Photo courtesy Abby Jensen and Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition

 

UPDATE: Friday, March 25

The contest continues for Steamboat Springs, North Routt, and South Routt. No cranes have yet been spotted in these areas. Document your sighting with a photo or video and send it to: info@coloradocranes.org. Be sure to include your name and mailing address, plus the date, time, and location of the sighting.

From the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition today:

A prize will be awarded to each individual with the photo or video of the earliest sighting in West Routt, North Routt, South Routt, Steamboat Springs, Craig, and West Moffat. A grand prize will be given for the overall earliest sighting in the entire Yampa Valley.

Winners will be notified in early April. Winning photos and videos will be posted on Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition’s website. For more info, visit: www.coloradocranes.org or email: info@coloradocranes.org.

 

 

Original post on Feb. 15, 2022

The sandhill cranes are heading back soon to the Yampa Valley. They arrive in late February or early March.

If you’re the first one to spot a Greater Sandhill Crane then you can win a prize from the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition. Get a picture or video and send it to info@coloradocranes.org There is a grand prize for the first crane sighting in the entire Yampa Valley, but then individual prizes for the earliest sightings in West Routt, North Routt, South Routt, Steamboat Springs, Craig, and West Moffat.

Nancy Merrill, the president of the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, says the West Moffat area is all of Moffat County west of the City of Craig. Then the Craig area comprises everything from the City of Craig to the eastern boundary of Moffat County. She writes, “The first cranes are almost always spotted in one of those two areas.”

Link for more on the 2022 First Crane Sighting of the Season