Enchanted Halloween Trail Returns

NEWS RELEASE

Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center

9325 South Alda Road

Wood River, NE 68883

For Immediate Release / Contact: Brad Mellema (308) 382-1820

October 10, 2012

Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center Opens

Enchanted Halloween Trail for Kids, Families and Fun!

Wood River, Neb–The Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center is offering a wildly entertaining way for kids and their families to have more fun with nature on its Enchanted Halloween Trail along the Platte. This year’s enchanted trail is open for three consecutive nights, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 24-26 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. The center and its trail are located on the south side of I-80 at Alda (exit #305).

The Enchanted Halloween Trail is ideal for families with children 12 and under. Visitors take a guided tour along a ¾-mile trail on the prairie, marked by more than 100 “candle-lit” jack-o-lanterns. Along the way they’ll discover nine fully costumed enchanted characters: like the great horned owl, dancing sandhill crane, big brown bat, grumpy bridge troll and giant garden spider—each with a friendly fun-filled skit that’s guaranteed to bring a smile.

We are indeed wild about our volunteers. They make it happen here on so many levels. Thank you!

Whooper Watch Training Session Offered

Crane Trust Monitors Endangered Whooping Cranes

Wood River, Nebraska—The Crane Trust has re-activated its Whooper Watch™ program to enlist the public's help in monitoring whooping cranes as they migrate through Nebraska to their nesting grounds in Canada.

The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America, standing nearly 5 feet tall. With fewer than 300 whooping cranes in the last wild, migratory flock, it is also among the rarest, explains Dr. Mary Harner, Director of Science at the Crane Trust.

"The Whooper Watch™ program is a great opportunity for the public to get involved and help us spot, observe and learn more about these rare and magnificent birds during their migration," says Harner. "There are so few whooping cranes to be seen, the more eyes we have watching for them the better."

“Wild About Nebraska” Speaker & Event Series Celebrates Crane Season and Life on the Platte

Wood River, Neb–The Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center has announced the final schedule for its Wild About Nebraska Speaker & Event Series in March. The month-long series begins March 3 with a live art demonstration and concludes March 31 with a special Crane Trust report on the whooping crane telemetry project.

All events and presentations are open to the public and will be held at the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center near Wood River in south central Nebraska, I-80 Alda Exit 305.

Photograph Nebraska will feature Crane Trust Wildlife tours.

Join us at the Hastings Photography Symposium this February. The Nature Center will be hosting photographic wildlife tours as an option during this event. Hope to see you there!

Getting Started by Looking Back.

Twenty-three years ago, a group of people got together to launch an idea. It came from a need for a place to connect people with the sandhill cranes. People were showing up in the area to see cranes in ever increasing numbers. People had written about the birds: Johnsgard, Lingle, and Archibald. When they wrote, the birders took note. Then the public took notice when people like Forsberg, Sartore, and Tebbel began to get it out there that this was something unique.

People that grew up around here knew about the cranes, they’re everywhere. Love them or hate them, they’re just part of being here as much as planting corn and the dicey weather each spring. For most, it never occurred that this was something unique or exotic. Who are these people and why are they coming to see these birds? But come they did, and the hospitality industry began to see an increase in an otherwise slow time of year.

The Big Year

"In 1998 I zigzagged across the continent to try to see as many species of birds in one calendar year as possible. It was an incredible experience passing the 700-species mark—an achievement many birders aspire to in an entire lifetime."

Thirteen years ago, Greg Miller (pictured above) decided to undertake a "Big Year" -- an exciting, arduous and often expensive venture designed to see more species of birds on U.S. soil during one year than ever before. In the midst of personal upheaval, Greg faces competition from two much wealthier birders also doing Big Years. From boreal forests to steamy southern swamps, from sun-baked deserts to a rat-infested bunker on an Aleutian island, he travels to as many "hotspots" as he can reach and breaks the 700-species mark.

What obstacles does Greg overcome during his Big Year? Does he out-bird his better-funded competition? Moreover, why put yourself through such an ordeal just to chase birds across the continent?

This March, Greg will be in the Grand Island area to tell his story though events sponsored by Central Community College - Grand Island, the Nebraska Bird Partnership, the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center and the Wild Bird Habitat Store in Lincoln. You'll not only hear about the adventure in '98, he'll also relate his experiences as a consultant for the recent motion picture "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson. (Greg was the inspiration for Jack Black's character.)

With the opening of a new year, why not take your own Big Year adventure? Don't worry; we're not suggesting camping in a cottonmouth-infested swamp or shivering on a brutally cold January day in Duluth. Rather, try these:

1. Read Mark Obmascik's book "The Big Year", the basis for the motion picture. It's a quick read and provides an excellent backdrop to Greg's talks.

2. Check out the motion picture itself. CCC will offer a screening when Greg is in town.

3. Go out looking for birds! Report your sightings to our Big Year Facebook page. We especially invite birding beginners to participate. You might also keep a "life list" of what you see; a great way to do this is to input your sightings into ebird.com. This site will keep track of what you've seen when. Moreover, you'll be contributing valuable data to a huge database of tremendous value to scientists.

4. Participate in area birding events. The Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center has events throughout the year to help add to your species list. Central Community College in Grand Island will offer birding classes tailored to beginning birders. Here's a partial list of events planned:

Feb 18: Birds and Bagels, Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center

Feb 20: Backyard Bird Feeding, NBP staff-led course offered through CCC

Mar 14: The Big Year book discussion, Grand Island Public Library. Free and open to the public.

Mar 21: Beyond the Screen movie presentation of “The Big Year” and discussion with special guest Greg Miller

Mar 22: Q & A with The Big Year's Greg Miller, Grand Island Public Library. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask Greg questions about The Big Year book, his feelings about being a subject in the book, and any other questions that come to mind in a relaxed intimate session.

Mar 24: “The Big Morning” Birding Trip w/Greg Miller

Mar 24: Greg Miller afternoon presentation, “Swamps, Mountain Tops, and Cheap Motels: My Big Year Travelogue” - Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center

Mar 24: Greg Miller evening presentation, “The Big Year: The Triumph of Nature and the Human Spirit” - Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center

Apr 13-15: "Chicken and Stars" - Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center staff-led Sandhills birding and stargazing trip. The highlight is viewing Greater Prairie-Chicken and Sharp-tailed Grouse courtship displays.

May 10-12: Beginning Birding Course, NBP staff-led course offered through CCC in partnership with the Prairie Plains Resource Institute

So grab your binoculars, and we'll see you in the field!