Sandhill Crane Capital of the World

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My friends and I were drinking coffee at our hotel last night when a friendly woman stopped by to ask us if we were in town to see the birds. We had no idea what she was talking about, and so she had to explain to us that Kearney, Nebraska is the "sandhill crane capital of the world." Apparently, 80% of the world's sandhill cranes migrates through the area along the Platte River in Kearney, Nebraska. I guess it's a sight to see! And the peak of the migration was going on right when we were in town. Fortuitous!

So, before my friends and I separated to drive to our perspective homes on Sunday, we decided to first go for a drive and check out the sandhill cranes. We stopped by a visitor's center at Fort Kearny Historical Park. We were told the cranes feed on the corn in the fields and are usually very visible. But it was very windy, so they weren't especially active this morning. We still went to check them out. We could hear them more than we could see them. They had such a loud, distinctive call! But we saw them fly here and there, too. Next time we meet in Kearney, we'll have to come for the festival and bring our binoculars.

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Photos

On our way to view some sandhill cranes
Fort Kearny in Nebraska

Sandhill Cranes
In Kearney, Nebraska

Comments

[epicyclist]

More Cranes
Monte Vista has a nice fest (http://cranefest.com) in Colorado; and be sure to stop by the International Crane Foundation if you're ever in southern Wisconsin!