Sandhill Cranes Return to Lodi
Each year in the fall, Sandhill Cranes begin their migration from the northern to southern hemisphere in search of warmer temperatures, food supplies, and nesting sites. West of the Rockies, they journey from western Siberia and Alaska to the Central Valley of California and farther south to Mexico. East of the Rockies, they make their way from Canada, pausing in the Great Lakes region, and down to Arizona, the Gulf, and along the Rio Grande.
Here in California, they can now be found near Lodi where they feed in harvested rice and corn fields, roosting in flooded fields. From late September to February, they can be seen at the Consumnes River Preserve, the Rancho Seco Recreational Area, and the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, which hosts guided tours. Believed to date to 2.5 million years ago, Greater Sandhill Cranes have a wingspan of up to eight feet and stand approximately four feet tall. Known for their impressive courtship rituals and loud, trumpet-like calls, their populations declined dramatically by the 1940s due to hunting and loss of habitat, but since then breeding pairs in California have increased to over four hundred and fifty.
Climate Action Poem Prize
The 2024 Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize, sponsored by the American Academy of Poets, is now accepting submissions through November 15th for previously unpublished work. Established in 2019, the contest aims to increase awareness of climate change and the vulnerability of the environment. For more information, visit https://www.poets.org. The first place winner will receive $1,000, second place will receive $750, and third place will receive $500. This year’s judges are poet Elizabeth Bradfield and climate scientist Kate Marvel, Ph.D.
“Refuge for Cranes plunges us wholly into the natural world through a series of poems that are equal parts celebratory, revelatory, and prophetic…” “Like the cranes that give the book its title, birds rumored to be immortal and wise, the poet bravely writes the truth he sees, “scratching our message into this passing world.” – Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, author of Andalusian Hours and Holy Land
“These touching poems remind us of the beauty and value of nature now threatened worldwide by our carelessness. Cranes are appropriate carriers of that message as conveyed in Jerome’s work…” – George Archibald, co-founder International Crane Foundation
“The poet’s “Love of Earthly Things” expressed in this rich collection, is a refuge for the reader. If you enter these pages, be prepared to open yourself wider to the world, like a flower to the sun.” – Phyllis Cole-Dai, author and co-editor of Poetry of Presence, I & II
Jerome Gagnon Blog 