A pair of fishermen wandering about in the wetlands just outside of Banner were among witnesses to a rare site almost four years ago.
In April 2020, just as the COVID pandemic was taking hold and lockdowns were beginning, two whooping cranes were spotted by a handful of people that day. The tall birds – ”whoopers” are the tallest of all cranes – were seen in an area of the Illinois River floodplain between Banner Marsh and Rice Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area.
