“Cranes!”

Kathy & I finally had some free time to make our annual Sandhill Crane viewing trip to the Grand Island-Kearney Nebraska area of the Platte River. So many things had been going on around the house this spring that we just couldn’t get away before now. It’s late in the season to see them, but we went anyway. Many cranes have already headed to their breeding grounds up north. It is such a fabulous sight to see 500,000 or more Sandhill Cranes in a very narrow stretch of the Platte River.

We left our house about 0730 and headed toward our usual spotting area. Saw Wild Turkeys, Grackles, Starlings, but only 1 crane during the first couple of hours. Then Kathy turned a corner and I looked up. I shouted, “Cranes!” Kathy about ran off the road. No, they weren’t Sandhill Cranes, they were Construction Cranes… It was a mean trick to play.

About 10 minutes later we did see about 100 real Sandhill Cranes circling to land for brunch. They are an incredible sight to behold. Cranes have been passing through this small area of Nebraska for thousands of years. I’ll post some of those pictures if I find any “good” ones.