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Sandhill Cranes in Colorado

The Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte Ri...
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The Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Plains.
Sandhill cranes' large wingspans, typically 5 to 7 feet, make them very skilled soaring birds. Using thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings and consequently expending little energy. Migratory flocks contain hundreds of birds, and can create clear outlines of the normally invisible rising columns of air (thermals) they ride.
Sandhill cranes fly south for the winter. In their wintering areas, they form flocks over 10,000. One place this happens is at Monte Vista, Colorado.

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