Bird Flu Suspected in Deaths of Hundreds of Sandhill Cranes Migrating Into Michigan

Passing through Michigan is a primary migration route for sandhill cranes. This year the annual migration is marred by the bird flu death of hundreds of animals.

A bird sanctuary near Jackson shares that cranes have winter nesting grounds in Florida and return home to Michigan near the end of winter in late February through early March.

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The cranes, according to the Audubon Society,

Traveling along country roads of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula can offer spontaneous opportunities to see families of cranes flying overhead, foraging for insects and seeds, or roosting in the evenings.

The 2025 migration north is reportedly brining bird flu and many are not able to complete the journey.

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WSBT-TV in South Bend filed a recent report from Fish Lake in LaPorte County, Indiana, just a few miles from the Michigan border which highlighted dead birds who failed to complete their migration north.

News reports of cranes have been making their way north as the birds migrate. A mid-February article from the Chattanooga Times Free Press documents 150 dead birds along a stretch of river in Tennessee.

In Northwest Indiana, the Gary Post-Tribune also reports on the death of hundreds of birds in the region.

And in Wisconsin, the staff of the International Crane Foundation based there has pivoted their mission to protecting the species from bird flu according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

Veterinarians say it's unlikely many birds can survive after they contract the flu:

Most of them die. And there’s really no cure or treatment for this disease except for supportive care.