Sandhill crane migration to be seen at 24th Eckert Crane Days festival

Heather Willard
·4 min read
1

DENVER (KDVR) — More than 20,000 greater sandhill cranes are currently migrating through Colorado, stopping in the Platte River Valley and the San Luis Valley as they transition into their summer breeding grounds to the north.

To celebrate this annual migration, Colorado Parks and Wildlife scoped sites at the 41st Monte Vista Crane Festival, which was held from March 8-10. CPW will also have a presence at the 24th Eckert Crane Days Festival on March 22-24 in Delta County.

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“This is one of the great migrations in the country that people can actually get out and see,” said Catherine Dolder, CPW Southwest Region education and volunteer coordinator, in a release. “The Monte Vista Crane Festival is an exciting event that CPW and our wonderful volunteers take pride in being a part of, and we love this chance to reunite with some volunteers who have assisted with this for decades.”

Much of the sandhill crane population spends its winter in nesting grounds south in New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico, according to CPW, and will migrate north in the spring to summer breeding grounds in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

CPW wildlife biologist Evan Phillips is part of research to better understand the changing migratory patterns of sandhill cranes in the Rocky Mountains.

“We look forward to this opportunity to be part of the Eckert Crane Days Festival and interact with interested members of the community who now see more sandhill cranes in this area of the state more frequently,” Phillips said. “We’ve seen more cranes wintering here rather than traveling further south, and we’ve been working along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study that pattern change.”

  • In this March 15, 2018 image, sandhill cranes dance near Gibbon, Neb. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
    In this March 15, 2018 image, sandhill cranes dance near Gibbon, Neb. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
  • In this March 15, 2018 image, sandhill cranes fill the sky near Gibbon, Neb. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
    In this March 15, 2018 image, sandhill cranes fill the sky near Gibbon, Neb. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
  • A flock of birds fly over sandhill cranes in a pond near Newark, Neb., Thursday, March 15, 2018. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
    A flock of birds fly over sandhill cranes in a pond near Newark, Neb., Thursday, March 15, 2018. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
  • FILE – This March 15, 2018 file photo shows sandhill cranes near Gibbon, Neb. The Nebraska Tourism Office is starting its first campaign of 2019 by promoting the hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes that migrate to the Platte River Valley. The print and television ads began running Monday, Jan. 14. The ads will run until March in cities in Colorado, South Dakota and Kansas. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
  • FILE – In this Nov. 27, 2012 photo, endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes stand in their temporary transitional habitat, to be later released into the wild, at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Miss. U.S. wildlife officials have reversed their previous finding that a widely used and highly toxic pesticide could jeopardize the cranes and dozens of other plants and animals with extinction (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

As part of the Eckert Crane Days festivities, Phillips will present “Taking a Closer Look at Sandhill Cranes.” The presentation will be held at 6 p.m. on March 22 at the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center in Cedaredge.

Experienced birders will be on hand with scopes and binoculars at the Fruitgrowers Reservoir during the Eckert festival to help visitors identify the birds and their behaviors.

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The Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge sees thousands of sandhill cranes each day during this time of year, according to CPW. To support crane viewing, the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge will be open one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunrise.

Cranes may also be viewed at the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge and CPW’s Rio Grande, Higel and Russell Lakes State Wildlife Areas.

Cranes are most active at dusk and dawn. People attending the Monte Vista Crane Festival’s viewing sites may also see eagles, owls, turkeys and a variety of other raptors and waterfowl, according to CPW.

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