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Cranes at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, September to October

Sandhill Cranes in Washington: Where and When to See Them

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

Sep to Oct
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
3
Viewing sites
3 on the map
164
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Spring staging, passing through and breeding

How sandhill cranes use Washington

Over 35,000 lesser sandhill cranes make an annual stop in the southcentral Columbia Basin.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Two subspecies are named in these sources: the greater sandhill crane and the lesser sandhill crane.

Where to go

3 places to see sandhill cranes in Washington

Othello area, Columbia Basin (Columbia National Wildlife Refuge)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge, Othello

After their few weeks stop in the Othello area, the sandhill cranes continue their migration north to their breeding grounds in south-central Alaska.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“northward migration in early spring”
Where to stand
“One small section of the refuge is closed from February 1 to April for the protection of roosting Sandhill cranes.”
Festival
29th Annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, March 18 to 21, 2027. Organizer’s page

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:06 AM
Sunset
6:23 PM

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026

Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area (Windmill Ranch Unit)

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, state wildlife area

The Windmill Ranch Unit alone can host over 1,500 lesser sandhill cranes during their northward migration in early spring.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“during their northward migration in early spring”

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:05 AM
Sunset
6:22 PM

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge

Cranes Sep to Oct
In Washington, a few Canadian sandhill cranes have been observed at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Clark County during the summer, including two adult pairs during 2020.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“During fall, Canadian and Lesser Sandhill Cranes migrate through the state in late September and October using the same general routes and stopping in the same areas used for staging in spring.”

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:19 AM
Sunset
6:38 PM

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Washington crane sites by month

Style
Layers

1 of the 3 mapped sites name October. 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.

Festivals

Sandhill crane festival in Washington

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Washington

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
642 research grade records from Washington, 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.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Washington

Sandhill cranes are listed as endangered in Washington.

WDFW has listed all three subspecies of sandhill crane occurring in Washington—greater, lesser and Canadian—as state endangered.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Washington 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 WashingtonThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Eagle watching in WashingtonThe winter eagle sites and the months to visit them.Snowy owls in WashingtonWhere the winter owls are reported in the state.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 Washington’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.