It's Sandhill Crane Time Again

One of the nice things about living where I live, in south central Nebraska, is I get to witness on a daily basis one of the grandest spectacles in nature. Every year on their spring migration, a large portion of the world’s Sandhill Crane population funnels through here on their way to the northern nesting grounds.

After a winter in the tropics, the cranes start arriving in late February. The population peaks around mid-March, and the last of the birds usually clears out around mid-April. While they are here, they forage for small crustaceans, bugs and waste grain in the wet meadows along the shallow, sandy Platte River. According to the scientists, this area is the only one in the world with just the right combination of factors.

Bird watchers come from all over the world. Last spring, I spoke with a couple who came all the way from Australia to see 90% of the world sandhill crane population concentrated in an area about a hundred miles long by ten miles wide.

Mixed in with the sandhill cranes are whooping cranes, the endangered larger cousin. I won’t even elaborate on the millions of ducks and geese that also migrate through this area. If you love waterfowl, this is the place for you! I spent a couple of hours fishing today, and I saw thousands of snow geese trading back and forth overhead. (Hunters - the special light goose season is in full swing, with daily limits of 20 birds and no possession limit.)

There are a few things to remember when crane watching.

• Most of the time, the cranes will be on private property, and Nebraska has strong anti-trespass laws. If you aren’t content to watch from the roadway or prepared viewing stations, ask permission first.


• The roads you’ll be using are working, active roads. Unfortunately, the best times to view the cranes are also the times when local folks are going back and forth from work. They aren’t used to large numbers of slow moving cars who don’t pay attention.


• It’s against the law to harass the cranes. This means you don’t try to approach them too closely, or herd them to where you can see. A good pair of binoculars works wonders.


• Local people along gravel roads drive FAST. You may be content to dawdle along at 15 mph and watch the cranes, but locals are trying to get somewhere and will be going 45-50 or more. So don’t drive down the middle of the road, or just pull up and stop. Pull as far over to the side as possible.


• Watch out for grain trucks. These bad boys are built to take the abuse of driving across agricultural fields. A few years ago, a man and his wife from some large eastern city came for the migration. They were driving along a gravel road and set the cruise control for 35 mph. The grain truck they hit was going 20 mph. Damage to the car: total, about $22k. Damage to the truck: about $12 for a broken tail light lens.

Now all this might sound like we don’t want all you folks to come here. That simply isn’t true. The annual crane migration is one of the major tourist events of the year, generating millions of dollars for communities in the area. Most of the people you meet will be friendly and helpful. We want you to come, enjoy your stay, and go home to encourage others to come.

We just don’t want to get anyone hurt over it.

My friends over at Pioneer Village have a whole section of their website devoted to the Sandhill cranes here.

More Resources:

On Ancient Wings: The Sandhill Cranes of North America (Natural History)

A selection of the most popular binoculars from Amazon.com

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