When is the best time to view the cranes?

 Audubon News Read More 

Here are some guidelines to consider as you plan your visit:

All Season

• Crane viewing experiences vary over the course of the season, with unique benefits to early, mid, and late season viewing.
• We want visitors to be able to see cranes!  Our tours coincide with the dates when we have 30,000 cranes or more on our stretch of the river (data based on 5-year average, data courtesy of the Crane Trust).  This typically means excellent viewing regardless of your visit timing.
• Numbers aren’t everything!  Rowe Sanctuary is one of the best locations to experience one of the world’s last great migrations, with open-air, riverside blinds that provide an up-close and immersive experience. While visitors often seek ‘peak numbers’, seeing even 10,000-20,000 cranes can still be truly breathtaking!  

Early Season (Early March)

• Cranes spend a lot of time foraging in the fields when they first arrive in the river valley, which makes for prolonged daytime viewing opportunities.
• High numbers of migratory Geese (Snow, Canada, Cackling, Greater White-Fronted) – often in the thousands!
• Higher likelihood of Bald Eagles in large communal gatherings on the river.
• Great winter sparrow viewing on our prairie and woodland trail network.
• Lower visitor numbers, leading to less crowding in viewing blinds and at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center.

Mid Season (Mid-late March)

• Largest numbers of cranes to be found across the Platte Valley.
• Most reliable likelihood for ‘peak’ numbers.

Late Season (Early April)

• Warmer weather and more comfortable temperatures for viewing.
• After several weeks of resting and refueling, cranes spend more time socializing on the river in the mornings, making for prolonged viewing opportunities.
• Higher likelihood of seeing migration behavior such as kettling (large numbers of cranes circling in air thermals).
• Greater likelihood for spotting Whooping Cranes, as their migration peaks later than Sandhill Cranes.
• Chance to see early shorebird arrivals in the river valley.

The photo on the left was taken in early March, and the photo on the right was taken in April.