulaski in November before traveling on to winter in the sunny South.
But they will return again in March and February.
Certain evidence of the drawing power of the Indiana Wild.
- [Narrator] For more Across Indiana stories, go to wfyi.org/acrossindiana.
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The Murat Temple’s Biggest Secret
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Clip | 5m 26s | The tale of the ghost that haunts the Murat in downtown Indianapolis. (5m 26s)
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How Do Hoosiers Make Apple Cider?
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Clip | 4m 10s | The Indiana State Fair has a wide array of queens from all over the state. (4m 10s)
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Clip | 6m 41s | The story of the original home of the Indianapolis Indians, Bush Stadium. (6m 41s)
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Clip | 4m 59s | Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana was America’s first theme park. (4m 59s)
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Clip | 4m 39s | Zaharako’s is a Columbus, Indiana classic for good reason. (4m 39s)
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Clip | 5m 32s | The story of legendary Indiana high school basketball star and trailblazer Oscar Robertson. (5m 32s)
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Clip | 4m 57s | Donaldson’s Finer Chocolates in Lebanon, Indiana is just as magical as Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. (4m 57s)
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Clip | 5m 10s | Kids from around the world come to Culver, Indiana for summer camp. (5m 10s)
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Clip | 5m 9s | The splendor of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work is just down the street. (5m 9s)
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Clip | 4m 52s | The life of Mexican migrant workers in southern Indiana. (4m 52s)
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Clip | 5m 9s | Where the precision of art meets the devotion of faith (5m 9s)
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Clip | 6m 55s | Come on, bro! Pack the sunscreen and beer because we're going to...the Indiana Dunes? (6m 55s)
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Clip | 7m 3s | Let’s go, Jeeps?! Let’s go, Hot Dogs?! (7m 3s)
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Clip | 4m 27s | St. Patrick’s Day brings fun, but it’s also a celebration of Irish culture. In 1995, Across Indiana (4m 27s)
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Clip | 5m 21s | In 1993, Across Indiana producer, Titus Rush, visited a Hoosier buffalo farm. (5m 21s)
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Clip | 9m 52s | Another Indiana?! In 1994, Across Indiana explored its surprising similarities to our own state. (9m 52s)
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Clip | 4m 51s | No date on Valentine’s Day? You’re not alone! Let’s revisit 2006 to explore Cupid’s favorite holiday (4m 51s)
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Clip | 4m 26s | In 1994, David Stoelk visited a Kokomo club where llamas dance too! (4m 26s)
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Clip | 8m 36s | In 1995, Todd Gould highlighted how Robert F. Kennedy delivered the news of Dr. King’s death. (8m 36s)
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Clip | 7m 7s | As Trump’s inauguration nears, Across Indiana explores presidents' notable and obscure health issues (7m 7s)
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Clip | 5m 20s | In this classic episode of Across Indiana Titus Rush explores Ski World in Nashville, IN. (5m 20s)
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Clip | 5m 51s | An elderly disco sensation shares the secret to his happy life. (5m 51s)
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Clip | 6m 1s | The moment when Wabash, IN saw the light, before everyone else. (6m 1s)
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Clip | 9m 54s | The Head of Christ, how an image born from creative desperation went on to reach billions. (9m 54s)
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Clip | 5m 38s | From a quirky idea to a thriving business: the story behind The Bentcil™ Company. (5m 38s)
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Clip | 4m 38s | Join Russell Levitt's beer journey in Bloomington on Across Indiana. (4m 38s)
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Clip | 7m 38s | In this classic Across Indiana we explore the great squirrel invasion in Salem, IN. (7m 38s)
The Music Maker | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 20s | Saxophonist Jimmy Coe's fantastic journey from high school grad to jazz legend. (5m 20s)
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Clip | 5m 12s | From church newsletter to vital Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Recorder's journey. (5m 12s)
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Clip | 5m 12s | Historian Rea Ferguson uncovers the hidden Black history of Indiana's rural communities. (5m 12s)
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Clip | 4m 41s | Explore Madam Walker's legacy and the iconic Madam Walker Theatre. (4m 41s)
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Clip | 4m 12s | Remembering the pottery, simplicity, and unique perspectives of Richard & Marj Peeler. (4m 12s)
The Milkman Cometh | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 8m 12s | Dave Stoelk walks in the shoes of one of the last remaining milkmen, Don France. (8m 12s)
Not-So-Modern Medicine | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 13s | The Indiana Medical History Museum holds many oddities from a time long gone. (4m 13s)
Crossing the Language Barrier | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 10s | In this 2006 episode, William Rasdell used photography and technology to celebrate life. (5m 10s)
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Clip | 7m 42s | Hoosier history at risk! Archivist fights time to save Indiana's past. (7m 42s)
The Swiss Connection | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 17s | Berne, Indiana, was established by Swiss immigrants in the 1800s. (4m 17s)
Spirit of the Season | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 29s | In 1994, "Across Indiana" discovered the Twelve Mile Christmas Pageant. (5m 29s)
Murphy's Lore | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 17s | Join this Hoosier family in the age-old tradition of picking out the family Christmas tree (5m 17s)
Artist Leigh Dunnington Jones | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 1s | Artist Leigh Dunnington Jones makes unusual Christmas sculptures from unwanted materials. (5m 1s)
The Vanishing Hitchhiker | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 2m 55s | Across Indiana re-creates "The Vanishing Hitchhiker", a Hoosier urban legend. (2m 55s)
Tell Helen I Found God | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 7m 58s | Jack Cooper's words survive tragedy in World War II Pacific. (7m 58s)
The Pumpkin Man | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 6m 5s | Check out Pumpkin Fantasyland, one of the country's biggest pumpkin farms. (6m 5s)
Jacoby's Light | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 20s | Does a ghost haunt the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre in Indianapolis? (5m 20s)
Haunted Indiana | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 3m 37s | Across Indiana hosts a sampling of Hoosier Halloween stories from around the state. (3m 37s)
An American Hero | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 46s | World War I veteran Gus Streeter recalls his time in the service at age 105. (5m 46s)
The Indiana War Memorial | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 45s | In this archival story, explore the history of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza. (4m 45s)
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Across Indiana is a local public television program presented by WFYI