Tag: Sandhill Cranes
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Sandhill Cranes and White-sided Dolphins

We are in Kearney, Nebraska, which would be a great place to visit during the Sandhill Cranes Spring Migration. Maybe some year we will get here to see (and hear!) thousands of cranes along the Platte River. Both C and I loved hearing their distinctive calls overhead in Alaska. I enjoyed watching Sandhill Cranes dance…
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Day Six Travel to Alaska Spring 2025

While we traveled over 300 miles towards Alaska, today was so much more. We saw Greater Prairie Chickens AND Sharp-tailed Grouse performing on a lek. We were so close! If you have a chance to check C’s Facebook, the videos are so cool as they include the sounds and dance moves. An excerpt of the…
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Day Five Bluestem Prairie Spring 2025

We took the day off today to prepare for our Blind Date tomorrow morning. After lounging around all morning, we drove out to Bluestem Prairie. It was warm and sunny today, and the snow wasn’t bad. My knee did pretty well on the 0.5 mile hike to and from the blind. I took photos in…
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Labor Day Weekend, Coho IV, 2024

Fall is here with fresh snow on the mountains and fall color everywhere. We spent 4 nights fishing for chum and camping at Sheep Creek Slough. Four co-workers joined us, and all caught at least one fish. We got on the road early on Saturday to pick up a friend at the airport. Thanks to…
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8 Days Coho Count and Talkeetna

We spent 6 days camping, canoeing, and fishing in the rain. We saw 6 moose, a river otter, a beaver, and 3 Sandhill Cranes. We watched a Merganser mother with her 11 (!) ducklings scavenging and fishing around us. We also watched the Olympics on C’s phone during a break in the rain. On our last…
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Two Days in Palmer

While C was in training, I explored the Palmer area. He joined me on a trip to Reflections Lake after work today. Altogether, I saw 9 Moose, 4 Sandhill Cranes, 3 Bald Eagles, 2 Northern Harriers, 2 Merganser couples, 2 Trumpeter Swan couples, and a Ruffed Grouse. Palmer has an excellent visitor center/museum, though it…
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Day 9, Pink Mountain, BC to Whitecourt, AB

As we traveled today we moved from relatively remote back to full blown development. Back to the land of traffic, cell service, fast food and subdivisions. I find it jarring and am sad we no longer have the chance to see a caribou. Still, there were other things to enjoy… Our travel plan is to…
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Sandhill Crane Festival

I spent much of the day at the Sandhill Crane Festival in Fairbanks (while C was working). First I spent several fascinating hours at the Alaska Songbird Institute’s (ASI) bird banding station during a busy morning of banding around 60 wild birds. The birds are caught in mist nets, then gently banded, measured and released.…
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Dancing Cranes, Migration
Spring migration at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge has been amazing. I am not really a birder, but love watching them when it is this convenient & dramatic. The above video shows 2 sandhill cranes dancing (courtship? territorial?). Below there are a couple cranes along with other species. Every visit I have watched Trumpeter Swans,…
