Half a million Sandhill Cranes descend on the Platte River Valley near Grand Island and Kearney Nebraska, followed by a migration of bird watchers, tourists and outdoors enthusiasts who come to witness the event.In early spring a migration occurs. Half a million Sandhill Cranes descend on the Platte River Valley near Grand Island and Kearney Nebraska, followed by a migration of bird watchers, tourists and outdoors enthusiasts who come to witness the event. Described by Paul Tebbel, director of the National Audubon Society's Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska in a recent National Geographic article as "one of the world's greatest migration spectacles," a trip to the Platte River valley during this time can provide geocachers with the opportunity to view the cranes and join caching in a unique area with a unique experience.

The Grand Island and Kearney areas of central Nebraska mark the beginning of the Sandhills; a region consisting of fine sandy soil in rolling hills. This is big sky country with few trees and tall prairie grasses surrounded by farm and ranch land. The North Platte River runs though the Grand Island and Kearney area from Wyoming, providing an oasis of trees along the river. The river itself is a shallow area, broken by sandbars. In the spring it flows in deeper channels with shallower areas of submerged sandbars, but by summer is often dry, except in the deepest of channels, which by then may be only a few inches deep. Easily accessible from Interstate 80, the area offers opportunities for hiking, camping, bird watching, and of course, geocaching.

Each year beginning in Late February to early March and ending in early April, the Sandhill Cranes visit the area to rest and refuel on their north migration route. The cranes are also joined by approximately 20 million other migratory birds. Occasionally, hidden among the masses is a rare Whooping Crane. The area provides both food for the cranes and safety for nighttime roosting in the river. During the day, the cranes visit nearby fields along the river corridor, where, in flocks of hundreds to thousands, they forage for food. Beginning about an hour before sunset, the cranes fly in flocks to the river to roost for the night, leaving again for the fields at sunrise. During those times, human spectators also flock to bridges across the river to witness the event. Swirling in large clouds over the river, the sound of the cranes is particularly amazing and is difficult to describe or accurately record. A visit to the National Geographic Crane Cam provides an example that does not live up to the actual experience.

In late March, 2004, I visited the area for a day of caching and crane watching. Driving west from Lincoln, Nebraska, my first stop was in Grand Island. Approaching the small city, we began to see flocks of cranes circling fields along the I-80 corridor. Our first stop was Mormon Cache, a cache located in Mormon Island State Recreation Area. A state park permit is required to visit the area which can be purchased at convenience stores just off the interstate. Parking in a campground area, we set off along a trail bordered by the Platte River to the North and small sand pit lakes to the east. Although the wonderful prairie like setting of the area was slightly marred by occasional views of the interstate, it is generally a peaceful area requiring a short (approximately 1/2 mile) walk along a mowed prairie trail. Especially amusing is a walk over a set of steps labeled as limited to 200 pounds, but is certainly more sturdy than that.

After our visit to Mormon Cache we drove country roads to the Scout Camp Cache, which requires a wade across the Platte. Finding the water to be too high in the spring, we enjoyed views of the river and continued on to several other Grand Island caches.

Our next stops took us more directly into crane territory. As we headed further west toward Kearney, the numbers of cranes circling the fields grew. We drove to the De Crane De Crane cache located at a small lake just off the interstate. There we enjoyed a view of a field holding hundreds of cranes before we parked and hiked along the small sandpit lake to a cache. Also in the area is the cache Crane's Eye View, which is located near a popular morning and evening viewing area with a boardwalk along the river.

Our next stop was Crane Meadows Nature Center, a non-profit center with river access and blinds for crane viewing. The decision whether to view cranes from a blind, which often runs $18-$20 per hour or from a river bridge can be difficult and I recommend trying both. In a river blind, a viewer is able to watch the birds up close and obtain excellent close range photographs. Yet from a bridge, the viewer is able to experience a wide open sky full of flying cranes and waterfowl as they fly in from the fields. Besides Crane Meadows, Audubon Nebraska also operates Rowe Sanctuary and provides blinds. Both areas and their web sites provide a wealth of information about the migration and viewing.

From Crane Meadows, we headed into Kearney to find a few caches while waiting for sunset to draw near. We then drove to Fort Kearny State Recreation Area, a favorite viewing area and the location of my favorite geocache, Platte River Run. On the way, we drove by field after field filled with cranes. Arriving at the state park, we pointed out our necessary park permit and parked in a campground already full of cars. I had visited the same park in the summer of 2003 to find Platte River Run, and had found the place empty then. The walk to Platte River Run begins at the head of a rail to trails path that eventually crosses the Platte River over a large wooden bridge. At the start is a sign describing the best times for viewing the cranes and crane watching etiquette, which includes avoiding noise and brightly colored clothing. For crane viewing, the bridge is the place to stop. From there, suspended over the Platte, one can take in the sounds, including the cacophony of the cranes and other water fowl, and the sights of flocks of thousands of cranes and waterfowl circling the river or settling in to roost.

I stopped at the bridge at about one hour before sunset. The contrast between visiting the area in summer and during crane season was obvious. In summer the river was low and the only person in sight was a woman walking in the nearly dry river bed while her dog played in a shallow channel of water. In March, the river was running nearly full and the bridge was filled with people, many armed with telescopes, cameras and binoculars. My traveling companions paused with me to watch a herd of approximately 20 deer cross the river and view a group of cranes that had decided to attempt to roost nearby. My companions then went on to find Platte River Run. The cache is located on the far side of the river. Descending a set of steps from the bridge, there is a trail through the fine sand, tall grass and trees along the river. The cache is located a short ways off the trail with the river nearby. In all, the walk to the cache from the State Park is about 1/2 mile, but the hike can be lengthened. The trail can be accessed from outside the park for a longer hike, or one need only to continue down the trail through the river bank trees and into the prairie for views of the area under a big sky.

Returning to the bridge, my companions joined me to watch as the number of birds multiplied. As the sun set, we watched flocks of waterfowl and noisy cranes flying overhead. At one point the group roosting near became startled and took flight in a great noisy cloud. Down river, a black cloud of circling cranes were both seen and heard. Snapping a shot of a small flock of geese near the sunset, I turned and suggested that it was time to go.

We next went in search of a night cache, The Dark Side, located in a Wildlife Management Area along the Platte.The crane migration in Nebraska is one of the few tourism events for the state. We became lost and ended up driving back country roads in search of the area. During the drive, we pulled up close to the river, where we viewed a large flock of cranes settled down to roost among the sandbars of the Platte. After finding the correct area, we drove for several miles down a narrow road and found the cache in the dark using a flashlight to follow fire tack placed on trees. From there, our trip consisted of a stop at Brewpub in Grand Island and the drive home.

The crane migration in Nebraska is one of the few tourism events for the state. Drawing birders and curiosity seekers alike, it is a popular spring activity bringing people from across the country. For cachers, it also offers a mix of rural caches located in the center of the crane activity along with a good number of urban caches in a small area. For those looking for a different experience, I recommend a spring crane viewing and caching trip to the Platter River Valley.

Resources:

National Geographic Cam: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/cranecam/index.html

National Geographic Feature: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0404/feature2/

Crane Meadows Nature Center: http://www.cranemeadows.org/

Rowe Sanctuary: http://www.rowesanctuary.org/

Nebraskaland Article: http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/nebland/articles/wildlife/cranes.asp