Don Miller / CC
GRAND ISLAND – This year should be a good year for people who want to watch sandhill cranes, according to Matt Fong, Crane Trust Director of Fundraising and Outreach.
He referred to a section on the Crane Trust’s website that gave further information.
An estimated 38,000 plus or minus 6,800 sandhill cranes were viewed between Chapman and Overton.
“This is the highest count on record during the first week of our aerial surveys,” wrote Bethany Ostrom, Crane Trust wildlife biologist.
“Most of these cranes were located between Grand Island and Wood River, which is typical for early in the migration,” Ostrom wrote. “Our next flight is scheduled for Feb. 23.”
“Crane Trust research from 2019 suggests the probable cause of this year’s copious amount of early arrivals is the higher than average winter temperatures,” she wrote.
Fong spoke in an interview at the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center, which is just southeast of the Interstate 80 Alda interchange.
He said that the aerial counts occur weekly for 10 weeks.
Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center is southeast of the Interstate 80 Alda interchange. (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
“Last year, our highest count was nearly 500,000 during the week of March 13, 2023,” he said.
The Crane Trust provides a number of ways for tourists to view sandhill cranes. New this year is daytime minibus tours in 14-passenger minibuses that the Crane Trust rents, Fong said.
“We think it will be an interesting opportunity for visitors to hop on with a Crane Trust tour guide to go see and observe some sandhill cranes during the day,” he said. “Our staff will determine where to go based on where the cranes have been observed that day.”
Another option is guided footbridge tours. Just south of the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center is a private footbridge that crosses over the north channel of the Platte River. The tour lasts approximately two hours. A trained guide goes with visitors to see the cranes flying into the river for the evening, Fong said.
Matt Fong
The Crane Trust also has two 25-person-occupancy blinds for crane viewing. Group viewing tours are offered in the early morning, while cranes are in the river, and at night, when the cranes return to the river to roost for the night.
The Crane Trust also has an overnight option called the VIP Crane Experience.
“We host people for overnight experiences,” Fong said. Visitors go with trained guides to heated blinds for morning and evening viewing. Guests stay overnight in Crane Trust cottages or suites. People arrive at 4 p.m. and leave at approximately 10 am. the next day, Fong said.
Virtual viewing of sandhill cranes is available 24 hours a day through the “crane cam” on the Platte River.
“We offer guided views for the virtual viewing in the morning and evening,” Fong said.
The Crane Trust recently hosted training for its volunteers and had approximately 90 people attend.
Most tours are between March 1 and March 31. Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center is open seven days a week during March.
“That gives people the best chance to see the largest number of cranes,” Fong said.
A speaker series is scheduled during March at Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center. The most well-known speaker will be George Archibald, founder of the International Crane Foundation. He will speak at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 27.
A large room in the Visitor Center has a crane art display.
“The art show is always a big draw,” Fong said.
The Crane Trust’s website, cranetrust.org, contains a large amount of information, including information about viewing tours, speaker series events, and a news section, where results from the aerial crane surveys are posted.
Memberships to the Crane Trust range from $75 (Member) to $5,000 (President’s Council). Donations and commitments to planned giving options are also available. The Platte Society membership honors people who have included the Crane Trust in their charitable plans, Fong said.
