The 2025 Crane Nest Camera Season has concluded.

conserving rocky mountain greater sandhill cranes + their habitat through science + education

The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley in Northwest Colorado. Returning in the spring from wintering grounds in New Mexico and Arizona, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley.

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Interested in Sponsoring the 14th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival?

Each year, the Yampa Valley Crane Festival is made possible through the generosity of our community partners. We invite you to join us by becoming a sponsor. 

Sponsorships support Greater Sandhill Cranes and ecotourism in the Yampa Valley, promote your business or organization to both locals and visitors, and include an invitation to a special private reception. 

If your business or organization is interested in supporting this cherished event, please contact us at info@coloradocranes.org to find out more about festival sponsorship levels and benefits.

Learn more about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival by clicking here

2025 Crane Nest Camera Season Update:

For the last week, CCCC’s live streaming nest camera followed two crane pairs, hoping that one or both might renest. Although we witnessed some “faux” nesting activities, it appears that neither pair is going to re-nest. We decided to close down the camera on Friday, May 23 at 9 pm.

A summary of the nest camera season will be shared in our June newsletter. Many thanks to the dedicated volunteers and staff, who put in enormous time and energy to bring you the action. We all hoped for a better outcome, but we know that cranes are resilient and will return next year to try again.  Please share any comments or suggestions you may have about how to improve the nest camera experience.  

Thank you for tuning in and for your support.

Crane Contests Underway:

CCCC is accepting entries for three contests that allow you to showcase your creative skills and your appreciation of Greater Sandhill Cranes. Please follow the links below for complete contest rules and information: 

Reach out to us at info@coloradocranes.org with questions. We look forward to receiving your entries!

 

 

 

 

 

YAMPA VALLEY CRANE FESTIVAL

Thank you for attending the 13th annual festival. We hope you enjoyed your time in the Yampa Valley! Save the date for the 14th annual festival:

August 28 – 31, 2025

Our appreciation for the crane grows with the slow unraveling of earthly history. His tribe, we now know, stems out of the remote Eocene. The other members of the fauna in which he originated are long since entombed within the hills. When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlies and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men.

– Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac