 As the sun sets on the Platte River, tens of thousands of sandhill cranes take shelter on sand bars during the last great migration in the continental U.S. Photo Credit: Don Brockmeier |
by Hal Smith
The largest mass migration in American history was destroyed when buffalo, once numbering 40 million, were virtually wiped out in the West. But we still have the opportunity to see a migration in the U.S. that conservationist Jane Goodall says is one of the ten greatest in the world.
World travelers, in search of the most dazzling wonders of nature, go far afield to watch the migration of wildebeests (the Serengeti) and caribou (the Canadian tundra). But you won’t need vaccinations and a passport if you take a cue from Goodall: the anthropologist most noted for her research with primates has been making an annual pilgrimage to the Platte River in south-central Nebraska for more than a decade.
Goodall and thousands of other overs of wildlife flock to the Platte to witness the spring migration of sandhill cranes. The birds fly up to 5,000 miles from Mexico and the U.S. Southwest to nesting grounds as far north as Siberia. They may well be the oldest bird species on Earth and, aside from the nearly extinct whooping crane (a flock of about 300 remains), sandhills are the only cranes native to North America.
From mid-February to mid-April, 80 percent of the world’s half-million sandhills sleep standing up at night in the Platte, the largest braided river in the U.S. By day, the birds scavenge in nearby cornfields, cleaning up what increasingly efficient harvesting machines have missed in the previous fall. Unlike every other state on their central flyway migration route, Nebraska forbids hunting the sandhills, who have been descending on an 80-mile stretch of the river habitat for thousands of years.
You don’t need a hospitable friend who owns a cabin on the Platte, as Goodall does, to enjoy the spectacle. During the birds’ month-long stopover, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Kearney, Nebraska, the “Sandhill Capital of the World,” and other nearby towns.
You’ll see cars parked on quiet back roads where visitors stop to catch glimpses of the flocks in fields and wet meadows. The birds are wary of people but fairly tolerant of automobiles, which can work as impromptu blinds, provided visitors stay inside their vehicles. Eco-tourists, curious passersby and wildlife photographers also cluster on viewing platforms on well-traveled roads.
However, hardcore birders rise well before dawn in order to quietly take up positions, under cover of darkness, in dedicated blinds before the birds leave the safety of the shallow Platte’s sandbars, which provide moat-like security against four-legged predators. The dedicated blinds, maintained by conservation groups, are usually located a stone’s throw from the river, offering a very close vantage point from which to watch the birds as they wake up with the warming sun. The birds begin socializing, which may include “dancing” and other displays of some of the most developed social behavior found in nature.
Sandhills, who can easily live 20 years, mate for life and live in family groups. A bonded pair can only be separated by death or an initial breeding failure. So their social behavior is broadly similar to other species, including the voyeurs who watch them with binoculars. Bird watchers will see sibling rivalry (for attention and food), bathing and grooming, squabbles with a neighbor over personal space, etc.
Despite astonishingly large numbers—up to 10,000 birds per halfmile—sandhill families manage to stay together through acoustic or visual recognition. Still, crane experts say it’s not uncommon to see a single distressed bird flying up and down the river, calling for its mate or parents.
The first principle of responsible sandhill tourism is not to disturb the birds, who come to Nebraska to rest and fortify themselves for their arduous trip north. That is what the staff and volunteers stress at pre-dawn orientation programs presented by the Audubon Society and the Crane Trust, each of which maintains blinds on the Platte and manages habitat.
These are probably the two most prominent guardians of the sandhills and, if you sign up for a visit to one of their blinds, you’ll be forewarned how easy it is for one careless action to “spook and spoil” the experience for an entire group of ecotourists.
 A sandhill crane (foreground) tosses an old weathered corn cob in the air. Cranes toss items in the air when they are excited, which may be associated with "dancing." Sandhills dance alone, as pairs, or several in close proximity. Photo credit: Don Brockmeier |
All sorts of faux pas can startle the birds: a cell phone ringing, a camera flashing, talking, an outhouse door slamming, etc. You will enter the blind silently, single file, in the dark and on time—you must be onsite for about an hour before dawn. If you have not dressed warmly, as instructed, you will have to stay in the blind and tough out the bone-chilling cold. If you must talk, whisper.
If a visitor fouls up and startles the birds, they are likely to panic and take off en masse in the dark. That is dangerous for the birds, who otherwise don’t fly at night and risk being killed by flying into power lines.
Absent a “spook and spoil” incident, the stage is set for a routine morning “fly-out,” a truly peak experience. As the morning sky begins turning pink and orange, thousands of these huge birds awaken and fill the air with their excited calls. Breakfast time!
Looking east toward the emerging sun, you see what seems to be a gray cloud rising from the river mist. But it’s not a cloud. It’s sandhills taking flight a mile or more down river, the beginning of a rolling, cacophonic wave that quickly sweeps up the graceful birds in front of you. In just a moment or two, it seems as if every sandhill on the river is gone. And now it’s another quiet new day on the Platte.
Hal Smith is editor of the Sierra Atlantic and a freelance writer.
If You Go:
If you want to see the sandhill crane migration from a front row seat, reservations are recommended. Photo blinds may be booked up as early as mid-January, so it’s not to soon to make a reservation.
• The Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center, (308) 382-1820, www.nebraskanature.org
• The Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, (308) 468-5282, www.rowesanctuary.org
Hotels are conveniently located along Interstate 80.