Where Do the Cranes Go?
Every March, thousands of Sandhill Cranes descend upon the San Luis Valley, filling our skies with their calls and drawing nature lovers from across the country to the Monte Vista Crane Festival.
Crane Update
FALL CRANE UPDATE
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
And they went North
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
Cranes and more cranes
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
See you in 2023!
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!
Thank you!
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
And there are more….
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
02/13/22 Crane Update
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
Crane Update: January 24, 2022
Wow, there are reports of a few cranes already in the valley and a couple on the Monte Vista NWR. The weather has been mild. It won’t be long until more cranes show up. Stay tuned for more information here as more cranes arrive. We don’t expect numerous cranes until mid-February. But they are wild
Crane Update: October 16, 2021
The cranes are in the valley! In the fall, cranes spread out across the farmland surrounding the towns of Monte Vista and Alamosa. Your best bet for seeing cranes during the day is to drive the county roads. A good place to try is Stanley Road between Alamosa County Road 104 and 102. Also, several