SCHOOLCRAFT, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said a Schoolcraft man recorded himself on video shooting at sandhill cranes from a bedroom window.
The video shows the man in a second-story bedroom window with a .22 caliber rifle, according to the DNR. The man shot out of the window and across a public roadway into a farm field where there were hundreds of sandhill cranes.
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The birds flew away after the first shot and the man continued firing his rifle into the air. The DNR said there are almost a dozen homes “well within range of his firearm” across from the cornfield where he was shooting.
The DNR has completed multiple interviews and obtained evidence to support “numerous violations.” Officials will be submitting a report to the Office of the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney.
Sandhill cranes are federally protected birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918. The law prohibits the capture, killing, or possession of sandhill cranes without proper permits.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can issue permits to shoot sandhill cranes if they are causing agricultural damage or threatening human health and safety. Farmers do not need permits to use non-lethal management methods to reduce damage.
Sandhill cranes are migratory birds. Throughout the fall, they stop in Michigan’s lower counties before continuing on to southern states.
Sandhill cranes stand 5 feet tall and have 6-foot wingspans. They have bright red heads. They feed on seeds and grains in agricultural fields and on wetland plants, insects and amphibians.