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Crane Trust counts at Central Platte River Valley usually peak around March 18

Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska: Where and When to See Them

2 viewing sites, the months their managers name, the published counts, and today’s sunrise and sunset at each.

Mar to Apr
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
2
Viewing sites
2 on the map
15,000
Last season’s latest count
Central Platte River Valley, Crane Trust survey, April 6, 2026
151
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Winter and spring staging

How sandhill cranes use Nebraska

Every March and April, over a million Sandhill Cranes converge on the Platte River Valley in central Nebraska to fuel up before continuing north to their nesting grounds.
National Audubon Society, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
we still have 35,000 +/- 5,000 Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River!
Crane Trust, published January 21, 2026, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Where to go

2 places to see sandhill cranes in Nebraska

Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center

Crane Trust, nature center, Wood River

Cranes Mar
We offer a variety of ways to make your spring crane viewing experience truly magical. These experiences are led by expert guides. Our riverfront blinds are located along the largest Sandhill Crane roost in the world.
Crane Trust, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“March”
Where to stand
“Our riverfront blinds are located along the largest Sandhill Crane roost in the world. Crane Trust members receive exclusive priority booking for all crane viewing tours. Priority booking for members begins in October and then opens up on this website in November.”
Time of day
“Blind tours are offered in the early morning while the cranes roost on the river and in the evening when the birds return to the river to roost for the night.”

October 8, 2026 at this site, CDT

Sunrise
7:38 AM
Sunset
7:04 PM

The latest Crane Trust count at Central Platte River Valley is from last season: 15,000 on April 6, 2026. The last completed season peaked at 402,000 on March 7, 2026. Across 11 seasons the peak usually falls around March 18.

2016: 410,000 on March 14, 2016410k2016Mar 142017: 406,000 on March 8, 2017406k2017Mar 82018: 598,000 on March 22, 2018598k2018Mar 222019: 660,000 on March 26, 2019660k2019Mar 262020: 541,000 on March 12, 2020541k2020Mar 122021: 574,000 on March 19, 2021574k2021Mar 192022: 626,000 on March 22, 2022626k2022Mar 222023: 458,000 on March 14, 2023458k2023Mar 142024: 487,000 on March 28, 2024487k2024Mar 282025: 736,000 on March 18, 2025736k2025Mar 182026: 402,000 on March 7, 2026402k2026Mar 7
The highest published count in each season, with the day it was made.

Crane Trust, read October 8, 2026

Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary

National Audubon Society, sanctuary, Gibbon

Cranes Mar to Apr
Sandhill Cranes typically begin arriving around Valentine’s Day and leave around Tax Day.
National Audubon Society, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“Crane viewing typically takes place in March and early April.”
Where to stand
“During Crane Season, we limit trail use to protect the birds from disturbance while roosting. Visitors should not plan to watch Sandhill Cranes on the river from Rowe Sanctuary Trails.”

October 8, 2026 at this site, CDT

Sunrise
7:39 AM
Sunset
7:06 PM

National Audubon Society, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Nebraska crane sites by month

Style
Layers

A pin is colored only when the refuge or agency that runs it prints that month. The shaded grid is where people have logged a verified sandhill crane on iNaturalist in October, in any year, brighter where more have been logged; it maps reports, so it thickens where observers stand.

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Nebraska

More reports come in March than in any other month. The tally runs from October 8, 2025 for the twelve month figure; the bars combine every year on record.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
611 research grade records from Nebraska, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in March. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

151 research grade sandhill crane reports from Nebraska in the twelve months to October 8, 2026.

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Nebraska

The latest federal crane report lists no hunting season in Nebraska.

All Central Flyway states except Nebraska allowed crane hunting in portions of their states during 2024–25.
USFWS, Status and Harvests of Sandhill Cranes 2025, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Nebraska sandhill crane questions

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Sandhill cranes in other states

Sandhill cranes in every stateThe map of where the cranes are this month, the gatherings and the festivals.Fall migration in NebraskaThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Eagle watching in NebraskaThe winter eagle sites and the months to visit them.Duck migration reportThe waterfowl counts the refuges publish each week.
About seventy grey sandhill cranes standing in shallow open water and on a strip of tan grass in front of a green tree line
Cranes standing in shallow water in October, the habitat every site on these pages shares. The water keeps them safe overnight; the harvested fields around it feed them through the day. “Flock of wading sandhill cranes”, USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, Public domain

Every fact about Nebraska’s cranes links to the refuge, agency or festival page it comes from, each read October 8, 2026. Tour loops, platforms and festival programs change between seasons and close for weather and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. Sunrise and sunset are computed for each site’s coordinates. Report tallies are iNaturalist research grade records, which count sightings, not birds. Every state is on the sandhill crane migration hub.