Flock to Monte Vista to join CPW at annual crane festival

John Livingston
Southwest Region Public Information Officer
970-759-9590 / [email protected]
@CPW_SW

MONTE VISTA, Colo. – As thousands of sandhill cranes migrate through the San Luis Valley, visitors from across Colorado and the surrounding region will flock to Monte Vista this weekend to take in the spectacle.

More than 18,000 greater sandhill cranes are in the midst of their annual spring migration and stopping over in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley as they transition from winter habitat to breeding grounds in the north.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff and volunteers will once again be on hand at viewing sites and will staff an educational booth March 7-9 during the 42nd Monte Vista Crane Festival.

“This is one of the great migrations in the country that people can actually get out and see,” said CPW Southwest Region Education Coordinator Catherine Dolder. “Our CPW staff and wonderful volunteers take pride in being a part of the Monte Vista Crane Festival every year, and we aim to help make it better each year.”

CPW staff and volunteers will support outdoor viewing sites with scopes available for the public to use. They will be on hand to help answer questions and provide educational information related to the daily activity of the cranes.

CPW will also host a booth at the Ski Hi Complex in Monte Vista throughout the event to provide additional information and learning opportunities. The public is invited to try on CPW’s crane costume and pose for a few photos in the new photo booth.

This year, there will not be bus tours to viewing sites provided by the crane festival. CPW advises the public to take extra caution when arriving and departing viewing sites, as there will be more vehicle traffic this year accompanied by the high volume of pedestrian activity.

As part of the festival, several special tours are planned. Among the many tours, local ornithologist John Rawinski will lead a guided birding tour of Home Lake State Wildlife Area, which is managed by CPW. Facility Manager Ricardo Romero will also lead a two-hour tour of the J.W. Mumma Native Aquatic Species Research Facility in Alamosa.

Visitors should also dress warm and be prepared for inclement weather. Snow showers are in the forecast for March 7. And though Saturday and Sunday’s forecast calls for clear skies, the windchill is always a factor.

Cranes are migratory birds, and the Rocky Mountain population of greater sandhill cranes is estimated at more than 18,000. Much of the population spends its winter in nesting grounds south in New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico and will migrate north in the spring to summer breeding grounds in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Cranes are among the oldest living species on the planet, with fossil records dating back 9 million years. The birds that migrate through Colorado are the largest of the North American sandhill crane subspecies standing 4-feet tall with a wing-span of up to 7 feet and weighing in at 11 pounds. Besides their imposing size, the birds issue a continuous and distinctive call.

The Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge sees thousands of sandhill cranes each day during this time of year. The Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge will be open one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunrise for crane viewing. Cranes may also be viewed at the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge southeast of Alamosa as well as at CPW’s Rio Grande, Higel and Russell Lakes State Wildlife Areas. CPW asks the public to please observe the seasonal closures at the State Wildlife Areas.

Cranes are most active at dusk and dawn when they move from nighttime roosting areas to fields where they feed. People attending the Monte Vista Crane Festival’s viewing sites may also see eagles, owls, turkeys and a variety of other raptors and waterfowl.

Birdwatchers should be cautious when parking, getting out of vehicles and walking along roads. View birds from a distance with binoculars and spotting scopes, and observe trail signs and closure notices.

For more information on the Monte Vista Crane Festival, go to https://mvcranefest.org/festival/; or https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Monte_Vista. For more information on State Wildlife Areas in the San Luis Valley, go to: https://cpw.state.co.us/swa-finder.