A private landowner in Adams County just north of Hastings got a surprise visit from four rare Whooping Cranes recently. The cranes spent 11 days in the Trumbull Basin area, part of a complex of wetlands in central Nebraska. Andy Bishop is with the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture and said the cranes were headed north when they stopped. He said they later managed to continue their trip.
“Once they left Trumbull Basin, they roosted on the Niabrara and then made it up to Standing Rock Indian reservation,” Bishop said. “So in two days they went from Nebraska to North Dakota and they’re well on their way to Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada which is their breeding ground.”
One of the younger birds was radio-tagged and researchers were able to track it. The birds were part of a flock of 506 endangered whooping cranes that migrate north each year. Bishop said the landowner in Adams County kept a close eye on the birds.
“I got texts daily from the landowner. He’s a great individual and really proud of the work they’ve done on the restoration,” Bishop said. “He was daily taking notes on it. I think he had 15 pages of notes on all their behavior and has become a Whooping Crane enthusiast.”
There are only around 800 whooping cranes in the world. Bishop said central Nebraska’s restored wetlands make an attractive rest stop for groups of the cranes heading north.