Every year, Sandhill Cranes that spend the winter in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Chihuahua, Mexico migrate north to their breeding grounds. Some end up in the very northern portion of the United States or central Canada. Many go as far as the Arctic Circle! By the time those cranes reach Alaska, northern Canada or Siberia, they will have traveled about 5,000 miles one-way. Now that's a road trip! Actually, instead of using a super-highway like we humans would, these cranes use the Central Flyway - a migration route used by many species of birds to get from Point A to Point B. The cranes travel with their families, but probably don't have to listen to a chorus of "Are we there yet? I'm bored!" They don't need maps, and they don't stay in fleabag motels or eat at greasy spoons. They stop at beautiful natural areas and eat from nature's bounty.

The most important rest stop on this epic journey is the Platte River in Nebraska. This is the largest gathering of cranes anywhere in the world, and it is an awe-inspiring thing to witness! 400,000 - 600,000 cranes stop on the Platte for four to six weeks between mid-February and mid-April to rest and refuel for the remainder of their trip. They add up to 20% to their body weight to power themselves all the way to their final destination, with a little fuel left over in case their feeding grounds are still covered in snow and ice when they arrive. Could you imagine getting to the end of a long road trip, only to find out all the supermarkets are closed? It pays to be prepared.

A day in the life of a Sandhill Crane in Nebraska

During the day, Sandhill Cranes spend much of their time foraging for food. While they are enjoying their stay in Nebraska, they feast on waste grain from farmers’ fields, such as the kernels that fall off the cobs as corn is being harvested. The farmers are happy to have the cranes clean that up so last year’s corn kernels won’t sprout in a field full of this year’s soybeans. Waste grain is about 90% of the cranes’ Nebraska diet. The other 10% of their diet comes from tasty items they find in the wet meadows near the river, such as worms, grubs, snails, and even small reptiles and rodents. Some seeds and tubers from the wet meadow plants get thrown in there for good measure – a salad with the main course. The food they get from the wet meadows is very important because it supplies them with critical protein and minerals needed for egg and chick development.

During their time in the fields, if the cranes aren’t eating, they’re dancing. It’s not that they simply get a kick out of doing the cha-cha. Sandhill Cranes have a whole vocabulary of dance moves, sequences and responses, and this is how pairs strengthen their bonds with each other. I think that’s very romantic. Parents teach their chicks (called “colts”) how to dance, and the pre-adult cranes practice these dance moves for several years before they select a mate. (Your mom was right. Dance classes are a good idea!)

At night, Sandhill Cranes go to the bars. No, not that kind of bar. Sandbars! Each evening, the cranes return to the sandbars in the Platte River. This is a great place to roost for the night because it offers safety from predators. As the sun starts to get low in the sky, one or two cranes will land on a sandbar. Pretty soon, others start to follow their lead, and the party gets larger and larger until the sandbar is packed with cranes. It’s pretty noisy out there as they apparently compare notes about their day of foraging. Eventually, they’ll settle in for a good night’s sleep. When the sky starts to brighten in the morning, they’ll start to chit chat again, and will eventually fly off to their foraging grounds for the day.

A little crane history

Let’s go back in time for a moment. Waaaay back. Sandhill Cranes are thought to be among the oldest of the modern birds. They've been around pretty much as they are today for at least two and a half million years - and close relatives were around for another eight million years before that. The migration has been happening for millions of years, too, but the northernmost point of their journey has changed over time as ice ages have come and gone. During the last ice age, the glaciers came all the way down to Nebraska, so that would have been the stopping point of the migration. That might explain why they insist on stopping on the Platte River every year, but there’s no way to know that for sure.

A changing habitat

Over the last century, the Sandhill Cranes have witnessed a lot of change as Nebraska has transformed itself into one of the United States’ most productive agricultural powerhouses. The wet meadows where cranes like to forage have been replaced by agricultural fields that come right up to the banks of the river. In addition, water from the Platte River has been diverted for agricultural irrigation, power production and urban uses, reducing the flow by 70%. This narrowed the river and has allowed trees and other vegetation to grow on the river’s sandbars. The Sandhill Cranes used to gather along 130 miles of the Platte; now there’s only about 80 miles of river they can use. When roosting areas are more crowded, that makes the cranes more susceptible to disease and other issues.

Protecting the Platte River habitat

Sandhill Cranes are the most populous of all the crane species in the world. Amazingly, about 80% of them pass through Nebraska every year. Clearly, to help ensure the survival of the cranes that migrate along the Central Flyway, protecting the Platte River habitat is critical. There’s a nice success story to tell here.

In 1974, Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary opened, providing the first protected habitat on the Platte for Sandhill Cranes. It is still going strong today, and is continuing to improve the habitat at the sanctuary by clearing vegetation off sandbars for roosting sites and re-establishing wet meadows for foraging. They also form partnerships with other organizations, agencies, private landowners and municipalities to preserve and expand suitable habitat along the Platte and to keep additional water from being diverted from the river. Their work ensures Sandhill Cranes can get a good meal and have a proper place to sleep at night during the most important stop on their migration. The Rowe Sanctuary gets five stars in the Sandhill Cranes’ travel guide!

Importantly, the Rowe Sanctuary’s work benefits many other bird species as well, such as snow geese, least terns, piping plovers and highly endangered whooping cranes. Humans also benefit from work that supports biodiversity and strong ecosystems, which are critical to the overall health of planet Earth. Spectacles like the migration of the Sandhill Cranes help us gauge our planet’s well-being. Let’s hope the cranes are successfully migrating through Nebraska for millions of years to come.

Trip Statistics

• Sandhill Cranes migrate as far as 10,000 miles round trip. Too bad they don’t get frequent flyer miles!

• They fly at around 25-35 miles per hour, depending on wind speed and direction.

• They usually travel around 200-300 miles per day, but might go as far as 500 miles with a good tail wind.

• While a tailwind is preferred, Sandhill Cranes will put up with a headwind if they are getting close to their wintering ground.

• They usually fly during daylight hours, but will fly in the dark if they are getting close to their final destination.

• Sandhill Cranes deal with many dangers during migration, including collisions with power lines and barbed-wire fences, which are hard to see when leaving or approaching their roosts at dawn and dusk; hunting (except in Nebraska, where they are safe from that, thank goodness); storms; disease

If you would like to witness the migration of the Sandhill Cranes for yourself, the best place to do that is at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska. Obviously, you’ll need to do that while the cranes are on the Platte River, so March is a good time to go. FYI, it might be really cold! You’ll also need a reservation for time in the crane viewing blinds. Visit their web site (rowe.audubon.org) to learn more about crane viewing, the migration and the Rowe Sanctuary’s conservation efforts.

If you would like to photograph the migration of the Sandhill Cranes, consider signing up for the Sandhill Crane workshop by Summit Workshops. Not only does this give you great access for viewing and photographing the cranes, you’ll learn about nature and conservation photography from Michael Forsberg, Dave Showalter and Melissa Groo – very talented conservation photographers who are generous with their time and knowledge. Learn more at the Summit Workshops web site (www.photographyatthesummit.com).

Last but not least, to learn more about Sandhill Cranes, pick up a copy of On Ancient Wings by Michael Forsberg. It covers all of the Sandhill Crane populations of North America (including the non-migratory ones in Florida, Mississippi and Cuba), and the photography is spectacular! It’s available from Amazon.

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