Returning
cranes’ uplifting flight
over fields of new
green sprouts.
Willows brighten
flowers grace trees.
Harbingers
of life’s opening.
Fresh starts
new directions.
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Everyone should go at least once in their life! It's not too early to think of spring plans.
Each spring, ninety percent of the Sandhill Cranes in the world converge along a ninety-mile stretch of the Platte River in central Nebraska. Here, they pause to fatten up before they complete their northward journey to millennia-old breeding grounds stretching across the high Arctic from Siberia to eastern Canada.
The first cranes arrive mid-February and the last leave in April. The best time is somewhere around the third week in March, where their numbers swell to almost a half a million. If you go at the peak of their migration, be sure to make motel reservations, because this seventh wonder of the natural world attracts people from all around the world!
The cranes spend nights, sleeping balanced on one leg, in the shallow Platte River. Some cranes act as sentinels, alert to any sound of creatures such as fox, who might have fantasies of midnight snacks. In the morning, they fly out to surrounding fields to feast.
During their evening return, they call out to each other and to their one adolescent chick, who stays with its parents for two years. The are joined by Canada, Snow, and Blue Geese, all calling out to their compatriots. The cacophony of sound is so loud, you can not hold a conversation – and the sound reverberates through your body and bones.
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