Thursday April 10, 2014
From Grand Island Nebraska. Pictures tell the story today.- Jim

 The Crane Trust Vistor's Center . They see that the Cranes are protected in many ways.

 The only "original untouched" portion of the Platte River (The Big Bend)

 Today we saw 10,000+ cranes right up til sunset, mostly in corn fields.

 This is one example of dozens of fields we saw .

 It's busy time in the fields , disking, tilling, and repairing electricity wires
 for irrigation sprinklers. Almost 100% corn is raised and little beans.

 Springtime means moms getting the milk to the calves.

 Two pictures of a controlled burn for feed for wildlife. The wind was 0-5 mph.

 I felt the heat from this blaze across the road.

 He watched not only the fire but the smoke to know the wind speed and direction.

 One of three small towns we visited while looking for the Cranes
in the fields and the 32 other bird species we saw today.

 Talked at some length to a rancher who with his father owned 800+ head of
cattle (Red Angus) . He was tagging and inoculating the many calves they will keep
with the mother s for 220 days. His handshake was the most powerful haveever received.

 Two of the many birds we saw today . Yes, Ring Necked Pheasants.

 And finally the sunset and watching the many cranes roost along the river
for the night on sandbars,

 Don't need words.

 One of the sandbars got filled by the time the sun set.

Enjoy the end of day in Nebraska.