The
large white bird in the center is the Whooping Crane, extremely rare, with only
263 in the world.Migration of the Sandhill Cranes
Kearney, Nebraska
March 23-27, 2010
The Sandhill Cranes migrate each Spring and Fall by the hundreds of thousands,
and congregate in Kearney, Nebraska on the Platte River.
Large birds in these numbers lead to a rather surreal spectacle, especially in
the morning as they rise, and at sunset when they gather for the night.
The
large white bird in the center is the Whooping Crane, extremely rare, with only
263 in the world.
Kearney has an interesting museum built right over the freeway.
The museum is well worth the visit. Not much mention of cranes, but all the historic trails that ran through the area.
My turn. Couldn’t resist.
The sunset the first night was spectacular as was the gathering of the cranes.
As the evening went on, more and more birds appeared. t
he number of birds in t
In the morning, the cranes took off from the river in amazing numbers, and a cacophony of sounds.
During the day, they were in almost every field in large numbers.
They were quite wary and we couldn’t get very close.
They are hunted in many states.
The
next evening we went to an Audubon Society Blind on
the river.
It was a fun trip, weather was great, the experience spectacular, almost surreal. I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in nature.
And so to
home.
The trip was from March 23 to March 26th, four days, three nights away. If you do plan to go next year, aim for around St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a trip you’ll remember.