|
SPRING MIGRATION CALENDAR | CONTACT INFORMATION
THE
CENTRAL PLATTE RIVER OFFERS EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES for bird watching throughout
the year, but the most popular time to visit, by far, is during the spring
migration of sandhill cranes and waterfowl. This is the only place in the
world where so many cranes gather in one area and, each year, thousands of
bird watchers and other people visit the Platte to experience this incredible
spectacle.
  Although weather can influence
the timing of the migration, sandhill cranes and waterfowl usually begin
arriving in mid-February. From late February through mid-March, visitors
can see numerous species of ducks and geese, sandhill cranes, and bald
eagles all at once. As waterfowl and eagles leave the area, more cranes
arrive, and numbers of sandhill cranes normally peak in mid- to late March.
Through March and the first half of April, however, there is excellent
viewing of cranes and other migratory birds. The whooping cranes begin
their northward migration in April, but they are so rare that seeing one is
a special experience indeed.
During the day, bird
watchers can follow self-guided routes through the area to see cranes and
waterfowl in the fields along the river. Viewing areas near roost sites
also allow visitors to watch birds flying to and from the river at dusk and
dawn. Information brochures that contain maps of the viewing area and tips
for successful crane watching are available locally.
BACK TO
TOP
For a closer view of
the cranes, you can go on a guided excursion into a viewing blind along the
Platte River. Crane viewing is offered each
day at dawn and dusk by the Audubon Society’s Lillian Annette Rowe
Sanctuary and the Crane Meadows Nature Center.
Special events are held
in this area during the spring migration, including Audubon Nebraska’s Rivers & Wildlife
Celebration (in Kearney). The Rivers & Wildlife
Celebration features a full weekend of field trips and tours to see
sandhill cranes and waterfowl, exhibits, and presentations about the Platte River and its wildlife.
BACK TO
TOP
SPRING
MIGRATION CALENDAR:
CONTACT
INFORMATION:
Platte River Bird Observatory at
Crane Meadows, 9325 S Alda Rd, Wood River NE 68883 (Interstate 80 at exit
305-Alda). Telephone 308-382-1820, e-mail info@cranemeadows.org, Internet www.cranemeadows.org.
Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, 1 Archway Pkwy, Kearney NE 68847. Telephone 877-511-ARCH ,
Internet www.archway.org.
Archway Tour Hours: 10 am – 3 pm daily.
Groundwater
Foundation, PO Box 22558, Lincoln NE 68542. Telephone 402-434-2740, e-mail
info@groundwater.org, Internet www.groundwater.org.
Kearney Area Visitors Bureau, 1007 2nd Ave, PO Box 607, Kearney NE 68848. Telephone 800-652-9435 or
308-237-3101, e-mail patricia@kearneycoc.org, Internet www.kearneycoc.net/Visiting_Kearney/index.html.
National Audubon
Society/Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary, 44450 Elm Island Rd, Gibbon NE 68840. Telephone 308-468-5282, e-mail
rowe@nctc.net, Internet Audubon Nebraska,
Rowe Sanctuary.
Blind viewing March 6-April 10, 2004.
Platte River Trust, 6611 Whooping Crane Dr, Wood River NE 68883. Telephone 308-384-4633, e-mail
Mike_Webb@whoopingcrane.org.
Port Aransas Chamber
of Commerce, 421 W Cotter St, Port Aransas TX 78373. Telephone 800-45-COAST, e-mail
portaransas@centurytel.net,
Internet www.portaransas.org.
Wings Over the
Platte-Grand Island/Hall County Convention & Visitors Bureau, PO Box 1486, Grand Island NE
68802. Telephone 800-658-3178 or 308-382-4400, e-mail info@visitgrandisland.com,
Internet www.visitgrandisland.com.
BACK TO
TOP
|
