An Ancient Migration

Why do thousands of cranes stop at Nebraska’s Platte River every spring?

1 A large flock of birds rising up to fill the sky can be a breathtaking sight, but imagine a place where you might see hundreds of thousands of birds all at once. For six weeks each spring, nearly 500,000 sandhill cranes stop along the Platte River in Nebraska as they make their annual northern migration. This unique, natural occurrence has happened for thousands of years and attracts large crowds of people each year to witness its beauty.

2 The sandhill crane has been in existence longer than any other crane. Fossil records show that they have been around for ten million years! Sandhill cranes stand nearly four feet tall and are mostly gray except for a bit of red on top of their heads. They also have a long, pointed bill and white feathers on the sides of their faces.

3 The most distinctive features of the sandhill crane can be seen when they fly. With long legs and a long neck extending out from their bodies, cranes create a graceful sight as they glide across the sky.

4 During the winter, sandhill cranes live in the wetter parts of Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Marshes and bogs provide the perfect habitat because the shallowness allows cranes to stand right in the middle of the water. This way they can easily forage for plants, insects, and fish. Because they eat both plants and animals, cranes are considered omnivorous. When sandhill cranes stop along the Platte River, their main food source is corn that can be found in the surrounding fields. Farmers benefit from the cranes because the birds help clean the fields for the next round of crops.

5 With the arrival of spring, cranes begin migrating north to their summer homes in Canada, Alaska, and even Siberia. Their flight pattern takes them across the central plains of the United States. For the most part, these are arid states, but the Platte River provides a large area of shallow water that is perfect for the cranes. In addition, the Platte is located approximately at the midpoint in the cranes’ journey. Thousands and thousands of cranes land to take a break and socialize at this ideal resting place.

6 Originally called Nebraskier, an Oto word meaning flat water, the Platte was renamed by a French explorer because platte means flat in French. Its significance is not only for the birds. As Europeans traveled westward across the country, the Platte River was an important landmark. Both the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail ran alongside it.

7 If you are interested in traveling to see the cranes, Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska, is one of the best places for viewing them. Run by the National Audubon Society, Rowe Sanctuary works for the conservation of the cranes and other migratory birds that stop along the Platte. They also provide blinds so visitors can watch the hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes that land there without disturbing them.

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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1. Why are sandhill cranes classified as omnivorous?

2. The selection says that Rowe Sanctuary provides blinds for visitors. What do you think this means?

3. Where do sandhill cranes live during the winter?

4. What attracts the cranes to Platte River?

5. Check the sentence that best states the main idea of the passage.

_____ Every spring, thousands of sandhill cranes stop at Nebraska’s Platte River during their northern migration.

The most distinctive features of sandhill cranes are their long necks and legs.

Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska, is one of the best places for viewing sandhill cranes.

Write F before the sentences that are facts. Write O before the sentences that are opinions.

6. _____ The summer homes of sandhill cranes are in places like Canada and Alaska.

7. _____ There is nothing as beautiful as a sandhill crane taking flight.

8. _____ Sandhill cranes like the environment of marshes and bogs.

9. _____ The best place to view sandhill cranes is Rowe Sanctuary.

10. _____ Large numbers of people come to watch the cranes migrate every spring.

11. Which word in paragraph 1 means “occuring once a year”?

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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