Linton's annual Marsh Madness celebrates sandhill cranes at Goose Pond this weekend

Carol Kugler
·4 min read

Sandhill cranes, crafts for kids of all ages and tours and talks about Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in Greene County will be featured this weekend at the annual Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival.

"This year more than ever we have a lot of fun kids' activities," said Barb Simpson, a member of the Marsh Madness committee and Friends of Goose Pond. "It's a great opportunity to get outdoors for families and their kids."

Sandhill cranes are migrating through Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, as seen on Feb. 3. They are one of the major birds that can be seen this weekend during the annual Marsh Madness events in Linton and nearby Goose Pond.
Sandhill cranes are migrating through Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, as seen on Feb. 3. They are one of the major birds that can be seen this weekend during the annual Marsh Madness events in Linton and nearby Goose Pond.

After several years of fewer events, the 2023 festival has a full schedule. For the first time, there will be concurrent events, meaning people will have to decide if they'd rather attend a trail dedication at the visitors center, dissect an owl pellet or listen to a nature photography talk.

While the fundraising banquet will be Friday night at the Linton Elks Club, the main attractions will be Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in three locations: Humphrey's Park, the Carnegie Heritage and Art Center and Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Center, including its visitors center.

Humphrey's Park events

Humphrey's Park will have people selling $5 tickets for adults (youth age 18 and younger are free) that allow people onto one of the buses giving tours of the wildlife area and the park's Roy Clark Building. Inside the building will be presentations with live birds of prey (11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.), live reptiles and amphibians displayed by the Hoosier Herpetological Society, information about cranes from the International Crane Foundation, a hands-on wildlife learning table with different species of small mammals for kids of all ages as well as arts and craft vendors.

Nearby in the West Shelter House, people can build a squirrel feeder at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In the Girl Scout Cabin, state bird biologist Amy Kerns will have an owl pellet activity at 10 a.m. At 1:30 p.m. in the cabin, author Nancy Grant will talk about her book, "Birds on the Move."

Wilkes Food Truck will be open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for breakfast and lunch near the Roy Clark Building.

A bald eagle stands on a muskrat lodge in one of the wetland areas at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife on Feb. 3.
A bald eagle stands on a muskrat lodge in one of the wetland areas at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife on Feb. 3.

For people who want to get good looks at birds in the wildlife area, there will be tips for where they've been seen earlier in the day, maps for self-guided tours and the chance to sign up to take a bus tour through Goose Pond. Buses will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. People must register in advance for a seat on a bus.

Carnegie Heritage and Art Center crafts, photos

Sandhill cranes are seen flying over Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Feb. 3. Flocks of sandhills will be at the wildlife area this weekend during Marsh Madness.
Sandhill cranes are seen flying over Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Feb. 3. Flocks of sandhills will be at the wildlife area this weekend during Marsh Madness.

Carol Kiser's wildlife photographs will be featured at the Carnegie Heritage and Art Center, 110 E. Vincennes St., with a brief talk at 10 a.m. An origami crane craft activity for kids will be offered and the DVD "Story of a Wetland" about how Goose Pond was formed will be shown.

Activities at Goose Pond

At 10 a.m. Saturday, there will be a trail dedication with state Department of Natural Resources and Indiana Wildlife Federation officials. The trail surrounds the visitors center and has signs about the habitat, birds and other wildlife visitors may see.

Inside the visitors center there are exhibits to tell more about wildlife found at Goose Pond. There are also spotting scopes for people to look out over the wetlands area nearby.

Maps available at the Linton park will show the best route people can drive to spot birds and other wildlife. It's the same route the buses will take and will showcase some of the spots in the wildlife area where birds are present that day. At least two guides with spotting scopes will be outdoors ready to show people some of the birds nearby. There will also be guides at the visitors center to help people identify birds.

Three sandhill cranes take flight at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Feb. 3. Hundreds of the birds should be in the wildlife area during the 2023 Marsh Madness events this weekend.
Three sandhill cranes take flight at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Feb. 3. Hundreds of the birds should be in the wildlife area during the 2023 Marsh Madness events this weekend.

While the number of snow geese, which had been in the thousands, has decreased, Simpson said there are still geese as well as hundreds of sandhill cranes at Goose Pond and nearby farmland. American white pelican numbers are climbing, Simpson said, as those birds migrate through Indiana. She suspects the pelicans may be the "rock stars of the weekend," with higher numbers rafted up in the water or flying.

Another bird that's likely to be in the Goose Pond area on Saturday is the federally endangered whooping crane. While there are a little over 70 whooping cranes in the eastern flock, almost a dozen have been spotted at times at Goose Pond.

Simpson said Goose Pond staff have burned the grasses in one area to release seeds that birds can eat. The hope is the area will attract birds for visitors to see during Marsh Madness.

A big hit for kids and families last year was the nature scavenger hunt, which will be happening again this year. There will be 15 items for people to find within the Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. If 12 are found, they can tell people at Humphrey's Park about them and receive a small toy, such as binoculars.

Go online to https://bit.ly/3XVLkD8 for more information about Marsh Madness.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Linton's Marsh Madness celebrates sandhills, Goose Pond wildlife area