WhenToBird

Antigone canadensis · Gruidae

When Do Sandhill Cranes Arrive in Colorado?

Adult Sandhill crane
Photo: Cathy Perkins, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Sandhill Cranes are winter birds in Colorado: they arrive in late September, peak in the second week of October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 22-30late September
Common bySep 22-30late September
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Most gone byDec 1-7early December

Best: the second week of October. First arrivals late September; most are gone by early December. Peak: on about 3.3% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.4% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.7% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.7% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.0% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.2% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.8% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.6% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.9% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.6% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.4% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.5% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.6% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.1% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.3% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.4% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.9% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.5% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.9% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.3% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.0% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% of 30802 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Colorado that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rio Grande CountyBest early March · 224 checklists that week, 4,655 in all75%
  2. Costilla CountyBest late February · 14 checklists that week, 1,323 in all61%
  3. Delta CountyBest early March · 108 checklists that week, 6,509 in all46%
  4. Routt CountyBest mid April · 284 checklists that week, 10,504 in all39%
  5. Saguache CountyBest late March · 70 checklists that week, 3,220 in all34%
  6. Moffat CountyBest the second week of September · 121 checklists that week, 5,700 in all32%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (south)Rio Grande County, best the second week of March · 59 checklists that week, 172 in all96%
  2. Smith ReservoirCostilla County, best the second week of March · 21 checklists that week, 432 in all94%
  3. North Poudre Reservoir Number 3Larimer County, best early March · 43 checklists that week, 235 in all94%
  4. Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)Rio Grande County, best the second week of March · 40 checklists that week, 176 in all94%
  5. Monte Vista National Wildlife RefugeRio Grande County, best late February · 27 checklists that week, 1,219 in all93%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Sandhill Crane is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 71991 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 159189 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 177206 checklists9 am: 1.0% of 165269 checklists10 am: 1.3% of 141029 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 1.2% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 1.1% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 1.0% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 0.9% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.4%0.5%0.5%0.4%
February0.4%0.4%0.7%1.4%
March2.7%3.7%3.0%2.2%
April1.8%1.6%1.2%0.9%
May0.6%0.5%0.4%0.4%
June0.7%0.4%0.3%0.4%
July0.3%0.3%0.4%0.3%
August0.3%0.4%0.5%0.7%
September0.9%0.6%0.6%0.8%
October3.1%4.3%2.4%2.9%
November1.5%1.9%1.3%1.0%
December0.7%0.4%0.6%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives early March, 21 weeks later than Colorado
  • New Mexico: arrives late September, in the same week than Colorado
  • Utah: arrives the second week of February, 18 weeks later than Colorado
  • Nebraska: arrives mid February, 19 weeks later than Colorado

Common questions

When do Sandhill Cranes arrive in Colorado?
Sandhill Cranes are winter birds in Colorado: they arrive in late September, peak in the second week of October (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by early December.
When do Sandhill Cranes leave Colorado?
Most Sandhill Cranes have left Colorado by early December, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Sandhill Crane in Colorado?
The Sandhill Crane is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 3.3% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Sandhill Cranes seen most often?
By county, Rio Grande County, Costilla County, and Delta County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sandhill Crane (counties with at least 200 checklists).