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Thank you - You
do make a difference
Rowe Sanctuary greatly appreciates everyone
who dropped by to see us during the 2008 Crane Season. Whether you
signed up to see the cranes from one of our viewing blinds or dropped in
to purchase an item from our gift shop, you helped to fund a portion of
the work being done annually on the behalf of cranes and other wildlife at
Rowe Sanctuary. Admissions to see the cranes and sales in our gift
shop pay for roughly half of our annual operations and contributions from
people like you make up the balance.
To find out how you can further support our efforts on the Platte River for sandhill
cranes and other wildlife, click here for more information.
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What we offer
Rowe Sanctuary offers guided trips to view the world's largest
concentration of sandhill cranes from observation blinds on the
banks of the Platte River in southcentral Nebraska. The trips are conducted every year during March
and early April, when over 500,000 sandhill cranes along with hundreds of
thousands of ducks and geese converge on the Platte. Rowe Sanctuary is located right
in the heart of this magnificent sandhill crane staging area where the birds can be
viewed in huge gatherings on their nighttime roosts. Trips to our
observation blinds are timed to provide the best opportunities to see this
spectacle. Group sizes are limited to
maintain the quality and uniqueness of the experience.
A typical field trip begins and ends with a walk of
between 1/4-1/2 mile over level terrain. Morning trips start before dawn as the
blinds must be approached under the cover of darkness to prevent spooking
the cranes. In the evening, tours arrive at the blinds before the sun sets
to view the sandhill cranes as they return to the river and stay until dark. Benches are available for resting, but the blinds are not heated.
Our field trips take place every morning
and evening from early March through early April. Although we take
"walk-ins" when space is available, we encourage you to call after the
first of the year to make reservations. See our
Crane Viewing information page for more
details.
Planning your
trip
If you are planning a trip to come and see
this wonderful spectacle, but don't know where to start, click
here for
additional information that will help to get you started.
And for a sample of what a person can see upon
arriving to Rowe Sanctuary, check out
Crane Cam to see video from past seasons.
