Photo by Rick WIndham

I got a call from a friend about a week ago. He told me he’d seen a few cranes west of town. I went out for a drive a couple of days ago and found flocks of cranes.

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Columnist Rick Windham writes about the great outdoors each week in the North Platte Bulletin's print edition.

Most likely you will hear cranes long before you see them. The call of sandhill cranes can be heard at tremendous distances. Aldo Leopold, conservationist, forester and considered the father of wildlife ecology by many, once described the sounds of cranes like this, “High horns, low horns, silence, and finally a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks, and cries that almost shakes the bog with its nearness, but without yet disclosing whence it comes.”

Weather is the greatest determining factor for when the cranes arrive. Without severe winter weather, cranes have been known to get here in early February. Weather also dictates how long the cranes will stay. If harsh weather lies between them and their nesting grounds in the Northwest Territories, Alaska and Siberia, the birds simply stay put, sometimes as late as May.

From now until possibly mid-April, additional cranes appear each day. There numbers will build to a peak in a couple of weeks, unless a big winter storm pushes through the area.

Some 600,000 will be passing through Nebraska in the next few weeks. This migration has taken place for millions of years. It is literally a world-class event that draws spectators to Nebraska from all around the globe. It is often pointed out that the only other migration of this magnitude occurs on the Serengeti plains of Africa, where the migration of wildebeests brings the bulk of a single species together in one place on the globe.

Fossil records indicate that Sandhill cranes have been part of Nebraska's history for perhaps 9-10 million years. That’s longer than the Platte River itself has been here. Geologists say the Platte was carved out about 100,000 years ago.

Cranes come here for nourishment. They feast on invertebrates in wet meadows in the valleys. Protein from earthworms, snails and insects is critical for their nesting cycle. Corn on the ground from the last harvest is an energy source they store for the long flight ahead of them. Cranes literally gather hundreds of tons of corn from the valley floor. Birds can increase their total body weight by 20 percent or more during their stopover.

Cranes often mate for life. Younger birds that are returning north for the first breeding season can be seen performing courtship dances in the fields. Perspective mates approach one another, bob their heads and circle their partner. They leap into the air and flutter their wings, sometimes tossing bits of grass or sticks into the air. This display can go on for hours.

Some birds will roost on sandbars in the rivers each night. They appear to stand haphazardly in the channels in random patterns. Actually they mark the edges of the sandbars by using every available square foot of the submerged islands. River roosts offer protection from predators. Deeper water around the sandbars acts as a moat, slowing down a hungry coyote or bobcat that might launch a sneak attack on roosting birds.

Contrary to what some folks say, not all cranes roost on the sandbars. Thousands of cranes gather at night in large meadows. As long as they have a wide buffer zone between themselves and places that could conceal a predator, the birds will rest.

It is not difficult to observe sandhill cranes in the field. Actually, you can view cranes from relatively short distances if you remain inside a vehicle. Cranes are not too concerned about letting vehicles approach them, but step outside and the birds will immediately take flight. Good binoculars are essential. If photography is a hobby, this is a great time of the year. You'll need a lens with a 4- to 10-power capability to get the best photos.

Don’t believe the travel literature you see. Kearney and Grand Island aren’t the only places to see sandhill cranes. Take a drive west along U.S. Highway 30 and maybe north to Platte Valley or Suburban Road. You'll find lots of cranes.