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This "treehouse" is an observation blind. It is a place where the winter caretaker can hide and watch over the young cranes during their slow release to the wild. The blue barrels hold fresh water to supplement. Fresh water is piped out if the pond water salinity is more than 21 parts per thousand (ppt), making it too salty for the cranes to drink. Adequate rainfall helps keep the salinity at the right levels for the cranes, who came from the freshwater lakes and marshes of Wisconsin. Photo Heather Ray, Operation Migration