An update on wintering Sandhill Cranes in the Central Platte River Valley
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From the President & CEO
Extreme January weather returned to the Central Platte River Valley as we saw temperatures dip to 20 below and colder in the middle part of the month. Our Science Team closely monitored about 14,000 Sandhill Cranes that were still here during the first part of the month! Read about this unusual occurrence in the update below from Bethany Ostrom, Wildlife Biologist.
SAVE THE DATE! We will offer a virtual program on Tuesday, February 6th at 6:30 p.m. We invite you to join us to learn how you can witness the upcoming migration. Watch for details soon.
Read on for extended visitor hours in March, and for news of our recent bison sale. And as always, please follow us on social media for events and updates.
With continued gratitude,
Brice Krohn President & CEO
Wintering Sandhill Cranes & Whooping Cranes
This has been a very unusual fall and winter season for our North American cranes. The first Sandhill Cranes arrived in mid-October, which is fairly typical. By November 10th we had an estimated 30,000 cranes in and around Crane Trust land! Those numbers “dwindled” over the next few weeks to a “mere” 15,000. This is quite unusual. Typically during the fall migration, Sandhill Cranes spread out over space and time, using a larger region for their stopovers, only staying for a few days at most. Based on discussions with our partners in the Central Platte Valley, very few Sandhill Cranes used portions of the river outside of the 12-mile stretch around the Trust. We couldn’t be certain how long individual cranes stayed in the area. But based on anecdotal evidence and a uniquely marked leucistic* crane, some of these cranes were thought to be here for three or more weeks during the normal migration season!
However, three weeks is short in comparison to the group of 14,000-15,000 cranes that spent the holidays with us, along with two Whooping Cranes further east! It looked like these birds planned to stay in Nebraska until spring, since they stuck with us through one blizzard, and the previous weather conditions were fairly mild. Thankfully, all but around 300 Sandhill Cranes left the Platte Valley, including the two Whooping Cranes, right before the sub-zero cold front that hit the state in the second week of January. Cranes are adapted to endure cold temperatures, but the threat of their legs getting stuck in the ice or thick snow hiding their food source is real. Small groups of cranes have occasionally stayed through the winter (the largest known group being around 5,000), but we have never before seen so large a group stay here for so long.
*Leucism is a lack of pigment that occurs in some animals, resulting in white patches or spots on skin, fur, or feathers. Good to know!
See the Migration at the Nature & Visitor Center
Did you know? Crane Trust land provides essential habitat for both the rarest and the most numerous of fifteen crane species worldwide: Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes! In March, Sandhill Cranes roost in the thousands each night on the river in front of our viewing blinds. And most of the world’s endangered wild Whooping Cranes rely on us to protect the migration corridor. Our riverfront blinds are ideally located along the largest Sandhill Crane roost in the world. Join us to experience this one-of-a-kind spectacle!
Crane Trust offers a variety of options in March to make your crane viewing experience truly magical. Visit the Nature & Visitor Center to pick up a self-guided crane viewing map, watch engaging and informative videos, browse the gift shop and art gallery, and learn from our expert volunteers about cranes and the best viewing locations.
And of course, we invite you to book a sunrise or sunsetCrane Viewing Tour in our riverfront blinds!
The Nature & Visitor Center is open EVERY DAY March 1 - 30! 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. March 1 - 9 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. March 10 - 30 (Hours change with Daylight Savings Time)
Nature Trail Hours in March Daily 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Subject to change daily. Later morning access protects roosting cranes)
Bison Sale
We just concluded our annual bison sale! Each winter, some of the Crane Trust’s bison go to auction to maintain stocking rates, preserve a dynamic age distribution, and disseminate diverse genetics to other bison herds. The bison that make it to the auction are naturally weaned (i.e. no longer suckling mom’s milk) and are usually around 20 months old. On occasion, we have a few young breeding bulls for sale that are about 32 months old. Funds go back into the bison program to cover expenses like corral modification, fence repairs and expansion, genetic and health testing, research, and acquisition of new bison bulls to continue our conservation genetic program.
This year we sold 41 bison at the Prairie Legends Conservation Bison Auction. We chose to be a part of this auction because of the strict stewardship standards put in place to ensure that bison are bought and sold with the land and bison health in mind. Buyers of our bison are looking for diverse breeding stock to add to their herds' genetics, and typically align with the Crane Trust herd’s genetic and health management program. This year our diverse bison yearlings went to Colorado, South Dakota, Tennessee, and a few even stayed in Nebraska! This is just one way that Crane Trust plays an important role in the national recovery efforts of bison restoration.
Thank you for your continued engagement and interest in Crane Trust happenings!
Through scientific research, land management, and education, the mission of the Crane Trust is to protect and maintain the physical, hydrological and biological integrity of the Big Bend area of the Platte River so that it continues to function as a life support system for Whooping Cranes, Sandhill Cranes and other migratory bird species.
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