by Bethany Ostrom | Apr 8, 2026 | Uncategorized
Hey all, On Monday the 6 th , we estimated at least 15,000 ± 2,000 Sandhill Cranes between Chapman and Overton NE. The season is definitely wrapping up. From this year’s plateau at half a million cranes surrounding week 5, we’ve experienced a very rapid drop in...
by Bethany Ostrom | Mar 31, 2026 | Uncategorized
Hey all, On March 30th we surveyed the Central Platte River Valley and we estimate there are at least 60,800 +/- 12,400 Sandhill Cranes within the valley. A majority of the cranes are between Shelton and Kearney. This is a dramatic decrease from last week’s 400,000...
by Bethany Ostrom | Mar 21, 2026 | Uncategorized
Week 6 Aerial Sandhill Crane Survey Hey all,On March 19 th we estimated there are at least 400,000 +/- 49,000 Sandhill Cranes in the Central Platte River Valley. A few variables during the survey likely contributed to a lower estimate than anticipated. While this...
by Bethany Ostrom | Mar 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
Hey all, After a long foggy week, we counted 402,000 +/- 40,000 Sandhill Cranes between Chapman and Overton, Nebraska, this morning (March 7 th ). This is above average for this time of year and, much like the last count (week 2), the numbers are closer to next week’s...
by Bethany Ostrom | Feb 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
Hey all, Happy crane season! On Monday the 23 rd of February we estimated 115,000 +/- 6,000 Sandhill Cranes between Chapman and Overton, NE, along the Platte River. On February 12 th, we estimated around 50,000 cranes in the area. These numbers are definitely on the...
by Emma Richards | Feb 12, 2026 | Uncategorized
We have monitored our Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) lek every year since 2015, from mid-January to late May. There are three different ways that we monitor the lek: audio recorders, camera traps, and scan sampling. We place the audio recorder,...
