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Article: Where the birds are: Nebraska offers a peek at cranes in the Plains: At a prairie way station, bird-watching soars.(Features)(Travel)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- March 27, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Tony Tedeschi Special to The Christian Science Monitor
GRAND ISLAND, NEB. -- From late February to mid-April each year, an 80-mile stretch of the Platte River in south central Nebraska becomes a way station for maybe half a million sandhill cranes. The ungainly birds fill the horizon with their flapping wings and fill the air with their rich, rolling calls.
As much as 90 percent of the world's known crane population passes through here, stopping to fatten up on loose kernels from last autumn's cornfields.
Local communities, particularly Kearney and Grand Island, plan weeks-long events to celebrate the birds' arrival. Wildlife tours, ...