Eckert Crane Days

Sandhill Cranes Stop in to Town

By Christie Aschwanden, 3-21-05

Last Saturday, I wandered down to Hart's Basin just south of my house to take part in Eckert Crane Days. The nine-day festival celebrates the arrival of tens of thousands of Greater Sandhill Cranes, which stop overnight at the Fruitgrowers Reservoir east of Eckert as they migrate north for the summer. The cranes arrive at Hart's Basin after flying roughly 200 miles from Colorado's San Luis Valley.

Surface Creek Winery in Eckert sponsors Crane Days, and each evening during the festival they post crane counts, http://www.eckertcranedays.com/birds.html estimating the number of cranes that arrived that evening, on their website and in front of the winery so that birdwatchers can learn just how many cranes they can expect for liftoff the following morning.

Last weekend, the cranes timed their arrival perfectly—more than 2,500 cranes landed Friday night, making Saturday the perfect time to witness the spectacle of the cranes taking flight. I arrived at the reservoir just a few minutes before 9:00am, worried that I might have missed the takeoff. The Black Canyon Audubon Society advises birdwatchers to arrive at Fruitgrower's Reservoir no later than 9 am, and I was sure that a wrong turn had cost me a chance to witness the takeoff.

Lucky for me, the cranes don't follow the clock. I arrived at the reservoir to find about 100 cars and many more spectators lined along the road abutting the water. A few hundred feet from the road, thousands of cranes stood in fields along the reservoir. Everyone in attendance followed proper bird watching etiquette--standing back from the birds and watching them through binoculars and scopes. I had stupidly left my binoculars at home, but a kind volunteer from the Audubon Society graciously allowed me and other novices to look at the cranes through his scope.

From afar, the cranes were mere brown spots on a field. But seen close-up through a lens, they were nothing short of magnificent. Long and slender, the birds carry themselves with grace. Red spots on their heads, like elegant hats, give the birds a royal appearance.

As I stood watching the birds from afar, I overheard speculation about when the birds might take off. An experienced crane watcher behind me told a newbie that the cranes would start moving around, stretching their necks and wings a bit, before they took off. And that's exactly how it happened.

Without notice, an excited motion swept through the flock. Suddenly, a group of about 20 cranes moved toward an open stretch of field. Then, as if it were a runway, they took a few quick steps to the northwest, opened their expansive wings, and took flight. Sandhill Cranes in flight move with a mesmerizing grace and watching them provokes a sense of calm in the observer, as if the world's cares have been distilled into the beauty of flight. The birds circled around and around in symmetrical spirals, gathering members and inscribing graceful circles in the sky overhead.

From takeoff until they disappeared into the horizon, the birds emitted a sort of staccato purr, like a contented cat with a stutter, that cloaked the basin in a spellbinding song. As the birds spiraled higher and higher into the air overhead, I got a closer look at them from below. Their wingspans were massive; their wing motion synchronized in a hypnotic wave. The show continued for about 15 minutes and then the cranes were gone—disappeared into the expansive blue sky.

Last Saturday (when I first visited the Reservoir), more than 2,500 cranes took flight. This Saturday, the cranes were a no-show. Probably due to bad weather in the San Luis Valley, no cranes arrived at the reservoir on Friday night. But over at Surface Creek Winery in Eckert, the celebration continued with wine tasting and a talks by Larry Collins of Wild Birds Unlimited and Evelyn Horn, author of Following Sandhill Cranes.

For tasting notes on the Surface Creek Wines click here.

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