Greater than 50 years in the past, Audubon, a grass roots volunteer led group started internet hosting what would change into referred to as the Crane Competition—recognizing the return of Sandhill Cranes to the Platte River as one of the crucial outstanding chicken migration spectacles on Earth. What started within the early Nineteen Seventies as a small gathering of passionate birds and conservation advocates has since grown right into a nationally acknowledged ecotourism vacation spot and a month-long celebration of one of many best wildlife migrations on this planet.
Right this moment, Crane Season at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary spans March and early April and contains six weeks of guided crane viewing alternatives alongside the Platte River. Along with providing world-class viewing experiences, Rowe Sanctuary companions with scientists, conservation leaders, artists, and educators to current participating packages designed to counterpoint our company’ experiences. Whether or not you’re a first-time customer or a lifelong birder, we invite you to affix us this spring to study, rejoice, and expertise certainly one of North America’s best wildlife migrations. Rowe Sanctuary provides courses on crane conduct and ecology, lectures on conservation efforts throughout Nebraska and the Nice Plains, and particular packages that discover the cultural, creative, and scientific dimensions of migration.
One custom that is still from the unique Crane Competition is our annual Speaker Collection. Annually, the sequence highlights vital conservation points and present instances a number of the devoted people working domestically and globally to guard cranes and their habitat.
This yr’s speaker sequence options participating, in-person lectures on matters starting from Whooping Crane restoration and Platte River water administration to wetland conservation, storytelling and poetry.
Our aim is to reinforce what guests witness on the river every morning and night—providing deeper perception into the science, partnerships, and fervour behind crane conservation. In any case, the cranes know placed on a present; we hope our audio system assist inform the story behind it.
Value and registration:
All Speaker Collection lectures are free, however pre-registration is required as house is proscribed.
The place can individuals discover extra data?
Classes happen on Fridays and Saturdays, March 6 by means of April 4, 2026, with most displays held from 2:30–3:15 p.m
Full schedules, presentation descriptions, and registration particulars for the Speaker Collection (and all Crane Season programming) might be discovered here.
We look ahead to welcoming you to Crane Season 2026
