The birds that migrate across Colorado are coming from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming or Just a bit further northwest of Fort Collins in Colorado. They are on their way to the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in the San Luis Valley where they will rest and feed for a few weeks before continuing south along the Rio Grande River. Most will winter at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Listening to their sweet, wild call, I wanted to follow them south - so I did. It took me a little longer, of course, since I couldn't just pick up and fly south as the cranes fly.
The San Luis Valley is the largest of the open bowls between the eastern ranges of Rocky Mountains and the western ranges in Colorado. It is roughly 100 miles long and 50 miles wide, with the San Juan mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east. It is flat, saltbush and greasewood flats, but the Rio Grande River runs out of the San Juans to cut through it. Much of the land is farm land, watered by irrigation ditches and artesian wells. The Monte Vista NWR is just outside the town of Monte Vista. It is a managed refuge where water levels in the wetlands are maintained whenever possible, although it's been harder during these drought years. In the fall, farmers in the area harvest grain, and cranes glean the fields in the area during the day.
More than 20,000 cranes use this staging area in spring and in fall. Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) are impressive birds, standing as much as 4 feet tall, with long slender necks and long legs that allow them to wade in shallow water. They are generally gray,
