2026 Crane Season at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary

More than 50 years ago, Audubon, a grass roots volunteer led group began hosting what would become known as the Crane Festival—recognizing the return of Sandhill Cranes to the Platte River as one of the most remarkable bird migration spectacles on Earth. What began in the early 1970s as a small gathering of passionate birds and conservation advocates has since grown into a nationally recognized ecotourism destination and a month-long celebration of one of the greatest wildlife migrations in the world.

Today, Crane Season at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary spans March and early April and includes six weeks of guided crane viewing opportunities along the Platte River. In addition to offering world-class viewing experiences, Rowe Sanctuary partners with scientists, conservation leaders, artists, and educators to present engaging programs designed to enrich our guests’ experiences. Whether you are a first-time visitor or a lifelong birder, we invite you to join us this spring to learn, celebrate, and experience one of North America’s greatest wildlife migrations. Rowe Sanctuary offers classes on crane behavior and ecology, lectures on conservation efforts across Nebraska and the Great Plains, and special programs that explore the cultural, artistic, and scientific dimensions of migration.

One tradition that remains from the original Crane Festival is our annual Speaker Series. Each year, the series highlights important conservation issues and show cases some of the dedicated individuals working locally and globally to protect cranes and their habitat.

This year’s speaker series features engaging, in-person lectures on topics ranging from Whooping Crane recovery and Platte River water management to wetland conservation, storytelling and poetry.

Our goal is to enhance what visitors witness on the river each morning and evening—offering deeper insight into the science, partnerships, and passion behind crane conservation. After all, the cranes know how to put on a show; we hope our speakers help tell the story behind it.

Cost and registration:
All Speaker Series lectures are free, but pre-registration is required as space is limited.

Where can people find more information?

Sessions take place on Fridays and Saturdays, March 6 through April 4, 2026, with most presentations held from 2:30–3:15 p.m
Full schedules, presentation descriptions, and registration details for the Speaker Series and all Crane Season programming can be found here.

We look forward to welcoming you to Crane Season 2026