Full Itinerary
Photo Credit: Mark Davis
DATES
Experience the Awe-Inspiring March 13 - 19, 2022
Sandhill Crane Migration PRICE Double Occupancy: $ 3,290 Single Occupancy: $3,690
DAY -BY-DAY ITINERARY
Each spring, over half a million Sandhill cranes you’ll meet with local Conservancy staff and get to stop along a 50-mile stretch of Nebraska’s Platte know your fellow travel companions, hosts, and River creating the continent’s most awe- naturalist guides. Experience Omaha’s Henry inspiring migration. As they have for millennia, Doorly Zoo before heading west, passing through the birds voice their unmistakable prehistoric agricultural lands dotted by woodlands and rivers. calls, seemingly to wake North America up from Spend one night in Ord from which you visit the its long winter hibernation. Nebraska’s Sandhills Switzer family ranch the following day. Continue regions host not only these namesake cranes, to Grand Island, your location for the follow four but scores of other species of birds and nights where you’ll encounter the Sandhill cranes. waterfowl , which rest and refuel along the Experience the spectacle of “Crane Rise” along Central Flyway on their way to breeding grounds The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies further north. Experience all of this while you preserve and talk with local TNC staff about this learn about the rich cultural history of one of the important area along the United States portion of Great Plains’ most vital river basins along the the Central Flyway of North America. North Loup River and about Nebraska Sandhills conservation from a 4th generation rancher on a We hope you enjoy the magic of the Great Plains private tour of the Switzer family ranch. during one of North America’s most impressive migratory events and leave with a better Your journey along the Sandhill Crane Migration understanding of The Nature Conservancy’s corridor begins in Omaha, Nebraska where conservation impacts.
TNC
TRAVEL
VALUES
ACCESS: Travel with renowned Conservancy experts and local partners for an exclusive, Photo Credit: Chris Helzer behind-the-scenes experience. You won’t just see amazing places, you’ll see how you are helping save them.
IMPACT: See how your commitment to our planet and your passion for conservation are making a difference. You will see the wild places and the communities you are impacting.
KNOWLEDGE: Learn how we are applying the latest cutting-edge science to Photo Credit: Gary Grossman affect global change and drive conservation.
BIRDING Witness two spectacular wildlife events; the gather of
hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes, and the winter INSPIRATION: habitat use of impressive numbers of snow geese and other Immerse yourself in local migrating waterfowl. cultures and awe-inspiring _____ landscapes to foster your own OMAHA HENRY DOORLY ZOO connection to our world. Experience the world-famous Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo – a HIGHLIGHTS facility with a strong conservation mission. _____ GLOBALLY MINDED: WILDLIFE Elevate your understanding of Enjoy the opportunity to spot wildlife such as mule deer, our work by seeing first-hand trumpeter swans, wild turkey, red-tailed hawks, bald eagle how TNC and our partners act and more. locally and how we turn local
PROGRAM PROGRAM results in to global impact by Your trip supports the local communities you’re traveling in and The Nature Conservancy’s efforts locally and globally. This trip has been scaling solutions that work. planned specifically by The Nature Conservancy’s team of scientific experts and travel liaisons to immerse you in the work the Conservancy is doing on the ground that has global consequences.
Photo Credit: Chris Helzer
THE CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE
Platte River Prairies Located between Grand Island and Kearney, Nebraska, The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies are a chain of grasslands and wetlands that are managed for biological diversity. The Conservancy owns ten tracts of land totaling 3,476 acres along the Platte River, and has easements on 2,816 more. TNC has restored about 1,500 acres of cropland to high-dive rsity prairie in an effort to enlarge and reconnect fragments of native prairie – and now manages them with a combination of prescribed fire and grazing.
The stretch of the Platte River, known as Big Bend Reach, is the most important migratory bird area along the United States portion of the Central Flyway of North America. The Platte and its adjacent wet meadows in the Big Bend region provide habitat for millions of migratory birds including some 600,000 Sandhill cranes and millions of ducks and geese. It is an important stopover location for critically endangered whooping cranes during their spring and fall migration. The area is also very important for other threatened and endangered species such as the bald eagle, interior least tern, piping plover, and many grassland bird species.
ITINERARY LODGING DAY 1 – Sunday, March 13th | Arrive in Omaha today, no later than 5pm. Those arriving early will have a chance to visit the local Lauritzen Gardens or the famous Joslyn Art Museum depending on weather and your interests.
Tonight, enjoy a welcome dinner, followed by a presentation by local TNC staff who will update us on current work in Nebraska with wetland and prairie initiatives. Meet your fellow traveling companions, host, and expert naturalist guides. Photo Credit: Courtyard by Marriott OVERNIGHT AT COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT
DAY 2 – Monday, March 14th | This morning, experience Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, a world- famous zoo with a strong conservation mission. From here, head west, passing through agricultural lands dotted by woodlands associated with the scenic North Loup River.
Welcome to the matchless Sandhills region of Nebraska! Simple and comfortable, enjoy some rural American hospitality at the local Cobblestone Inn & Suites and dinner at a nearby restaurant. Photo Credit: Cobblestone Inn OVERNIGHT AT THE COBBLESTONE INN, ORD
DAY 3 – Tuesday, March 15th | Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before heading to the Switzer family ranch near Burwell. This 12,000-acre diversified cattle ranch has been in the family since 1904. We pass along the shores of Calamus Reservoir, looking for bald eagles and other birds and wildlife. After a warm welcome at the ranch, we board 4-wheel drive vehicles for an overland ranch tour to give you a feel for how ranch operations blend with wildlife management. We may find Mule Deer, Trumpeter Swans, Wild Turkey, Red- tailed Hawks (the Harlan’s form is common here) and more. Photo Credit: Best Western Plus We enjoy a catered lunch in the ranch house, where Sarah (Switzer) Sortum shares her expertise on conservation of the Nebraska Sandhills. Sarah grew up on the ranch and returned in 2006 with her husband, Mark, to raise their children. Sarah has worked closely with The Nature Conservancy and the local Gracie Creek Landowners Trust on varied projects designed to protect greater prairie chickens and the endangered blowout penstemon using grazing as a tool.
Then it’s on to Grand Island where we settle into accommodations and hear an introduction to the Sandhill crane migration and to TNC’s work to protect habitat for migratory species along the Platte River.
OVERNIGHT AT BEST WESTERN PLUS
ITINERARY, CONT.
DAY 4 –Wednesday, March 16th | In the early morning hours, we experience our first “Crane Rise” from a private viewing from blinds at TNC’s Platte River Prairies. Pre-dawn crane music turns into a crescendo of wake-up calls as the cranes awaken and leave their riverine roost sites. Witness the “gray sandbar islands” of the Platte River turn into clouds of Sandhill cranes leaving their roost sites. The sight and sounds on any morning are something to behold.
Return to the cozy ambiance of TNC’s Derr House on the preserve; over a catered brunch, learn more Photo Credit: Switzer Family Ranch about the biology and conservation of Sandhill Cranes and other species along Nebraska’s Platte River system.
This afternoon you can choose to relax, or to learn about the early settlers of the Great Plains at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, one of Grand Island’s top attractions.
Dinner is at a favorite local restaurant.
OVERNIGHT AT BEST WESTERN PLUS
DAY 5 – Thursday, March 17th | Our own early birds can enjoy an optional guided morning drive to watch behaviors and interactions of the cranes at their feeding sites. Breakfast is at the hotel. Photo Credit: Chris Helzer
Late morning, we head out the Derr House for a tour of TNC’s Platte River Prairies operations, including a demonstration of how we process native seed for our high diversity prairie restoration efforts. TNC Nebraska’s Director of Science, Chris Helzer, will accompany us on a prairie walk and deliver remarks on the beauty and complexity of prairies.
After the walk, warm up with tea and hot chocolate. There are three different crane viewing blinds we want you to experience. Enjoy an early catered dinner (perhaps corned beef and cabbage to celebrate the day!). Afterwards, we walk into another of the Conservancy’s private blinds tucked Photo Credit: Chris Helzer on the edge of the river. We will be in place before birds start to come in to roost, then watch as huge Sandhill Cranes numbers pack into the river’s sand islands. Sunset Sandhill cranes descend on the river at sunset to colors illuminate the beauty of this epic wildlife roost. The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River spectacle. Prairies Preserve in Nebraska is important migratory habitat along the Central Flyway
Migration Corridor in the United States. OVERNIGHT AT BEST WESTERN PLUS
ITINERARY, CONT.
th DAY 6 – Friday, March 18 | After breakfast at the hotel, our focus turns to what Nebraska is perhaps best known for – agriculture. Enjoy time with Conservancy staff from the Nebraska chatper’s Water and Agriculture team to learn how TNC is partnering with farmers and the private sector to accelerate the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices across the state and region.
Field trips this day will be “guide’s choice” based on the group’s interest. Options include a visit to the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center or a driving tour of Rainwater Basin wetlands to view migrating waterfowl. Photo Credit: Chris Helzer
Then, your third private-blind viewing Sandhill Crane session awaits! What a privilege to see this spectacle of migration in such a unique way. There is no way to describe the emotion of sunset with cranes.
Share special moments of the week at a wrap-up this evening and know that your visit makes a difference for conservation.
OVERNIGHT AT BEST WESTERN PLUS
DAY 7 – Saturday, March 19th | After breakfast, we pack up our luggage and head back to Omaha, a two-and-a-half-hour drive. Please book your flights no earlier than 12pm. Photo Credit: David Drienzo
PRICE DETAIL Double Occupancy $3,290 Single Occupancy: $3,690
Price includes all lodging, transportation throughout the PLEASE NOTE : This itinerary is representative of your trip, and week, activities, tips, meals, TNC expert staff and local like all-natural history excursions, activities are subject to guides. Price does not include your roundtrip flight to modification based on weather and unforeseen events. We will Omaha. do our best to keep you informed on any necessary changes.