Albatrossity
This month one of the greatest wildlife migratory spectacles on the planet is taking place in central Nebraska. 600,000 Sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis), from Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas and even Mexico fly north to converge on a sixty-mile long stretch of the Platte River. They stay there for a few weeks, fattening on waste corn and small marshland critters, before they leave and head north to breed. Some of these birds will end up in tomorrow, across the International Date Line in northeast Siberia, Others will find ancestral marshes in Canada and Alaska, raising the next generation of cranes to add to the flock next spring.
I have been making a spring pilgrimage to the Platte River for many years as well. Once you see (and hear!) this magical event for the first time, you might find yourself going back again and again, pulled north by the thoughts of spring, renewal, and wonder. So here are a few images I have collected over the years; none of these does it justice. If you ever have a chance to visit the Platte during March, go see it, and hear it, for yourself. If you can’t get there this year, here’s the next best thing. Check this out in the morning or in the evening, and turn up the sound. You can thank me later.
During the day the cranes feed and loaf and dance in fields and meadows some distance from the river. This is a common sight as you drive around Grand Island or Kearney in March. A couple of these guys are “dancing”, a ritualized pair-bonding activity that is always a treat to watch.
On The Road – Albatrossity – Sandhill Cranes on the Platte RiverPost + Comments (35)