Sandhill Colts
A Sandhill Crane and its colts move through a spring field on a beautiful day. The odds that both colts survive their first year are only about 50%, so hang in there, little ones. If they do survive, Sandhill Cranes can live as long as 20 to 30 years in the wild.
Spring Migration Along the Platte
In early spring, Sandhill Cranes migrate north and can be seen across much of the West and Midwest, including Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, Illinois, and Indiana. Roughly 80 percent of all Sandhill Cranes in North America rely on a 75-mile stretch of Nebraska’s Platte River during spring migration. From March through April, more than 500,000 birds gather there to rest and refuel before continuing north to their breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. (Source: The Nature Conservancy)
