Every spring hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate through the central Platte River Valley of Nebraska. We are working on a number of crane projects with our partners including Platte Basin Timelapse, the Crane Trust, Rowe Sanctuary, the Center for Global Soundscapes, and state and federal agencies.
Timing and Distribution
Using aerial counts from 2002 – 2017 we looked at the spatial and temporal changes of Sandhill Cranes in the Central Platte, NE in relation to climatic and habitat features. The study was led by Andrew Caven, Director of Conservation Research at the Crane Trust. The monograph can be read here.
Habitat Use through time-lapse images
Sandhill Cranes use wet meadows during the day to forage for protein. At night they return to the channels of the Platte River to roost. This video shows activity during a 24 hour period in spring; river channel on the left and a wet meadow on the right. Images were gathered by Platte Basin Timelapse.
Acoustic Activity
In partnership with the Center for Global Soundscapes, we are assessing the acoustic activity of Sandhill Cranes. Using sound recordings from 2015 – 2017 we can look at when birds first started arriving, when they were most vocal, and how their acoustic activity relates to environmental variables.
Cranes in the Media
Some of our work in the news
