Fall is approaching, and so are the Sandhill Cranes. The cranes trickle into the valley in family groups. It’s not the large numbers at one time like the spring, but it’s still spectacular. The best time to see the cranes is mid to late September and the first couple of weeks in October. The cranes …
Looking Back at 2022 and ahead to our 40th anniversary https://mvcranefest.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_8819.mp4 As the end of May approaches and we are starting to look forward to the end of the windy spring season and the warmer, sunny days of early summer, we thought it was a perfect time to reflect on the highlights of the 2022 …
April 5, 2022 update: The majority of the cranes have migrated north towards their nesting grounds. There might be a few still in the valley. Now we are seeing the beginning of shorebirds coming through such as Yellowlegs and Killdeer. Next will be the warblers! There was a small group of about six snow geese …
Update March 24th, 2022. There still are thousands of cranes on the Monte Vista Refuge. The best place to see them is on or near the tour loop on the refuge. They will be starting to move north in the next couple of weeks. Enjoy them while they are heere. See the PLAN YOUR VISIT …
The Monte Vista Chamber Craft Fair was held in the new Event building at Ski Hi in 2022. It was a big sucess. We are looking forward to a bigger and better event in 2023!
Thanks for a wonderful 2021 39th Annual Crane Festival. The festival was a huge success and the star of the show was thousands of Sandhill Cranes. We were treated to big shows by thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks on the Monte Vista Refute. The 40th Crane Festival will be held March 10-12. Stay tuned …
Saturday 7 am to 10 am. $7 for adults and $5 for kids. This year the Birder’s breakfast is being cooked and served by Kid’s Connection an after-school program. All proceeds will go to the Kid’s Connection program.
Crane update… it appears we have cranes flocking in to the refuge daily now. A ballpark estimate is between 4-5,000 cranes are on the MV refuge. There are also around 1,000 geese. Most of the birds are using hwy pullout areas (8S and Hwy 15) and Spring creek pond (the last pond) on the Auto …
The 2022 Craft Fair will be taking place Friday, March 11 (11 am to 7 pm) and Saturday, March 12, 2022 (9 am to 6 pm). The event will be held at the Ski Hi Complex in the new Outcalt Event and Conference Center. Same location as past Fairs, but in a brand new building!
Here they come! There are about 600 cranes in the eastern part of the San Luis Valley. Maybe 12-15 cranes, have been seen near the Monte Vista NWR. The Bosque del Apache Refuge reports that the cranes have been gone from their wintering grounds for over a week. Facebook posts show thousands of cranes heading …