Date: 2/27/26 3:27 pm From: David Suddjian <dsuddjian...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Cranes Abundant at Monte Vista
Have a look at the resources on the Monte Vista Crane Festival webpage.
They have maps of viewing spots.
David Suddjian
Littleton, CO
On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 4:16 PM Karen Clark <keclark740...> wrote:
> Hi John,
> I appreciate your updates on the cranes. In about 2 weeks, a few of us
> from the Broomfield Bird Club are going to make a trip down there. As I
> recall, there are some county roads with ample parking where I was able to
> view the cranes during the day last year. Would this be a good place to see
> them at dawn, or is the refuge a better spot for sunrise viewing?
>
> Karen Clark
> Broomfield
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 26, 2026, at 6:34 AM, John Rawinski <johnrawinski0...>
> wrote:
>
> Glad you experienced those moments. As far as Greater Yellowlegs, they
> are one of the first shorebirds we see in spring. Had them at Smith a few
> weeks ago. Nice finds!
>
> On Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 8:11:59 PM UTC-7 Caoimhín Perkins wrote:
>
>> I want to second that first light is a great time to see the cranes at
>> Monte Vista NWR. We pulled up at 6am, complete overcast and fog,
>> astronomical twilight — *before* first light. My partner and I stopped at
>> the very first pond you encounter in the loop and saw the faintest shadows
>> of cranes starting to move in the near-perfect dark. Very magical and
>> mysterious moment, like the cranes were slowly popping into the faintest of
>> existences. We kept driving and around civil twilight, the huge amount of
>> noise at the larger pond they gather at was incredible, as were the huge
>> flocks as they took off, piecewise, over the next hour.
>>
>> Afternoon is cool, but seeing them wake up in the dark is something else.
>> Not sure if this is the right time of year, but there were greater
>> yellowlegs in the pond right before the big one when we went.
>>
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