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Sandhill Cranes

Each spring the most incredible migration event in the world passes through the North Platte, Nebraska area. More than 400,000 Sandhill…
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Sandhill Cranes

Each spring the most incredible migration event in the world passes through the North Platte, Nebraska area. More than 400,000 Sandhill Cranes spend about six weeks in the North Platte River valley fortifying themselves for the nesting period to come. While they are here, the North Platte River is the perfect place to view the spectacular concentrations of Sandhill Cranes as they come to strategically roost for the night, or as they awake and take off for another day of feeding. In between their rests on the river, they will spend their days dancing in our cornfields. They engage in beautiful courtship and pair-bonding behaviors. Courting cranes are magnificent as they stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air in a graceful and energetic dance. Parents will dance with their chicks for the entire first year of their lives. Juvenile Sandhill Cranes will use the complex dance steps they learned to select a mate when they are two to five years old. They will mate for life, though continue to show their affection to their mates each spring with their dancing prowess. The only way to understand the magic of this migration is to see it for yourself. Join us this spring in North Platte: Nebraska's best kept Crane secret.

Tickets for 2024 guided birding tours are now available on the Dusty Trails website! These are viewing tours only, as hunting Sandhill Cranes is not allowed in the state of Nebraska. Tours include Sandhill Crane Daytime Bus Tours, Sandhill Crane Evening Blind Tours, Sandhill Crane Morning Blind Tours, and Prairie Chicken Tours. Sandhill Crane tours will run March 12th, 2024 - April 1st, 2024. Prairie Chicken Tours will run March 13th, 2024 - April 20th, 2024.

More information on guided tours as well as self guided public viewing options is available below!

Experience Sandhill Cranes in the North Platte Area

Weather you plan to catch a glimpse of the Cranes as you pass through, or you are looking to combine all four unique Sandhill Crane and Prairie Chicken tours into an incredible, multi day spring birding experience, North Platte has you covered!