by William Hamson | Jan 14, 2026 | Uncategorized
This past September the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab (NWR) reached out to the Crane Trust Science team to see if we would be interested in assisting with the soft release of a juvenile female North American river otter that was found in Grand Island, NE. She was found as...
by Bethany Ostrom | Dec 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
Jolly greetings! Today we surveyed the Central Platte between Chapman and Overton, NE, for Sandhill Cranes for the last time… for 2025. We estimated around 31,000 Sandhill Cranes, all of which were just east of the Alda Rd. bridge over the south channel. We weren’t...
by William Hamson | Dec 8, 2025 | Uncategorized
Hi all!! On the morning of Tuesday December 2nd I had the opportunity to participate in our first winter crane survey! On this chilly morning Bethany Ostrom, lead biologist and professional crane counter, recorded 28,500 (+/- 2,600) sandhill cranes huddled up together...
by William Hamson | Dec 8, 2025 | Uncategorized
The fall is easily one of my favorite times of the year. The temperatures reach that perfect level of not too hot and not too cool. I can look out my window and see a mosaic of straw yellows, pale oranges, and dark woody browns. Another aspect about the fall that I...
by Bethany Ostrom | Nov 14, 2025 | Uncategorized
Hey all!On Wednesday morning (11/12) we had 21,200 (+/- 1,600) Sandhill Cranes in the Central Platte River Valley! About 75% of the cranes were between Highway 281 and Alda Rd. viewing deck. It feels like early spring both on the ground and in the plane. We don’t know...
by Emma Richards | Nov 10, 2025 | Uncategorized
Monarch Butterfly (Left) and Male Regal Fritillary (Right) Since 2015 the Crane Trust has been monitoring two butterfly species of concern within the state of Nebraska: the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia). With both of...
