Nebraska
38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Fec%2Fef%2Fecefd7ba-c0e2-40c0-81b3-d83807cdda07%2F7084576035_d0e20a7bec_4k.jpg?ssl=1 "38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration")
Sandhill cranes fly over Nebraska’s Platte River, where they gather each year during their spring migration, in 2009.
USFWS
A record number of sandhill cranes arrived in central Nebraska during the first week of their annual spring migration, likely lured by mild winter temperatures.
Each spring, hundreds of thousands of the tall, long-legged birds begin making their journey north to breeding grounds in Alaska, Canada and eastern Siberia. Out of all the worldâs sandhill cranes, 80 percent use Nebraskaâs Platte River as a pit stop, where they fatten up on corn kernels left over from the previous fallâs harvest.
Their yearly Nebraska stopover usually lasts from mid-February to mid-April, with individual birds staggering their arrivals and departures. Each bird spends about a month in the state, with their numbers typically peaking around mid-March at roughly 500,000 cranes.
Sandhill cranes can gain as much as 20 percent of their body weight during their stopover in Nebraska.
Frank Schulenburg via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0
Once migration begins, wildlife biologists at the Crane Trust in Wood River, Nebraska, conduct weekly aerial surveys to count the birds. This year, during their first count of the season on February 14, they recorded an estimated 38,000 sandhill cranesâthe highest first count on record since they began conducting the surveys in 1998. Most of the birds were found along an 80-mile stretch of the river between the towns of Chapman and Overton.
During a typical year, between 6,000 and 8,000 sandhill cranes have usually arrived by the first count. Last year at this time, biologists counted 6,400 cranes.
Scientists werenât surprised by the numbers, however, as they match up with patterns theyâve seen during previous mild winters.
âThe winter of 2021-2022 was also a fairly mild winter, and we had around 27,000 cranes on Valentineâs Day that year,â wrote Bethany Ostrom, a wildlife biologist who conducts the aerial counts, in a February 15 update posted on the Crane Trust website.
The Great Sandhill Crane Migration
Central Nebraska also saw a high number of sandhill cranes during the recent fall migration, with some birds even opting to spend much of the winter in the region. An estimated 14,000 to 15,000 sandhill cranesâand two rare, endangered whooping cranesâstuck around for the holidays.
âWe do have occasional small groups of cranes overwinter⦠but we have never before seen this large of a group stay here for so long,â wrote Ostrom in a preseason post on February 6.
Birders hoping to witness the annual congregation still have plenty of time to get to Nebraska to see the cranes. Though early counts can sometimes indicate when the birdsâ numbers will peak, their arrivals depend more on daily and weekly weather patterns. Cold fronts, for example, can delay the peak.
âThere are many factors that play into cranesâ decisions when to migrate, many of which we probably do not understand,â wrote Ostrom.
Sandhill cranes are one of the oldest bird species on the planet, according to the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska. Archaeologists at Ashfall Fossil Beds in northeast Nebraska unearthed the fossilized remains of a crowned craneâa close relative of the sandhill craneâthatâs estimated to be roughly ten million years old. The oldest sandhill crane fossil, found in the Macasphalt Shell Pit in Florida, is roughly 2.5 million years old.
The birds havenât been visiting Nebraskaâs Central Platte River Valley for quite that longâmillions of years ago, the river didnât exist. But, as soon as it formed near the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, sandhill cranes began stopping by, according to the center.
Birders from around the world often follow the cranes to Nebraska, waiting patiently at dawn and dusk in viewing blinds located along the river. The birds roost on the braided riverâs sandbars at night, then take to the skies at sunup and head toward neighboring corn fields. They return to the safety of the river at sunset.
The birds gather by the thousands along the Platte River.
Sarah Kuta
Sandhill cranes have a distinctive aesthetic: Standing three to four feet tall atop stick-thin legs, they have light gray feathers covering most of their bodies. Their crown is a deep crimson color, and they have white patches below their eyes.
In Nebraska, the birds spend most of their time eatingâthey can put on as much as 20 percent of their body weight during their sojourn in the Cornhusker State. But they also use this time to strengthen their social bonds with one another, especially their mates. Sandhill cranes can be seen âdancingâ with each other in the fields, a behavior that involves jumping up and down, bobbing their heads and extending their wings. As Katie OâReilly wrote for Sierra last fall, the annual gathering is âpart family reunion, part singles dance, part interÂ-flock house party.â
Even when theyâre not visible, cranes announce their presence with a unique trilling sound called bugling. When tens of thousands of them bugle at the same time, âthe sound is deafening,â writes Amber Travsky for the Laramie Boomerang.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.
Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.
Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.
The case for online betting
Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.
“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.
Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.
A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.
“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.
“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.
The opposition
The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.
“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.
Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.
“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.
What comes next
If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Along with marching in the parade, the high schools will tour the U.S. Capitol, visit Mount Vernon and other monuments and museums.
Around 80 Grand Island students are making the trip. Lee said the students cover their own costs, with fundraising largely run though the school’s booster program helping offset the expense.
Bishop Neumann’s 53 students benefited from community donations, along with a holiday greenery sale and fundraisers, which Kellett said helped cover airfare and other costs.
For both directors, the trip carries extra weight tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“That’s a pretty big milestone,” Lee said. “And to be able to be a part of that is pretty neat.”
Kellett said the moment will stay with students long after the parade ends.
“These kids, they’ll be around for the 300th anniversary of the country, and they’ll be able to look back and tell their grandkids, ‘you know, I was there at 250 and was able to march in the National Independence Day Parade,’” Kellett said.
Both bands have spent the summer preparing. Grand Island started working on its music after its final spring concert in May, rehearsing its marching and music together on Tuesday evenings.
Bishop Neumann has rehearsed continuously over the summer and marched in two parades to prepare, a 150th anniversary celebration in Weston and the Papillion Days parade.
Kellett said the band’s last rehearsal in Wahoo drew residents who lined the streets holding signs and cheering the students on.
“The students have come in, and they’ve worked really hard,” Kellett said. “They have their music memorized and they’ve worked on their marching skills, and so all that effort into this they’re ready to go for the parade.”
The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. CT Saturday at Third Street and Constitution Avenue.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Like his father, Zack Erstad is a Husker. Erstad, the son of Hall of Fame baseball player Darin Erstad, joined the Nebraska men’s golf program on Tuesday.
Zack signed with the Huskers one month after winning a state championship at Lincoln East. With the Spartans, Erstad was a two-time NSAA champion. He was Class A’s individual runner-up in 2026. The previous year, Erstad claimed the Nebraska Junior PGA Championship title.
Erstad said joining the Huskers is a dream come true. The Nebraska newcomer grew up playing baseball and hockey. However, he focused solely on golf while in high school.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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