Cranes usually start showing up next week. Wonder what this cold winter is going to do the schedule...
Reminder, Cranes start to arrive around Valentines Day, Peak near St Patrick's Day, and are gone by Tax Day.
Rowe Sanctuary General Crane Tours - March 2 - April 8 - $35.00/person/tour
Overnight Photography Blinds - March 16 - April 7 - $250.00/blind (Blind holds 2 people)
Photographers Crane Tour - March 16 - April 8 - $75.00/person/tour
Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center Group Viewing Blind Tours - March 2 - April 1 - $35.00
Footbridge Viewing Tour - March 15-March 26 - $15
Overnight Photography Blinds - March 4 - March 31 - $250.00/blind (Blind holds 2 people)
VIP Crane Viewing Experience - Call for more information
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:27 pm
by Brad
Right on time!
Rowe Sanctuary wrote:Cranes are here!!! At 4:30 this afternoon February 12, we saw about 50 cranes flying overhead!! Tell us how much you like this.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 3:19 pm
by Brad
This year the Crane Count pages say "Data property of the Crane Trust, please contact before redistributing or publishing.", so instead of posting the numbers, see the links below.
Went out after lunch today. Not the best time, but you work with what you got.
Basically stayed south of the river between Doniphan and Alda and noted a LOT of bird tourists for the middle of a Tuesday. Texas, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota plates were spotted along with a surprising number of "Mountain Lion" Nebraska plates.
I DID see Bob the whooper, but he was hanging back on the river with a couple of thousand buddies and was most of a half mile off the road.
Nice feature on the crane migration in Denver's "5280 Magazine".
Hailed as the second largest wildlife migration in North America, upward of 500,000 sandhill cranes speckle the Nebraska sky from late February to early April during their annual migration. It’s estimated that nearly 80 percent of the world’s entire population of sandhill cranes use a 75-mile stretch of the Platte River to “stage” before their long journey north to their breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska, creating quite a spectacle to behold.
Lucky for Coloradans, nabbing a front row seat to one of nature’s most magnificent shows is only a short road trip or flight away. Whether you’re an avid birder, an amateur photographer, or just a fan of nature’s beauty, head to central Nebraska this spring to take in the breathtaking view.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:31 pm
by Candleshoe
Coyote wrote:Nice, where did you see Bob, I've been hearing around Wood River / Alda.
East of the Alda Bridge, South of the Interstate.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:55 pm
by EastCB
Yeah, that is where we saw Bob too, this weekend.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:26 pm
by Coyote
Thanks, a few of us will be out there in a couple weeks.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 8:19 am
by Brad
Your making me jealous Candleshoe! I can't wait to get out there!
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:50 pm
by Uffda
So I had a friend post this photo
540B3BB4-12A3-4C5F-97A2-B1833500725D.jpeg (192.46 KiB) Viewed 2627 times
Small lift-off of Sandhill Cranes near Gibbon, NE on Sunday Morning, March 25, 2018. This video was taken from public right-of-way near the Platte River. This was near the peak of the spring migration, but not in one of the two main roosts.
Jessica Priest, Victoria Advocate wrote:The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released an estimate Tuesday that as many as 505 whooping cranes made Texas their home last winter.
That’s up from an estimated 431 the winter before.
“Breaking the 500 mark for this wild population is a huge milestone,” Amy Lueders, the service’s southwest regional director, wrote in a news release. “Seeing this iconic bird continue to expand demonstrates how the Endangered Species Act can help a species recover from the brink of extinction. I have to credit our biologists and our partners and local communities who continue to invest so much time and effort to improve our ability to make sure future generations have the chance to marvel at the beauty of these amazing wild birds.”
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:19 pm
by Uffda
Oh forgot to post this... saw these two down by Land o Lakes FL and they told me to say Hi to Brad and Coyote.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:56 pm
by Brad
LOL, its amazing how different they act down south... Up here they would start walking away long before we got that close.
Re: 2018 Sandhill Crane Thread
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 8:39 pm
by Uffda
Brad wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:56 pm
LOL, its amazing how different they act down south... Up here they would start walking away long before we got that close.
They're more relaxed in Florida - that was taking from my daughter's front deck. But when I would go for a walk and they would step off the sidewalk and let me pass -- very polite.
