WhenToBird

Antigone canadensis · Gruidae

When Do Sandhill Cranes Arrive in Nebraska?

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

Sandhill Cranes mostly pass through Nebraska: the first show up in mid February, they are common by early March, peak in mid March (20% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 15-21mid February
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Most gone byApr 1-7early April

Best: mid March. First arrivals mid February; most are gone by early April. Peak: on about 20% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octrare
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.8% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.6% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.4% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.9% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 8.4% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 23% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 20% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 13% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.2% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.7% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.1% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.1% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.1% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.5% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.4% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.4% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.9% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.2% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.2% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Buffalo CountyBest late March · 1206 checklists that week, 10,155 in all72%
  2. Kearney CountyBest the second week of March · 81 checklists that week, 1,140 in all70%
  3. Hall CountyBest mid March · 500 checklists that week, 6,387 in all67%
  4. Garden CountyBest mid March · 65 checklists that week, 1,392 in all67%
  5. Hamilton CountyBest late March · 51 checklists that week, 630 in all46%
  6. Merrick CountyBest mid March · 16 checklists that week, 552 in all44%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Crane Viewing SiteHall County, best the second week of March · 57 checklists that week, 435 in all97%
  2. Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance TrustHall County, best the second week of March · 37 checklists that week, 179 in all95%
  3. Plautz Crane ViewingBuffalo County, best late March · 88 checklists that week, 312 in all94%
  4. Fort Kearny State Recreation Area (southwest)Buffalo County, best mid March · 46 checklists that week, 345 in all92%
  5. Fort Kearny State Recreation AreaBuffalo County, best the second week of March · 56 checklists that week, 495 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Sandhill Crane is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (5.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 4.8% of 6945 checklists7 am: 2.8% of 19066 checklists8 am: 2.1% of 24661 checklists9 am: 2.5% of 23438 checklists10 am: 2.9% of 20424 checklists11 am: 3.0% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 2.7% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 2.6% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 2.6% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 2.8% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 2.8% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 4.0% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 5.7% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 6.1% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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%0.6%0.2%0.4%
February0.8%0.6%1.4%3.9%
March8.4%18%23%20%
April13%5.2%1.7%0.8%
May0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
June0.1%0.2%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
August0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%
September0.1%0.1%0.3%0.3%
October1.1%2.1%2.5%2.4%
November2.4%1.9%1.2%0.6%
December0.2%0.4%0.3%0.2%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: arrives early October, 18 weeks earlier than Nebraska
  • South Dakota: arrives early March, 2 weeks later than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives late February, 1 week later than Nebraska
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of October, 17 weeks earlier than Nebraska

Common questions

When do Sandhill Cranes arrive in Nebraska?
Sandhill Cranes mostly pass through Nebraska: the first show up in mid February, they are common by early March, peak in mid March (20% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.
When do Sandhill Cranes leave Nebraska?
Most Sandhill Cranes have left Nebraska by early April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid April.
When is the best time to see a Sandhill Crane in Nebraska?
The Sandhill Crane is reported most often in mid March, on about 20% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Sandhill Cranes seen most often?
By county, Buffalo County, Kearney County, and Hall County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Sandhill Crane (counties with at least 200 checklists).