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Sandhill cranes in Nevada: fall staging, passing through, breeding

Sandhill Cranes in Nevada: Where and When to See Them

2 viewing sites, the months their managers name.

Fall staging
In the state
Passing through and breeding
2
Viewing sites
2 on the map
20
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Fall staging, passing through and breeding

How sandhill cranes use Nevada

Sandhill Cranes breed in northwestern and northeastern Nevada, and can be found migrating throughout the northern part of the state.
Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

One subspecies is named in these sources: the greater sandhill crane.

Where to go

2 places to see sandhill cranes in Nevada

Ruby Valley

other

The two largest staging areas in Nevada, and good places to view Sandhill Cranes, are in Ruby Valley and Lamoille Valley located southeast of Elko.
Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026

Lamoille Valley

other, Lamoille

The two largest staging areas in Nevada, and good places to view Sandhill Cranes, are in Ruby Valley and Lamoille Valley located southeast of Elko.
Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

The map pin and the times above are worked out from the nearest town, close to the site but not the viewing spot itself.

Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Nevada 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 Nevada

More reports come in April 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
105 research grade records from Nevada, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in April. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Nevada

Nevada lists the sandhill crane as a non-game species.

GAME STATUS Non-Game
Nevada Department of Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Nevada 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 NevadaThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.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 Nevada’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.