Kearney’s Crane Migration

In mid-February through Mid-April every year, Kearney witnesses one of the more spectacular wildlife migrations on this planet, when over 600,000 lesser and greater Sandhill cranes descend upon the Platte River on their flight from southern USA and Mexico to the far north of Canada, Alaska and Siberia. Also, accompanying the Sandhill cranes are the 200 or so surviving Whooping cranes.

As the crane numbers increase each year, so do the people who come to view these magnificent birds. The cranes spend their day foraging in the nearby agricultural fields for tubers, grubs, rodents, small reptiles, earthworms, snails, amphibians and leftover corn from the fall harvest.

The National Audubon Society supplies the following information on Sandhill Cranes.
Cranes have been coming to what is now Nebraska for at least 9 million years, according to fossil records. The birds range from 3 to 4 feet in height, and weigh from 6 to 12 pounds, with a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet. Their lifespan is anywhere from 20 to 40 years. At night, they gather to sleep in 3 to 6 inches of water near the many sandbars of the Platte River, mainly along an 80 mile length of the river, centering near Kearney, Nebraska. As the water is often quite cold in February and March, they have the ability to constrict blood vessels in their webbed feet, which helps them to stay warm even in the icy cold waters. Cranes cannot roost in trees, due to the type of foot they have, and seek protection from predators by sleeping in the water. In flight, they normally fly at 25 to 35 mph, but with a good tail wind, have been clocked at 50 mph.

Our last hard frost was on my birthday (10 March), as compared to a normal last frost of 1 May, and the whole winter was much warmer than normal. This year, for the first time in known history, about 1,000 birds overwintered in Nebraska, rather than seek warmer climes in the south.

Besides the cranes, hundreds of thousands of snow geese and Ross’s geese add to the show. When they take flight, they almost obscure the sky. A Black Common Crane was sighted for the first time this spring. This crane is native to Asia, rather than North America. Must have made friends with some Sandhill cranes and joined their migration.

Each spring we look to the sky and see the vee of large flights of the cranes. Even at very high altitudes, one can hear their distinctive call. During the day, the flock spreads out a few miles on either bank of the Platte River. Just driving along, you will see hundreds or more at a time poking their beaks into the soil seeking nourishment. While in Nebraska, they put on a couple of pounds of fat reserves to carry them over the long flight ahead. At sunset, they rise from the fields and wing their way to the river, where they will spend the night.

This year, Elaine and I along with some good friends from Colorado, went to a viewing blind on the river in late afternoon to await the procession.





The Platte River is empty of birds when we arrive.




As the sun set, the cranes came in wave after wave, filling up every possible shallow spot of the river. We watched as they filled upriver spots. After a while, the cranes began landing right outside the blind. The sights and sounds were breathtaking.









I hope that this will get a few of you to come see the cranes (and us too) on their next visit. In late March, local communities host special events associated with the migration, known as Cranefest.