1. Cranes are among the oldest living birds on the planet. A Crowned Crane fossil, a close relative of the Sandhill Crane, was found in the Ashfall Fossil Beds in northeast Nebraska, estimated to be about 10 million years old.
2. There are at least five subspecies of Sandhill Cranes. Migratory subspecies include the lesser, greater, and according to some, the Canadian Sandhill Crane. Non-migratory subspecies are the Florida, Mississippi and Cuban Sandhill Crane.
3. Cranes are omnivorous and their diet varies depending on the season and where they are at. The cranes that visit the Platte River valley feed primarily on waste grain left in corn fields, making up 90% of their diet while here. The other 10% comes from plant and animal foods found in wet meadows adjacent to the river. Seeds, fleshy tubers of plants, grubs, earth worms, snails, amphibians, small reptiles and small rodents are all fair game.
4. Sandhill Cranes can fly up to 25 - 35 mph
5. Cranes typically travel 200 - 300 miles in a day, but can reach 500 miles with a good tail wind.
6. For migratory populations, nesting begins early April to late May. Non-migratory populations begin in December to early March. Nests are usually low mounds of vegetation located in wetlands, but are occasionally located in uplands. The female typically lays two eggs, with incubation lasting 29 - 32 days.
7. Cranes are opportunistic fliers, relying on thermals and tail winds to carry them along. Thermals are rising columns of warm air and when southerly winds start to blow in late March and early April along the Platte, you will see cranes testing them for flight conditions. Cranes ride thermals so efficiently that they have been seen flying over Mt. Everest (~28,000 feet).
8. A crane's bill is very sharp and sturdy, useful when probing frozen soil. The edges are serrated to grasp slippery food like worms and snakes. Not only is it used for preening, it is also used as a weapon.
9. When a crane is threatened, it will use its wings to maintain its balance and then jump up and strike at the attacker with its feet.