Mid March and it’s about time to head back to central Nebraska to spend some time with the Sandhill Cranes. Each year is a bit different, well heck, each day can be different. Last year it was 70 degrees one day and a blizzard the next! Hopefully this season will be a bit more stable … Read more
“ I would say that there exist a thousand unbreakable links between each of us and everything else, and that our dignity and our chances are one. The farthest star and the mud at our feet are a family; and there is no decency or sense in honoring one thing, or a few things, … Read more
Mornings in the sandhills of Nebraska are lively…well, at least when you’re near a lek or courting area for the Prairie Chicken. The colorful males work hard to show their stuff, trying to attract a female, while also battling it out with other males that might try to encroach their small plot of turf. It … Read more
In their grand, morning departure, the sandhill cranes of the Platte, will often leave in waves…sometimes in small groups, like this quartet, and at other times, in large masses of birds. It is a daily ritual that is sure to overload the senses of anyone who has never witnessed it first hand. It’s a spectacle … Read more
The spring migration of Sandhill Cranes through central Nebraska is one of nature’s greatest spectacles. From late February through early April some 600,000 cranes will pass through this area, stopping for a few weeks to rest and recover along the Platte river. It’s an ancient route of passage.
The cranes are returning from winter grounds in the southern US, and Mexico, and heading to nesting locations throughout the northern US, Canada, Alaska, and even Siberia. Along that lengthy route they need certain places to safely roost and find ample foods supplies and so the shallow Platte allows for nightly roosting protection, and the nearby picked grain fields are a haven for hungry cranes.