Yes, the program is free but registration is required.

What is the meeting point?

Check in at the Welcome Desk at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, 44450 Elm Island Rd.

How long is the program?

The session lasts about one hour including the film and the Q&A.

Is this suitable for children?

Yes, the event is open to participants aged eight and older; all children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Is the venue accessible?

Yes, the center is wheelchair accessible and staff can provide accommodations upon request—indicate needs when registering.

Will there be outdoor viewing opportunities?

Yes, the sanctuary has viewing blinds and outdoor areas visitors can use before or after the screening; bring binoculars for best results.

Counting Cranes: Inside the Platte River's Spring Migration Film and Q&A | Events | Wildlife

On a cool spring afternoon at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, 44450 Elm Island Rd in Gibbon, Nebraska, a dimmed auditorium fills with the hush that precedes a migration story. Counting Cranes, a short film by Platte Basin Timelapse, pulls viewers into the overhead perspective used by biologists who survey the Central Platte River Valley, the braided corridor whose shallow, shifting channels host one of North America’s largest bird migrations. The screening is followed by a question and answer session with Platte Basin Timelapse producer Mariah Lundgren and Crane Trust lead biologist Bethany Ostrum, offering cinematic context and field tested science. This one hour speaker session is compact and focused: expect a thirty to forty minute film followed by a live conversation about survey methods, data interpretation, and conservation implications. Key features of the scene include the Platte River’s sand and gravel bars, wide shallow roosts, alcove wetlands, and the rising columns of Sandhill Cranes that wheel and call over the valley. The film highlights aerial survey techniques, flight paths, and counting protocols while foregrounding the river dynamics that make the Central Platte a vital stopover. The Rowe Sanctuary and its Iain Nicolson Audubon Center are central to this local conservation story. The Crane Trust’s work protects wetted sandbars, adjacent marshes, and public viewing blinds where visitors can observe migration without disrupting birds. Platte Basin Timelapse brings landscape scale cinematography to that work, translating field notes into images that help citizens and managers understand why flow regimes and river morphology matter. Practical details are straightforward: the program is free with registration, lasts about one hour, and is open to participants aged eight and older. The meeting point is the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary; check in at the Welcome Desk on arrival and plan to arrive ten to fifteen minutes early. The facility is wheelchair accessible and offers accommodations on request. Bring binoculars if you plan to visit outdoor blinds before or after the talk, and bring questions for the Q and A — the biologists often share unexpected observations from aerial counts. For travelers to central Nebraska this program is more than a film screening: it is an invitation to learn the counting methods that underpin conservation decisions, and to see how careful monitoring keeps a river corridor able to host thousands of migrating cranes each spring. It is a compact, informative way to connect with the Platte River and the scientists working to protect its future. Attend to leave with sources and ways to support habitat restoration—donations, volunteer days, and advocacy for flow management all matter to sustaining the Platte’s sandbars and the cranes that depend on them.

About Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary

Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska, is a conservation and education site operated by Audubon dedicated to protecting the Platte River ecosystem and its migrating Sandhill Cranes. The center manages habitat restoration, scientific monitoring, and public programs that connect visitors with river, wetland, and prairie species.

Rowe Sanctuary hosts seasonal Crane Season events, offering guided crane viewing from accessible indoor and outdoor vantage points where thousands of Sandhill Cranes funnel along the Platte River at sunset. Programs include art workshops, accessible nature journaling, and special cultural events that blend storytelling, conservation, and hands-on learning.

Rowe Sanctuary partners with artists, researchers, and community leaders to present experiences such as the MONA Art Workshop: Dances of the Cranes with Susan Hart; Birdability Indoor Crane Viewing Experience; Birdability & Rowe: Accessible Nature Journaling Workshop; and Braided in Unison, a public event featuring author Amy Tan and conservation experts. Each offering emphasizes habitat preservation, visitor accessibility, and interpretive education about migratory birds and river dynamics.

Facilities at the center are designed to welcome diverse audiences, with accessible viewing areas and inclusive programming led by trained staff and volunteers. Education programs serve families, students, and conservation supporters, while fundraising events support ongoing land stewardship. Visitors can expect expert interpretation, panoramic river views, and opportunities to support the protection of the Platte River’s braided ecosystem.

The visitor center includes interpretive exhibits, educational displays, staff-led programs highlighting local ecology and research initiatives, volunteer opportunities, and ways for visitors to support ongoing conservation efforts.

Counting Cranes: Inside the Platte River's Spring Migration Film and Q&A

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