Dance Of The Cranes

Nebraska Sandhill Crane Stopover Each spring Sandhill Cranes fly from the southern United States and northern Mexico area to nesting grounds in the northern regions of North America and as far as north eastern Siberia. To successfully breed and produce healthy young birds these cranes need to stop in the middle of their migration to rest, eat, socialize, mate, and build their strength for their long flight north. The Platte River region in Nebraska is their main destination for this stopover – a gathering area for up to 500,000 birds. A spectacular sight in nature is a flock of Sandhill Cranes dancing along the sand dunes of the Platte River, or in flight migrating in long lines or Vs across the middle of North America. The Sandhill Crane is a very tall wading bird with a loud call, a graceful flight on huge wings, and an energetic dance that is performed frequently throughout the year for mating as well as for stress reduction – just for the fun of it, it seems! It is a social bird that gathers in large numbers during its migration, and most of the estimated 500,000 cranes in North America pause in their migration in one area of the Platte River Basin of Nebraska each spring.