The fall of 2010 was the first time I've ever seen any here in S.E. Michigan. I was pheasant hunting in the thumb when a small flock flew over really high. I thought they were whooping cranes so had to look them up in my books when I got home.
I saw another flock this past fall but thats the only time I've seen them. Never on the ground.........
As a side note, I'm seeing more and more white egrets. And another thing, I always thought that blue herons nested on the ground until I discovered a rookery of them in a wooded area in Troy about 10 years ago......
They’ve always been common here in Jackson county but they were endangered at one point despite the fact that they congregated here.