FUNDING FOR GREATER CHATTANOOGA IS PROVIDED BY EPB FIBER OPTICS ITS CALL, IT'S VERY UNIQUE YOU'LL NEVER FORGET THAT SOUND.

ONCE YOU HEAR IT, YOU'LL NEVER FORGET IT.

IF YOU'RE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER SEEN THIS BIRD UP CLOSE, OR NEVER HEARD ITS CALL, OR NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEY WERE SEEING, AND HEARING.

AND YOU SEE THEIR FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHEN THEY RECOGNIZE HOW BIG THIS BIRD IS, HOW LOUD THEY ARE, AND HOW NUMEROUS THEY ARE.

IT'S A MOMENT TO REMEMBER.

SANDHILL CRANES ARE AMAZING BIRDS, ABOUT FOUR FEET TALL, WITH A SIX FOOT WINGSPAN.

I THINK THE ANIMAL IT WOULD MOST BE MISTAKEN FOR IS A GREAT BLUE HERON.

BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY LARGER THAN A GREAT BLUE HERON.

AND YOU WOULDN'T SEE A SOLITARY BIRD.

THEY ARE A BIRD THAT LIKES TO BE AROUND OTHERS.

BUT THEY ARE AN ANIMAL WITH A COMEBACK STORY.

BACK IN THE 1800S, THE NUMBERS STARTED GOING DOWN, THROUGH OVER-HUNTING, OVER-HARVEST.

A LOT OF HABITAT LOSS, A LOT OF THE WETLANDS IN THE NORTH WERE DRAINED, WHICH WERE THE BREEDING AREAS.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR THIS BIRD, AND OTHER CRANE SPECIES, IS ENORMOUS.

UNIVERSITIES ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES HAVE TRACKED THESE BIRDS FOR YEARS WITH DIFFERENT TELEMETRY DEVICES.

BUT A LOT OF PROTECTION THROUGH GROUPS LIKE THE INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION, AND JUST ALL KINDS OF ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETIES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND STATE AND FEDERAL WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND PARTNERS, WORKED TOGETHER FOR DECADES, TO HELP BRING THIS BIRD BACK, AND IT'S DOING EXTREMELY WELL.

THROUGH THE YEARS THEIR NUMBERS HAVE CONTINUED TO CLIMB, AND CONTINUE TO DO SO.

AND WE SEE THE EFFECTS OF THAT HERE AT THE HIWASSEE REFUGE EVERY WINTER.

THE HIWASSEE REFUGE IS A LARGE TRACT OF LAND SET ASIDE, AND IT'S ALONG THE CONFLUENCE OF THE TENNESSEE AND THE HIWASSEE RIVERS.

AND IT IS A REFUGE FOR WILDLIFE PRIMARILY.

UM, WATERFOWL, SANDHILL CRANES OVERWINTER IN THIS AREA, OR JUST USE IT AS A STOP OVER AS THEY MIGRATE FURTHER SOUTH.

THE REFUGE LAND-WISE IS ABOUT, A LITTLE OVER 26 HUNDRED ACRES.

YEAH, THIS IS A SLOUGH THAT BACKS UP OFF THE HIWASSEE RIVER, AND IT'S ACTUALLY CONTROLLED BY THE DAM, CHICKAMAUGA DAM.

SO WHEN THEY LOWER THE RIVER IN THE WINTER TIME, SOME OF THIS WATER GOES OUT, THAT'S WHAT THE CRANES LIKE, THAT'S WHERE THEY ROOST.

WE HAVE THE WINTER LAKE DRAWDOWN, WHICH IS GOOD FOR SHORE BIRDS, AS WELL AS SANDHILL CRANES, AND WHOOPING CRANES, BECAUSE AT NIGHT, THEY MOVE OUT TO THE SAND FLATS AND THE MUD FLATS AND SAND BARS AND THEY ROOST THERE TO PROTECT FROM PREDATORS.

AND AS THE SUN RISES, THEY'LL MOVE OUT TO THOSE AGRICULTURAL FIELDS TO FEED.

OF COURSE, LIKE MOST OF THIS GREEN STUFF, THAT WILL BE WINTER WHEAT THAT WE PLANT, YOU KNOW, LATE FALL.

AND LIKE OVER HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT STRIPS.

THE BROWN STRIPS, THAT'S THE CORN WE PLANTED.

MOST OF THAT, THE CRANES WILL EAT, I'M GOING TO SAY 90 PERCENT OF THAT.

UH, WHAT THE DEER DON'T EAT.

THE CRANES, ONCE THEY'RE GONE, THERE PROBABLY WON'T BE A GRAIN OF CORN LEFT ON THIS PLACE.

THEY CAN PICK THROUGH IT PRETTY FAST, ONCE THE NUMBERS GET HIGH.

SO MUCH OF OUR LAND IS INFLUENCED BY HUMANS TODAY.

SO FOR WILDLIFE TO HAVE AREAS THAT THEY CAN SIMPLY EXIST IN IS IMPORTANT.

AND THE HIWASSEE REFUGE DOES PROVIDE THAT THIS TIME OF YEAR.

PROBABLY GREATER THAN HALF OF THE SANDHILL CRANE POPULATION IN THE EASTERN GROUP COMES THROUGH HIWASSEE WILDLIFE REFUGE.

THE SANDHILL CRANE FESTIVAL IS A YEARLY CELEBRATION TO CELEBRATE THE RETURN OF THAT BIRD IN THESE GREAT NUMBERS, TO THIS AREA.

IT KIND OF PUTS BIRCHWOOD ON THE MAP.

PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, EVEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES COME TO VISIT THIS FESTIVAL.

YOU KNOW, IT STARTED OUT AS A FUNDRAISER FOR OUR BIRCHWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

WE WOULD PROVIDE THE FOOD FOR THE VISITORS.

YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HAVE THE VENDORS WOULD COME IN AND SET UP AT THE SCHOOL.

THESE ARE KINDLY CLIPPINGS OF THE PAST ONES.

THE CAFETERIA IS MOSTLY FULL AT ALL TIMES, THERE'S PEOPLE IN HERE EATING AND ENJOYING THE FESTIVAL ITSELF.

IT GETS A CHANCE FOR PEOPLE TO, THAT ORDINARILY WOULDN'T GET OUT AND SEE SOME OF THE WILDLIFE IN THE AREA AND ENJOY JUST SOME OF THE NATURAL SCENERY AND SIGHTS AND SOUNDS THAT THEY WOULDN'T OTHERWISE.

IT KIND OF IS A THREE-PART FESTIVAL.

VISITORS ARRIVE TO THE BIRCHWOOD SCHOOL.

THERE'S LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, WE HAVE VENDORS, THE AMERICAN EAGLE FOUNDATION PROVIDES A LIVE RAPTOR SHOW EVERY YEAR, WHICH IS JUST TREMENDOUS.

THEY HOP ON A BUS AND THEY CAN VISIT EITHER THE CHEROKEE REMOVAL MEMORIAL PARK, OR THEY CAN VISIT THE HIWASSEE REFUGE AND DO SOME BIRD WATCHING.

WELL, IT'S REALLY UNIQUE TO THIS AREA.

RIGHT HERE IN SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE, WE HAVE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, THE MOST ABUNDANT CRANES SPECIES IN THE WORLD, THE SANDHILL CRANE.

AND THE LEAST ABUNDANT SPECIES IN THE WORLD, THE WHOOPING CRANE.

AND I DO MONITOR THEM WHEN THEY SHOW UP IN THIS AREA.

IN AN ORDINARY, NON-PANDEMIC YEAR, VISITORS COME UP AND I EXPLAIN TO THEM THE VARIOUS BIRDS IN PARTICULAR, BUT OTHER WILDLIFE, AS WELL, THAT THEY'D BE SEEING.

TOTALLY SPECTACULAR.

THE WAY THE FESTIVAL IS RUN, PUTTING EVERYONE ON A BUS TOGETHER AND GETTING THEM TO AND FROM THE REFUGE, WAS NOT VIABLE.

WE MADE THE DECISION TO CANCEL THE IN-PERSON FESTIVAL, DID SOME BRAINSTORMING AND SAID, WHAT ELSE COULD WE PROVIDE?

HOW ELSE CAN WE CELEBRATE THE RETURN OF THIS BIRD TO THIS AREA?

I SUGGESTED TO MIME THAT THIS YEAR WE HAVE A VIRTUAL SANDHILL CRANE DAY, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT MEETING IN PERSON.

THIS WILL BE A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR US AND A NEW TIME, BUT EVERYTHING'S ONLINE AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING USED TO THAT.

WITH THE AMERICAN EAGLE FOUNDATION, WE THOUGHT THIS YEAR, IT PROVIDED THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH US A LITTLE BIT MORE BEHIND THE SCENES.

IT IS DISAPPOINTING, I MEAN, BECAUSE I LOVE SEEING THE PEOPLE, I LOVE EDUCATING THE PEOPLE.

I KNOW THE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MISS OUT COMING TO THE SCHOOL, SEEING THEIR FRIENDS, SEEING THEIR COMRADES AND THEIR COHORTS THAT THEY'VE BEEN WITH FOR THIRTY YEARS.

BUT, IT'S NOT ALL LOST, EVERYBODY'S DOING THE BEST WE CAN, IN THIS DAY IN AGE.

BUT GOING VIRTUAL IS BETTER THAN NO CRANE FESTIVAL AT ALL.

WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND SET UP THE CAMERA AND ALLOW THOSE OF YOU AT HOME TO ENJOY COFFEE WITH, UM, NICE WARM COFFEE, WITH THE CRANES BEHIND US.

THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT JOURNEY.

AND WE HOPE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE ONLINE EVENTS.

AND STILL ABLE TO ENJOY VIEWING SANDHILL CRANES AT THE HIWASSEE REFUGE, VIRTUALLY.

LIFE CHANGES, AND THIS IS A CHANGE FOR US.

AND I THINK IT WILL BE A GOOD CHANGE.

WE JUST HAVE TO ADAPT.

IT'S A CHANGE, EVERYTHING IS A CHANGE.

THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A TOTAL CHANGE FOR EVERYONE.

I BELIEVE IF YOU CAN EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT A CONSERVATION ISSUE, YOU'RE JUST THAT MUCH FURTHER ALONG.

I MEAN, IT'S BLATANTLY OBVIOUS WHEN WE BRING ALL THE KIDS FROM THIS COUNTY IN, AND SEE THE LOOK ON THEIR FACES, WHEN THEY SEE A SANDHILL CRANE OR A BALD EAGLE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

YOU HELP THEM APPRECIATE NATURE AND CONSERVATION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, IN MY OPINION.

WHEN YOU WORK IN A SCIENTIFIC FIELD, YOU SEE THE ACTUAL EFFECTS THAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS HAVE ON WHAT YOU LOVE.

I LOVE THAT ONE SPECIES AFFECTS ANOTHER, AND WE HAVE TO INCLUDE THE HUMAN SPECIES IN THAT.

AND I LOVE THAT WE'RE IN A TIME, WHERE A LOT MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THEY MIGHT INFLUENCE THE NATURAL WORLD, UM, NEGATIVELY OR POSITIVELY.

AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE TURNING TOWARDS THE BETTER.

TO HAVE SUCH A MAJESTIC BIRD, IN MASS LIKE THAT, TO ME IS HOW IT SHOULD BE.

IT IS THE PART OF OUR NATURAL HISTORY, THAT MOST OF US DON'T GET TO WITNESS.

SO CATCHING A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THE NATURAL WORLD LOOKS LIKE, WITHOUT THE INFLUENCE OF HUMANS TO SOME EXTENT, WHEN WE'RE ON THE REFUGE, YOU REALLY ARE IN THIS NATURAL SETTING, AND YOU GET TO SEE ANIMALS IN THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT.

IT'S MAGICAL.

IF YOU'RE A FAN OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA, SUPPORT IT, BECOMING A SUSTAINING MEMBER IS EASY AND AFFORDABLE.

AND IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.