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Cranes at Keyhole Reservoir, October

Sandhill Cranes in Wyoming: Where and When to See Them

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

Oct
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
4
Viewing sites
4 on the map
242
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Fall staging, spring staging, passing through and breeding

How sandhill cranes use Wyoming

Cranes in the central and western part of the state are mostly from the Rocky Mountain population, which breed across the Intermountain West, including Wyoming.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
Cranes found in the eastern part of the state are largely from the Mid-continent population, which migrates through Wyoming in the spring and fall.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 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

4 places to see sandhill cranes in Wyoming

Keyhole Reservoir

other

Cranes Oct
The past few years, 7,000-15,000 cranes have stopped to rest during daylight hours at Keyhole Reservoir around the 10th to 30th of October.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“The past few years, 7,000-15,000 cranes have stopped to rest during daylight hours at Keyhole Reservoir around the 10th to 30th of October.”

October 8, 2026 at this site, MDT

Sunrise
7:06 AM
Sunset
6:27 PM

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026

Table Mountain Wildlife Habitat Management Area

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, state wildlife area

In March of 2021, 4,512 cranes were counted on and around Table Mountain WHMA (Table 13).
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

October 8, 2026 at this site, MDT

Sunrise
7:01 AM
Sunset
6:26 PM

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026

Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

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

The shallowly flooded meadows and farmed small grains and alfalfa provide important food for migrating birds - especially waterfowl and Sandhill cranes during their flights north in the spring and south in the fall.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

October 8, 2026 at this site, MDT

Sunrise
7:29 AM
Sunset
6:53 PM

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

Ocean Lake Wildlife Habitat Management Area

Wyoming Game and Fish Department

During migration, up to 3,000 geese, 400 sandhill cranes and 10,000 ducks may be observed here.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

October 8, 2026 at this site, MDT

Sunrise
7:20 AM
Sunset
6:43 PM

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

Wyoming crane sites by month

Style
Layers

1 of the 4 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.

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in Wyoming

More reports come in May 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
1,150 research grade records from Wyoming, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in May. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

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

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

The rules

Sandhill crane regulations in Wyoming

Wyoming holds a sandhill crane hunting season.

Persons may apply for limited quota sandhill crane permits through the Department’s Electronic Licensing Service (ELS).
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
  • Area 1 (Bear River and Ham's Fork drainages, Lincoln County): September 1, 2026 to September 20, 2026
  • Area 2 (Salt River drainage, Lincoln County): September 1, 2026 to September 20, 2026
  • Area 3 (Eden Project, Sweetwater County): September 1, 2026 to September 13, 2026
  • Area 4 (Riverton and Boysen units): September 26, 2026 to October 18, 2026
  • Area 5 (Uinta County): September 1, 2026 to September 15, 2026
  • Area 6 (Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park and Washakie counties): September 5, 2026 to October 4, 2026
  • Area 7 (Campbell, Converse, Crook, Goshen, Laramie, Niobrara, Platte and Weston counties): September 12, 2026 to November 8, 2026
  • Area 8 (Johnson, Natrona and Sheridan counties): September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026

Waterfowl and crane season dates in this state

Wyoming 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 WyomingThe 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 Wyoming’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.