Whooper Watch - Fall Migration

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
November 8, 2012

Contact: Mary Harner, 308-384-4633 / Greg Wright, 308-520-4166 

Whooper Watch™ Activated For Fall Migration of Endangered Whooping Cranes 

Wood River, Nebraska—The Crane Trust has activated its Whooper Watch™ program this fall to enlist public support in sighting the endangered whooping crane as it migrates back through Nebraska to its wintering grounds on the Texas Gulf Coast.   

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

Crane Trust Research Symposium To Focus on Complex Platte River Ecosystem

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release / Contact: Mary Harner (308) 384-4633
October 12, 2012

Crane Trust Research Symposium 
To Focus on Complex Platte River Ecosystem

Wood River, Neb–The Crane Trust will convene a comprehensive research symposium focused on the Platte River ecosystem on October 19, 2012, at the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center. The all-day event will feature 20 presentations and overviews of leading scientific research being conducted on Crane Trust lands and surrounding habitats.  

The program has been organized to showcase the remarkable diversity and significance of research being conducted on the central Platte River ecosystem as it pertains to critical habitat for sandhill cranes, the endangered whooping crane, and other migratory birds. 

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.