The 11th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival

The festival occurs during fall staging- when cranes gather in large numbers in the fall to feed and gain energy for their migration south. The festival is held in beautiful Northwest Colorado with events in Steamboat Springs, Hayden, and Craig. The festival features guided crane-viewings, bird and nature walks, expert speakers, films, crane and bird art, children and family activities, and more!

Schedule:
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
7pm: Birds of America Film – Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library
When naturalist and artist John James Audubon arrived in the United States in the early 19th century he encountered breath-taking nature and huge swarms of birds of all kinds. In Birds of America, filmmaker Jacques Loeuille composes a love letter to the founding father of nature conservation. Following a route along the Mississippi, Birds of America retraces the steps of Audubon as he traveled along the Mississippi memorializing with his dramatic paintings a remarkable range of birds, many of which are now extinct. Bringing in voices that speak to colonialism, industrialization, national identity and myth, this film juxtaposes contemporary views with those of the early 19th century to reconsider what American is today.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022
7pm: Cranes of the Rockies Film – West Twin Cinema, Craig, CO
This film by award-winning filmmaker Michael Bennett features the Greater Sandhill Cranes of the Rocky Mountains. Standing up to 5 feet in height and with a wingspan of over 6 feet some 20,000 of these cranes migrate each year along the rugged spine of the Rocky Mountains. This documentary follows the migration of the cranes from their nesting areas in the greater Yellowstone Basin, to the vast San Luis Valley in South Central Colorado where they stage in the spring and the fall. In the thousands cranes filter into the valley where their courtship displays of dancing, hopping, and bowing can be seen. Winter brings the cranes to Bosque del Apache where they wait for the long winter before heading back to their eternal nesting grounds to the north.

Thursday, September 1, 2022
4 – 8pm: Educational crane displays outside Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library

4 – 5pm: “Crane Basics” by naturalists Sandra Noll & Erv Nichols – Library Hall
When watching a group of Sandhill Cranes did you ever wish you knew more about these elegant birds, what they’re doing and why? Crane Basics is your opportunity to learn more about crane biology and behavior. You will gain insights into crane migration, family life, body language and vocalizations through our photographs and captivating video. It’s knowledge that will significantly enhance your crane watching experience!

4 – 5pm: Crane Story-telling event led by Spellbinders – Children’s StoryTime Room at Bud Werner Memorial Library
Come hear stories that soar, flutter, and glide on the wings of cranes and other birds. Bring your family and friends to hear tales of majestic, wise, and often tricky birds that fill our sky with beauty and wonder. Perfect for children.

5 – 6pm: Spirit Wind Aerial Arts dancers, led by local aerialist Heidi Miller – Library Lawn
Dancers will perform elegant high-flying dance in the hammock and silks, suspended high over the Library Lawn.

6 – 6:15pm: Crane Coloring Contest Awards Ceremony – Library Hall

6:30 – 7:45pm: “eBird: Birding for Science and Conservation” by Chris Wood, Cornell Lab eBird Director – Library Hall
Birds capture the human spirit, our imagination, and our passion in a way that few other organisms do. They also serve as the most accessible and sensitive indicator of ecosystem health and climate change. When combined, these two seemingly simple statements hint at the tremendous power that birds have for people. Never before have we had as great an opportunity to bring together people from around the world to monitor and understand our natural world – simply by watching birds. Already, over 750,000 people around the world have taken part in reporting observations to eBird – and given us an unprecedented look into bird migration. Join Director of eBird, Chris Wood, to learn how observations from birdwatchers are empowering science and conservation at scale around the world. 

Friday, September 2, 2022
5:45am.: Guided Sunrise Crane Viewing – All shuttles depart from and return to Stockbridge Transit Center.

Shuttle 1 – (guided crane viewing only: 5:45 – 8:45 a.m.) Advance registration and $15 fee required.

Shuttle 2 – (guided crane viewing followed by a crane-friendly ranch tour by horse and wagon at the TS Jost Ranch: 5:45 – 10:30 a.m.) Join us for a wagon ride powered by Captain and Cosmo, detailing how agriculture and Sandhill cranes cohabitate. The wagon ride will traverse some uneven terrain (expect a few bumps!) as the ranch owners tour you around their beautiful and productive fields that they share with the cranes. Advance registration and $20 fee required.

Shuttle 3 – (guided crane viewing, breakfast, & Yampa River Preserve Bird Walk led by Noah Brinkman and Grey Barbier: 5:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.) Breakfast will be a burrito (vegetarian and gluten-free available) with potatoes, fruit, coffee/tea. Advance registration and $35 fee required.

Shuttle 4 – (guided crane viewing, breakfast, & Carpenter Ranch Bird Walk led by Ted and Andrew Floyd: 5:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.) Breakfast will be a burrito (vegetarian and gluten-free available) with potatoes, fruit, coffee/tea. Advance registration and $35 fee required.

8:00 – 10:30am: Rehder Ranch Guided Bird Walk led by Chris Wood, eBird Director, and Forrest Luke
Bird at this historic sheep ranch along Harrison Creek that is surrounded by willows, aspens, and open fields.
Advance registration and $15 fee required.

9 – 10:30am: Birding the Steamboat Springs Core Trail led by Rebecca Weiss
Join birding guide, author, and naturalist, Rebecca Weiss, for a casual stroll along the core trail outside the Bud Werner Library. No registration required but limited to the first 15 people who show up. As you walk along the trail that parallels the Yampa River, Rebecca will help you identify the birds and other fauna of the area. Bring binoculars, water, and wear comfortable shoes. Meet on the core trail next to the Bud Werner Library parking lot. This walk will be easy and on a paved surface.

9 – 10:30am; 10:30am – 12noon; 12noon – 1:30pm: Scenic Excursion by Pontoon Boat led by Julie Arington – Steamboat Lake State Park
Enjoy a scenic tour around Steamboat Lake located in North Routt. Julie will guide you through the ecology and birds of the area. Choose from 3 separate boat rides. Colorado State Park sticker required for parking. Day pass can be purchased for $9.
Advance registration and $25 fee required.

10am – 12noon: Nature-journaling Workshop led by Ellen Bonnifield and Cindy Wither – Bud Werner Library
Author Ellen Bonnifield and artist Cindy Wither share techniques to enhance your nature journaling experience. This workshop introduces the basics of nature journaling including materials, approaches and styles, and references. Using art to enhance the journal adds visual elements and color to your journal. Participants will have the opportunity to start their own journal. Meet at Bud Werner Memorial Library’s Small Meeting Room (2nd floor), then move outdoors. Fee includes a journaling notebook.
Advance registration and $20 fee required.

11:30am – 12noon: “Sandhill Crane Nesting: What Have We Learned from a Livestream Camera?” by Erin Gelling, CCCC Program Director – Library Hall
For the past two years, people throughout the world watched a Sandhill Crane nest in the Yampa Valley via our livestream camera. They witnessed predator attacks, the parents changing places on the nest, unison calling, eggs hatching, and chicks in and near the nest. Discover crane nesting biology like never before as seen through video captured from the camera.

12:30 – 1:45pm: “What is your Spark Bird?” by Al Batt, author, columnist for BWD & radio show host – Library Hall
Audiences around the globe have fallen in love with Al’s nature stories through his newspaper columns, radio shows, and magazine articles. Today he will talk about “spark birds.” Did a little birdie tell you to watch it or it would treat you like a statue in the park, did a penguin singing like a western meadowlark fly over your head, or did your spark bird do something weird? Come sit on the front porch with Al and his spark birds.

2 – 2:30pm: Hargila Film – Library Hall
A new film by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Media tells the story of a wildlife photographer who travels to India to document the rarest stork on earth, but soon discovers a conservation hero and her inspiring efforts to rally a community to save this stork. Hargila documents the Greater Adjutant, a huge scavenging stork that was once widely distributed across India and Southeast Asia but is now mostly confined to a last stronghold in Assam. Greater Adjutants are called “hargila” in the Assamese language, which literally translates as “bone swallower.” Hargila are an endangered species with a rapidly declining population of around 1,200 individuals and face threats from direct human persecution, habitat destruction, pollution and degradation of wetlands. Through the efforts of a remarkable conservation leader, Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, and the movement she has inspired, the birds are now protected, celebrated, and increasing their numbers locally. Despite this success and the momentum to conserve the species, the Greater Adjutant’s existence remains precarious.

2 – 2:45pm; 3 – 3:45pm; 4 – 4:45pm: Birds and Butterflies led by Ted Floyd, editor of Birding Magazine, with introduction by Andrew Floyd – Yampa River Botanic Park
Short introduction followed by a bird and butterfly walk at a relaxed-pace. Meet at the Trillium House within the Botanic Park. Choose from 3 separate walks.
Advance registration and $10 fee required.

5 – 8pm: First Friday Art Walk featuring Crane Yard Art display and silent auction and The Broad Band – Library Lawn
Come view and bid on Yard Art Cranes creatively decorated by local artists. All proceeds benefit Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, presenters of the Yampa Valley Crane Festival. Enjoy music from the Broad Band while viewing these unique works of crane art. The auction takes place online at 32Auctions.com starting on Friday, 9/2 at 5 pm and concluding on Sunday, 9/4 at noon. Full details describing how to participate in the online auction will be posted on our website in August.

All Day: Educational crane displays outside Library Hall at the Bud Werner Memorial Library.

Saturday, September 3, 2022
5:45 – 8:45am: Guided Sunrise Crane Viewing ­– All shuttles depart from and return to Stockbridge Transit Center.

Shuttles 1 & 2 (crane viewing only: 5:45 – approx. 8:45 a.m.) Advance registration and $15 fee required.

7:45 – 9:45am: Fish Creek Falls Guided Bird Walk led by Chip Clouse, ProStaffer for Opticron optics and long-time bird tour leader
There is a $5/day vehicle day use fee.
Advance registration and $15 fee required.

8:00 – 10:00am: May-Wood River Ranch Guided Bird Walk led by Al Batt, Bird Watcher’s Digest columnist, radio host, author
Advance registration and $15 fee required.

8 – 10:30am: Mt. Harris History and Guided Bird Walk led by Lisa and Paul Williams, Yampa Valley Birding Club, with history talk by Laurel Watson, curator of Hayden Museum
Learn about this historic coal-mining town and bird along the Yampa River’s unique cottonwood-dogwood-box elder maple plant community.
Advance registration and $15 fee required.

9 – 10:30am: Sketch-a-Bird Workshop taught by local artist, Leslie Lovejoy with Nature’s Educators live birds and crane taxidermy
All ages welcome and supplies provided. Meet in Library Hall for this FREE workshop. No registration required.

10 – 11:30am: Children and family activities – Library Lawn near the raptor booth and Children’s Library
Enjoy educational bird and nature activities presented by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Yampatika.

10am – 12 noon: Guided nature walk led by botanist and naturalist, Karen Vail – Steamboat Ski Resort
Take the gondola up at the Ski Resort to learn about the flora, the animals, and the forest habitat at the Ski Resort, complete with amazing views of the valley. The walk will involve a gondola ride to the top of Thunderhead and walking up to 1 mile on an uneven dirt road. Meet at the entrance to the gondola at Steamboat Ski Resort. Passes to ride the gondola are included as part of registration.
Advance registration and $15 fee required.

10am – 4pm: Nature’s Educators Live Raptor Booth – Library Lawn near Children’s Library
Visit with live raptors, including hawks, owls, and falcons, on the Library Lawn. This is a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with amazing birds of prey. Learn more about Nature’s Educators.

11:30am – 12:45pm: “Wild Whooping Cranes in the Central Flyway: How Secure is their Recovery?” by Liz Smith, International Crane Foundation – Library Hall
Whooping Cranes are the rarest species of crane in the world, declining to only 16 birds in 1941 in North America. One of the first species registered on the Endangered Species List in 1973, their numbers have increased to over 500 in the last naturally wild population. These cranes migrate 2,500 miles each spring and fall between Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories, Canada and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA. What types of hazards and challenges do Whooping Cranes face during migration and at their breeding and wintering grounds? Join Liz as we “migrate” with the Whooping Cranes and discover how we can help ensure this iconic species continues to recover.

1:00 – 1:15pm: Photo Contest and Creative Arts Scholarship Contest Awards – Library Hall

1:30 – 2:45pm: Keynote Presentation: “Western Sandhill Crane Conservation and Management: A look Behind the Curtain” by Dan Collins, US Fish & Wildlife Service crane expert – Library Hall
In 2009 a working group associated with the US Fish and Wildlife Service identified priority information that was needed for Sandhill Cranes in the west including 1) basic ecological and biological information for the western crane population and 2) the effects of habitat changes on the Rocky Mountain crane population. A partner group was formed and began working to fill these and other information gaps at local, regional, and flyway scales. Over the past 10 years this group has worked towards answering a variety of different questions such as: how much corn is needed to support cranes in the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico? What habitats do the cranes prefer? What is the ecology of staging and stopover sites?  What do fall survey assessments tell us about crane movement? Dan will highlight much of the work that this group has done over the past 10 years focused primarily on the Rocky Mountain Population of Sandhill Cranes.

4:30 – 8:45pm: Carpenter Ranch Picnic Dinner and Talk, followed by guided crane viewing at sunset
This event will be held at The Nature Conservancy’s historic Carpenter Ranch in Hayden. You can opt to bring your own dinner or register by August 29 for a box dinner from Big Air Café and Catering.  For the box dinner, choose either curry chicken wrap with shrimp cocktail OR portobello gorgonzola mushroom; both options come with caprese salad and dessert.
You must be regidtered for a shuttle to attend any part of the carpenter ranch picnic; no private cars will be allowed.
Advance registration and $15 fee required for shuttles to this event. This fee does not include dinner.
Advance registration and $20 payment required to purchase a box dinner.

4:30pm: Shuttlesdepart from the Stockbridge Transit Center in Steamboat (directions here). Shuttles arrive at the Carpenter Ranch between 5:00 and 5:15 p.m.

5:00 – 6:15pm: Enjoy your own picnic dinner or a box dinner purchased in advance. Lemonade and water will be provided.

6:15 – 6:45pm: Presentation by Ted Floyd, author, birder extraordinaire, and editor of Birding magazine, assisted by Andrew and Hannah Floyd.

6:45pm: All shuttles leave the Carpenter Ranch for guided crane viewing.

8:45pm (approx.): Shuttles arrive back at the Stockbridge Transit Center in Steamboat.
NO private cars will be allowed to follow the crane viewing shuttles.

All day: Educational crane displays outside Library Hall at the Bud Werner Memorial Library.

Sunday, September 4, 2022
5:45am: Guided sunrise crane viewing – All shuttles depart from and return to the Stockbridge Transit Center in Steamboat.

Shuttle 1 (guided crane viewing only: 5:45 – approx. 8:45 a.m.) Advance registration and $15 fee required.

Shuttle 2 (guided crane viewing followed by Yampa River Preserve Bird Walk led by Ted Floyd: 5:45 – 11:15 a.m.) Advance registration and $20 fee required.

Shuttle 3 (guided crane viewing followed by crane-friendly ranch tour by horse and wagon at TS Jost Ranch: 5:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.) Join us for a wagon ride powered by Captain and Cosmo, detailing how agriculture and Sandhill cranes cohabitate. The wagon ride will traverse some uneven terrain (expect a few bumps!) as the ranch owners tour you around their beautiful and productive fields that they share with the cranes.Advanced registration and $20 fee required.

6:45 – 10:30am: Marabou Ranch Bird Outing led by David and Tresa Moulton and Karen Whitney of the Yampa Valley Birding Club
Advanced registration and $25 fee required.

8:00 – 10:00am: Loudy-Simpson Guided Bird Walk led by Forrest Luke and Alan Reishus
Bird walk at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig.
Advanced registration and $15 fee required.

9 – 11am: Nature’s Educators Live Raptor Photo Shoot assisted by photographer, Chris Becea
Join this unique opportunity to take photos of live raptors up close! Included in the photo shoot will be 6 different Colorado raptors from Nature’s Educators. The birds will be positioned in the natural environment in which they are found in the wild. The lighting, while subject to the weather of the day, will be chosen carefully to allow for optimum exposure. Handlers with extensive knowledge will be present and will provide interesting and important information about each raptor. The opportunity to take close up shots of the birds’ heads will be part of the experience. Chris Becea of Morning Light Photography will provide wildlife photography tips. Professional gear is not needed, just a desire to have an up-close experience with these birds of prey.
Advanced registration and $25 fee required.

10:00 – 11:00am: Crane Yoga led by Liz Leipold – Library Lawn
Join yoga instructor Liz Leipold for a gentle yoga sequence about the life of the cranes, from calling, meeting, dancing, hatching, and growing up. Bring your own mat/towel. All ages welcome.

11am – 12:30pm: Birds of America Film – Library Hall
When naturalist and artist John James Audubon arrived in the United States in the early 19th century he encountered breath-taking nature and huge swarms of birds of all kinds. In Birds of America, filmmaker Jacques Loeuille composes a love letter to the founding father of nature conservation. Following a route along the Mississippi, Birds of America retraces the steps of Audubon as he traveled along the Mississippi memorializing with his dramatic paintings a remarkable range of birds, many of which are now extinct. Bringing in voices that speak to colonialism, industrialization, national identity and myth, this film juxtaposes contemporary views with those of the early 19th century to reconsider what American is today.

12noon – 2pm: Learning About Insects, Herps, and Birds at Carpenter Ranch led by Hannah Floyd & Ted Floyd
Participants will learn how to use iNaturalist and Seek by iNat app while learning about insects, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and birds at the historic Carpenter Ranch near Hayden, Colorado. This event is suitable for people of all ages, including families and children; no experience necessary. Bring your lunch and your smartphones and we’ll show you how to learn about nature with technology! Carpenter Ranch is known as a birdwatcher’s paradise (over 150 species on the ranch bird list) located along the Yampa River 20 miles west of Steamboat Springs. The ranch also offers a remarkably diverse variety of insects. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) acquired the ranch in 1996 as the centerpiece of its broader effort to conserve the natural and agricultural heritage of the Yampa River Valley. Today, the Conservancy manages this historic, biologically significant property as a working cattle ranch to explore ways to simultaneously pursue agricultural production and the conservation of streamside and wetland habitats.
Advanced registration and $15 fee required.

2:00pm – 3:00pm: Talon Talk by Nature’s Educators – Library Hall
We will dive into the characteristics that define raptors and why they are important to our ecosystems. You will discover the various types of birds of prey found all over the world, what it takes to care for a bird of prey, and learn how Nature’s Educators is permitted to keep raptors. You will learn about the raptor’s personal histories, anatomy, hunting strategies, and habitats with live birds. All ages are welcome for this FREE event.

All day: Educational crane displays outside Library Hall at the Bud Werner Memorial Library.

Date: August 30 - September 4, 2022

Location: Various Towns in CO

Click here for more information