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 estimate is down from last week, it tells the story that many cranes are coming and going from the river valley and our “peak” is rather a long plateau. The consistency in abundance from week to week is preferable as it is more likely to avoid overcrowding in the river and allows for longer prime viewing opportunities. Cranes are much more evenly spread throughout the survey area this week.
Today, the 21 st , is an optimal migration day as many birds will take advantage of the breeze from the south. However, as of this morning, all (13) of our GPS tracked cranes are still in Nebraska. We’ll see if that changes later today.
10-year average last week: 434,000
10-year max last week: 736,000 (2025)
10-year average current week: 468,700
10-year max current week: 705,000 (2025)
10-year average next week: 360,000
10-year max next week: 660,000 (2019)
Til next week,
Bethany Ostrom,
Lead Biologist