Yes, dear readers, I have blogged about this before. And normally my policy is not to blog about the same thing twice, because that's redundant. Totally redundant. But I felt I had to make an exception here, because my second visit to the Platte River to see the sandhill crane migration was so much different than my first visit. Better than my first visit. And I'll tell you why!
But first, here's some background for those of you who may not have read my prior post and are too lazy to just click here and read it. Or just skim it, whatever. Every spring between early March and early April, hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes descend on a 50-mile stretch of the Platte River between the towns of Grand Island and Kearney in Nebraska. They stay here for a few weeks to eat and rest on their way north to their breeding grounds in Canada. They spread out in small groups during the day to look for food in the fields, but come back to the safety of the river to roost overnight.
Foraging for grains and insects in the fields during the daytime
So, the main thing that made this visit so much better is that I decided to see the cranes roosting on the river up close in a viewing blind. On my first visit I took the sunset bridge tour at the Crane Trust Nature Visitor Center, and, while that was a great experience, the cranes did choose to come in and roost in a spot that was a fair distance away from the bridge. So you could see them, but not from very close up. Viewing blinds, however, get you right up to the riverbank overlooking the cranes' roosting spot, which gave me much better views!
The second improvement, which will make this post better than the first one, is that my first visit was a couple of years ago, before I got my nice new camera. So now I can treat you guys to some much better photos! Check this one out:
The second improvement, which will make this post better than the first one, is that my first visit was a couple of years ago, before I got my nice new camera. So now I can treat you guys to some much better photos! Check this one out:
I love you, new camera. My old camera could never do the things you do for me. Like make such a sharp, clear image while zoomed in!
Great, huh? It's almost like you were right there with me, dear reader!
Anyway. I decided to do two viewing blind tours - one at sunset and one at sunrise. Just to see what each experience was like. There are two places in the area to do crane viewing tours - the Rowe Sanctuary and the Crane Trust Nature Visitor Center. Both places are great; they're well organized and led by knowledgeable guides. I wish I could tell you to pick one over the other, but you really will have a similar (and amazing) experience at either one. Maybe pick the one that is closer to where you're spending the night. Rowe is closer to Kearney, NE, and the Crane Trust is closer to Grand Island, NE. I wanted to do one of each, so I picked Rowe for my sunset tour, and the Crane Trust for my sunrise tour.
Anyway. I decided to do two viewing blind tours - one at sunset and one at sunrise. Just to see what each experience was like. There are two places in the area to do crane viewing tours - the Rowe Sanctuary and the Crane Trust Nature Visitor Center. Both places are great; they're well organized and led by knowledgeable guides. I wish I could tell you to pick one over the other, but you really will have a similar (and amazing) experience at either one. Maybe pick the one that is closer to where you're spending the night. Rowe is closer to Kearney, NE, and the Crane Trust is closer to Grand Island, NE. I wanted to do one of each, so I picked Rowe for my sunset tour, and the Crane Trust for my sunrise tour.
Sunset at the Rowe Sanctuary
I arrived at Rowe at 6:00pm. First they give you a bit of an introduction, tell you a bit about the cranes and why they're here, and go over the rules. We will be staying in the blind for almost 3 hours, and it's important not to do anything that might startle the cranes and scare them off. So that means no loud noises or bright lights, and no leaving the blind early. With that said we headed out.
Also: I should note that it gets COLD in the blinds. So if you do a tour, bundle up!! I was wearing a sweater and two coats, and I was still freezing.
The blind was a long, thin rectangular building built along the riverbank with long windows facing the river at about eye level. It comfortably fit about 20 of us. We arrived well before any cranes started showing up, but we didn't have to wait too long for them to arrive.
While we were waiting for the cranes, there was plenty of other wildlife to see. There were several bald eagles roosting the the trees on the opposite shore of the river, including some juveniles, which lack the white heads of the adults. There were also a handful of other birds in the water, including ducks, killdeer, and yellowlegs. The yellowlegs were fun to watch - they walk around back and forth very quickly, scanning the water for food, hardly pausing for more than a second or two.
Also: I should note that it gets COLD in the blinds. So if you do a tour, bundle up!! I was wearing a sweater and two coats, and I was still freezing.
The blind was a long, thin rectangular building built along the riverbank with long windows facing the river at about eye level. It comfortably fit about 20 of us. We arrived well before any cranes started showing up, but we didn't have to wait too long for them to arrive.
While we were waiting for the cranes, there was plenty of other wildlife to see. There were several bald eagles roosting the the trees on the opposite shore of the river, including some juveniles, which lack the white heads of the adults. There were also a handful of other birds in the water, including ducks, killdeer, and yellowlegs. The yellowlegs were fun to watch - they walk around back and forth very quickly, scanning the water for food, hardly pausing for more than a second or two.
Sunset over the Platte River before the cranes arrived. The sandbars provide overnight protection from predators.
 a Yellowlegs searching the river for food |  juvenile bald eagles |
After about 20-30 minutes in the blinds, we started to see cranes coming in. During the day you can see the occasional group of maybe as many as 20 or so cranes flying around together, moving from one field to the next. But at night, they come together into huge groups of hundreds of birds to make their way back to the river. When the cranes first come in, they fly along the river, surveying the area before choosing the perfect place to land. So we just sat back and watched as one huge flock after another flew by over our heads.
The sun continued to set, and the cranes kept flying by, flock after flock after flock. Some flocks had just a couple hundred birds, but others must have had at least a thousand.
Unfortunately, by the time it got dark, the birds still hadn't settled down on the river. Any wildlife viewing experience has some element of chance to it. In this case, some nights the cranes settle down quickly and roost on the river before nightfall, and other nights they take a little more time flying around overhead and they don't come down to the river until after dark. And there's no predicting ahead of time what kind of night it's going to be. But it was still amazing to see so many cranes flying by.
Sunrise at the Nebraska Nature Visitor Center
It was pretty much the same drill for the sunrise tour as for the sunset one, except you show up at 6am instead of 6pm. After a brief presentation, our guides led us out to the blind. It was still dark - we got there before the sun actually started to rise so that we could sneak into the blind without the cranes noticing us.
One advantage of a sunrise tour is that the guides from the previous night know exactly where the cranes set down to roost, and can take you out to the best blind. One of the guides even told us that there had been a whooping crane sighted near the blind we would be visiting. Unlike the abundant sandhill cranes, the whooping cranes are critically endangered - only about 300 exist in the wild. So seeing one is a truly rare occurrence. But I hoped we would be lucky.
Looking out over the river, with the faint predawn light just barely glowing on the eastern horizon, we could make out the dark silhouettes of the thousands of cranes that were roosting on the river. Many were still sleeping (they sleep standing on one leg with their head tucked under a wing), but a few were active and walking about.
One advantage of a sunrise tour is that the guides from the previous night know exactly where the cranes set down to roost, and can take you out to the best blind. One of the guides even told us that there had been a whooping crane sighted near the blind we would be visiting. Unlike the abundant sandhill cranes, the whooping cranes are critically endangered - only about 300 exist in the wild. So seeing one is a truly rare occurrence. But I hoped we would be lucky.
Looking out over the river, with the faint predawn light just barely glowing on the eastern horizon, we could make out the dark silhouettes of the thousands of cranes that were roosting on the river. Many were still sleeping (they sleep standing on one leg with their head tucked under a wing), but a few were active and walking about.
Then, maybe about 20 minutes after we arrived, the first group of cranes took flight. It happened very suddenly too. I don't know how they communicated with each other, but seemingly out of nowhere a couple hundred cranes all zoomed up into the air together.
That was the only large-scale takeoff I saw, but sporadically throughout the rest of the morning smaller family groups would take off together. So eventually the sky was flecked with casually soaring cranes.
That was the only large-scale takeoff I saw, but sporadically throughout the rest of the morning smaller family groups would take off together. So eventually the sky was flecked with casually soaring cranes.
And not too long after that, the sun started peeking over the trees on the opposite bank of the river, casting the river in a bright golden glow.
Once the sun started coming up, you could see the full extent of the cranes much more clearly. The mass of cranes followed the center of the river as far as you could see in each direction. It's the sheer numbers involved that make this migration such an impressive thing to witness!
A few cranes ended up flying off, but the majority ended up staying on the river until we had to leave the blind at about 8:30. As the morning went on, the cranes became more and more active - walking around, making noise, and interacting with each other. Crane socializing involves a lot of stretching out their wings, bobbing their head up and down, jumping around, and occasionally picking up a random stick and throwing it. Totally cute.
A few cranes ended up flying off, but the majority ended up staying on the river until we had to leave the blind at about 8:30. As the morning went on, the cranes became more and more active - walking around, making noise, and interacting with each other. Crane socializing involves a lot of stretching out their wings, bobbing their head up and down, jumping around, and occasionally picking up a random stick and throwing it. Totally cute.
"I'll see your head-bob, and raise you a wing-stretch"
And finally, just before we had to leave, one of our guides spotted the elusive whooping crane. Apparently he or she is a late sleeper, and spent most of the morning with her head tucked under her wing. Plus she was situated behind a big mass of sandhill cranes, which blocked our view of her for most of the morning. But I did get a few photos, despite the many living, moving obstacles in front of her. (yeah, apparently I've decided it's a "her," even though there's no way of telling. Just because.)
An awesome end to an awesome trip! This is still one of my top travel experiences ever, and I will always be looking forward to my next visit!
If you missed the links:
The Rowe Sanctuary
The Crane Trust Nebraska Nature Visitor Center
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The Rowe Sanctuary
The Crane Trust Nebraska Nature Visitor Center
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see all my posts!
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