The Fast Family: I never ever thought...

I never ever thought I'd be one of 'those' people.

By those, I mean a 'birdwatcher.'

Honestly, it was worse than I thought...they gave us our own parking place!

Seriously though...

observing the Sandhill Cranes

around the end of March

along the Platte River by Alda, Nebraska

is something people come from all over the United States to do each year.

And, believe it or not, this year we were included in that group of people!

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Some statistics for you:

(Taken from http://www.nebaraskaflyway.com/)

As they have for centuries, hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes (more than 80% of the world's population) come to the Platte River Valley each spring to rest and restore themselves. During their stop in Nebraska, cranes gain nearly 20 percent of their body weight. Depending on the weather, the cranes begin to appear in late February or early March—with the last few birds leaving in early to mid-April.

The shallow braided channels of Nebraska’s Platte River provide safe nighttime roost sites. Waste grain in crop fields provides food to build up depleted fat reserves needed for migration. Adjacent wet meadows provide critical nutrients and secluded loafing areas for rest, bathing and courting.

The graph above shows the number of sandhill cranes that typically can be found around the Platte River between Grand Island and Lexington, Nebraska. A family of cranes usually stays for about three weeks. Researchers estimate that 600,000 to 800,000 sandhill cranes utilize this part of the Platte every spring.

The cranes come to rest and refuel for a month as they prepare for the arduous journey to vast breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska and Siberia. They arrive from far-flung wintering grounds in northern Mexico, Texas and New Mexico on an epic journey of thousands of miles.

This map outlines the northward migration of sandhill cranes through Nebraska and the Great Plains from southern wintering grounds to northern breeding grounds in the Central Flyway. The red lines represent individual birds that have been tracked with satellite telemetry throughout their migration after being affixed with transmitters while they were on the Platte.

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Here is a home-video I recorded of just what you see and hear in the sky!

Okay, so you need to understand that it was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, my dad wanted to get out for a ride on his Harley, and the rest of us were looking for something to do so we tagged along in our Expedition, figuring, "Eh, what the heck. Let's go check out the cranes." In less than 15 minutes we were only yards away from these birds that other people travel miles upon miles to see.

I must admit, I have truly taken this area of the Platte River Valley for granted all of my life. All I knew of the Alda Exit on I-80 was that it was the fastest route one could take from the interstate to my parents' house. All in all, the cranes were actually a bit of fun to watch, and as a family we had a fun afternoon doing something out of the ordinary!

Some more pictures of the day:

A snack for the drive. She was SUPER OVERTIRED at this time!