Welcome to the 2026 Crane Nest Camera Season! When CCCC’s Production Team observed behavior from a crane pair in the vicinity of the camera that indicated they would soon nest, the live-stream was launched on April 10. On April 11, the pair built a nest and laid the first egg. Unfortunately, the egg was predated by a coyote the next morning. The pair constructed a new nest and laid an egg on April 14. This nest is more secluded than the last.
CCCC’s nest camera is used to observe crane behavior while they are nesting. The camera is located in a wetland habitat in the Yampa Valley. The nest camera is monitored during nesting season, which provides a unique and comprehensive look into how cranes establish nesting territory, build their nest, incubate eggs, forage, defend their nest, and raise their chicks after they hatch.
The 2025/2026 winter was not only the warmest winter on record for the Yampa Valley, but it also had the lowest snowpack on record. These unusual conditions raise important questions about how crane nesting, foraging, and chick rearing may be affected.
Join us this season as we observe Greater sandhill cranes! The live feed from the camera can be accessed in the link below or on our YouTube channel @coloradocranes8218.
Please visit the nest camera blog at the bottom of this page to stay informed on the action throughout the season and ask questions!
If you would like to tell us about something you have observed on the nest camera, please use this form.
Warning: This is a wild Sandhill Crane nest and anything can happen. While we hope the nest is successful and both eggs hatch, many things can happen to prevent this, including the eggs being infertile, predation of the eggs, chicks or adults, and natural disasters.
Disclaimer: We are livestreaming a wild bird nest and may experience technical problems. We cannot control problems related to mother nature, disrupted signals, etc. If you can’t play the video, try refreshing the webpage.
Thank you to our sponsors
The live video feed was initially launched through grants provided by the Yampa Valley Community Foundation and the WHILD fund. Internet access for live streaming is provided by ElektraFi. Camera installation and setup were completed by Photon Syndicate. Updated equipment was possible because of generous individual donors. The nest camera program is made possible by the CCCC staff and incredible volunteers who dedicate their time to tech support and camera monitoring throughout the season. Thank you to all our wonderful viewers without which this camera would not exist.
Welcome to the 2026 Crane Nest Camera Season! We are currently watching a crane pair that seem likely to nest soon. On Thursday, April 9, the pair was observed in faux nest building activity all over the wetland area, foraging, copulating, dancing, and even getting chased by playful newborn calves. They seemed to know that these weren’t predators, but were definitely unsure about this activity! On Wednesday, the pair was seen confidently chasing a fox out of the foraging area in a display unlike any I’ve seen before. In the evening, after making one last loop through the woods and the wetland, they flew across to the other side of the river, where they waded a bit in the shallow water before joining a flock of cranes flying by. Together, the group of a dozen or so cranes flew off to an evening roost on the river. Please join us by commenting in this blog, asking questions, and making observations. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!
So far today, the cranes have been observed foraging and flying about the area. Since there is no nest yet, there will be periods of inactivity on the camera. When no cranes are onscreen, the camera will be focused on a location where they are likely to be spotted, or searching for cranes and other interesting wildlife activity when possible. Thanks for tuning in.
I love watching the camera focusing on the beaver at about 11:55am!
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you tuned in to the first day of the 2026 crane nest camera season! We think that may have been a muskrat, rather than a beaver. They both inhabit that wetland area. I would love for anyone else to weigh in who saw the critter! And please keep sending us your observations!
This morning (April 11), our crane pair engaged in some faux nesting behavior around 6:56 am. They spent about 5 + minutes picking at and pulling up cattails and throwing them around as though starting to build a nest. But then they left the area. Geese were calling loudly, and I don’t know if that disturbed them. If they choose that spot, it would be ideal for observing the whole nesting process. Fingers crossed!
At 10:12 am today, (4/11), our lady crane laid her first egg. She and her mate chose the perfect nest location for our camera!!
The camera image seems much clearer this year! Thanks to the cranes for nesting in such a good location for us to see them.
At 12:42 I’m watching and it appears that there’s quite a bit of water around the nest. Is this a problem?
A beautiful bird! What a great picture of the nest
Cranes like to build their nest near water. It allows them to hear predators approaching, especially at night. However, if the water rises too much, it can inundate the nest. This happened to a pair last year that was featured on our nest camera. They put their nest too close to the edge of the Yampa River and got flooded out with the spring melt.. However, this year we are in a major drought, so it’s unlikely water will rise to the point of flooding the nest.
Alas, it’s been a horrible morning for the Cranes. 6:21 a unison call and exchange, with the male taking over incubation but at 6:48 a coyote approached the nest. The Crane tried to defend the nest but the coyote walked right in and took the egg, carrying it away. The Crane wandered, distressed and calling. At 7:05 the coyoiute came back to the and there was a standoff. The coyote moved off through the field and a little later the male Crane returned to the nest. We don’t know if the Cranes will try again or abandon this nest. As always, we’ll continue to follow.
It’s amazing that in such a short time how attached one becomes to the “birth” of an egg.
Nature can be so sad.
After this morning’s predation the Cranes wandered around their territory, at times singly, at times together. They returned to the nest site, seemingly scouted another nearby, and although they did one dance, they mainly foraged till noon.
At 6:28 am this morning, our crane pair flew in from their roosting site, landed near the blue tank, and immediately copulated. We caught it on our livestream video! That’s a good sign that they may re-nest!
Monday was a fairly quiet day in the wetland. The crane pair was observed traveling throughout their territory and foraging. In the early evening, we caught site of a very entertaining beaver! Soon after, we heard cranes calling and observed the crane pair come together at the former nest site. The scene began with a great deal of incredible dancing between the pair. Then they found the remains of their eggshell from the earlier predation. The male tossed it in the air a bit, dancing, and then stood guard as the female consumed the eggshell pieces. Birds benefit from the calcium in eggshells, which helps them to produce strong eggshells and prevents binding while passing the egg. Then they found a roosting spot in the wetland for the night.
The birds appeared vigilant and left the roost around 2am, and have been observed foraging in the area this morning. We will keep tracking them to see what today brings.
Our crane pair has been busy all morning creating a new nest! The new location is a bit north and east of the first nest that was predated by the coyote. They seem to have placed the nest in a depression, so that when on the nest, only the crane’s head and neck are visible. Hopefully, the depression will protect this nest a bit more from predators. Around 11:30 a.m., the female spent a good deal of time in the hole/nest, and we think she laid an egg. However, the egg is not visible. The male returned around 11:35 am and took over sitting duties. Here’s hoping for a successful incubating period and a successful hatch in about 30 days!
Such good news Nancy! Fingers crossed!
This new nest location is more hidden in the cattails. This morning (4/15) the cranes unison called and exchanged places on the nest around 6:04 am. All very routine! Three deer were spotted resting nearby around 6:15 am. There is abundant wildlife in the vicinity of the nest. We will try to capture that on camera, when possible.
It was a peaceful evening for mom and dad. They are very quiet. No unison call when they switched incubation duties between 6:50pm and 6:58pm. It is a bit confusing to watch the male get up and leave for no obvious reason. Until you see mom strolling in. They seem to be spending more time actually incubating, which is nice to see.
Coyote is still present! A little before 6am , the female, sitting on the nest, rises and scans the area. At 6, a coyote passed the nest area and the Crane sat down unobserved. Not having detected the nest, the coyote continues on through the field and went out of sight. Whew!
The cranes have been patiently incubating the egg(s) in the new (more hidden) nest. This morning, around 6:01 am, the camera caught a coyote cruising through the field north of the crane nest. Fortunately, the crane was sitting on the nest and was not visible to the coyote. Cranes face so many challenges to successfully hatch chicks, coyotes, and other predators among them.
Hi – I think the camera was moved, don’t see a nest at all?
Hello Jill, the nest is a little difficult to see, since they nested in a bit of a depression in the ground. When they are good and settled in, it is hard to tell if they are even there, until they put their head up or stand up. We do periodically take the camera for a spin around the area if we are looking for something specific, trying to track a crane, looking for calling cranes, or something of that sort. I hope that helps!
It’s moved back to the nest, thanks! :)
It’s a snowy morning on the nest camera! We have seen activity from both cranes near the nest.
I thought these cranes go farther north to nest. How many stay around CO? Is the Yampa the only place they nest in CO? I went to Kearney this year, to Rowe Sanctuary. It was wonderful! I have been following Rowe’s crane cam.
Hello Hannah, Excellent questions. Northwest Colorado has typically been the southern-most portion of the breeding range for the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco Counties). However, in recent years, small numbers of cranes have been found nesting in Mesa County, western Montrose County, Delta County, and possibly Gunnison County as their population expands. This population’s breeding range extends along the Rockies through eastern Idaho, Utah, and western Montana and Wyoming. According to the USFWS’s annual population survey of the RMP (which happens in the fall, during staging season, not nesting season), 3.7% of the population was counted in Colorado.
We are glad you are connecting with with the cranes at Rowe!
Hello dear Craniacs, this evening (4.17) there will be some property maintenance nearby the Crane NestCam site which necessitates shutting down the camera at approximately 5;30pm.
We wish Ellie and Frank a good night’s sleep and recommend you do so as well. ;-)
Camera Production Team, you have the night off.
See you all tomorrow morning!
Who the heck proofread my previous announcement? :-)
Looked good to me Barry!
But I would like to know where the names Ellie and Frank came from? And the meaning behind them?
WELL!
After all that, it seems the camera is not going to be shut down tonight after all. May you have that many more hours of Crane watching!! Sorry, you’ll all have to catch up on your sleep another time.
The names for our crane pair: Eleanor (Ellie, for short) and Franklin ( Frank, for short). The Crane Camera Team thought this pair behaved somewhat differently from pairs on the nest camera in previous years. While not 100% sure, we think this is a new pair nesting in the territory. We chose Eleanor and Franklin as names because this pair, while clearly connected and working as a team, are not very “intimate/affectionate,” as evidenced by the lack of dancing and unison calling.
Hah! Very clever!
This morning (4/18)at 6:06 am, Franklin flew in to take his turn, but Eleanor wasn’t quite ready to make the exchange, so he left briefly. At 6:19 am he returned, they did a unison call, and Franklin took over incubating duties.
At 10:28 am, (4/18) Ellie was foraging peacefully in the field north of the nest area and was startled by a coyote trotting through the field. Ellie ran, but the coyote seemed to be in a big hurry and ignored her. The geese were also startled by the appearance of the coyote and squawked and flew. The camera was able to follow the coyote until it disappeared into the woods.
Sunday, April 19th 3:20pm
A busy but somewhat typical day at the nest… at 6:28, Ellie and Frank unison called and exchanged places. As the female sits overnight, it was Franklin coming in, and she taking off. Not literally in this case but she did go off to forage in a nearby field. A little after 8, we heard distant unison calling. Not being Ellie and Frank, it means we do indeed have another pair nearby. Meanwhile, the usual variety of other critters is about: Redwinged Blackbirds, Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, and Mule Deer. We were able to briefly follow the deer as they waded and crossed part of a river channel. Beautiful! At 9:38, there was an interruption to the bucolic setting — with Ellie on the nest, Franklin heard and chased off the other Cranes.Tasked as Defender of the Nest, he was doing a good job. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day typical of a day at the nest. Ha!
Let’s see what the rest of the day brings.
Hello folks! The cranes began the day quiet as mice and remained very concealed on the nest in the early morning. Eleanor was very, very quiet all morning, and when the pair exchanged places on the nest at 7:20am, they were completely silent and quick about it. They made up for this at their next nest exchange at 12:03p, when they unison called together repeatedly.
What were the animals that entered from the right at 8:20pm on April 20? & the Sandhill scared them away?
Hello Cindy, it appeared to be a pair of Mallard ducks. She sure did not appreciate having visitors, did she? (For anyone who missed it, you can see them enter at 20:16:20 on the stream labeled 0420A). Thanks for spotting that!
Thank you for your reply & explanation. I would love to watch that segment again but don’t know how to access that portion of the live stream – please let me know to do that, Love this so much! Cindy Turner
Hello Cindy, Here is a link to the highlight video, “Sandhill Crane Nest Defense: Mallard Ducks”, made from that segment: https://youtu.be/tQSz7UlV-Do?si=lJTCgTxGHZmZzJG2
And here is a link to the livestream footage from that day that streamed from about 9am – 9pm, “2026-CraneCam 0420A”: https://www.youtube.com/live/Sh6Xs71UrBo?si=JWCh9S5aNwVyLAlu
Let us know if that works for you. Feel free to reach out to us at info@coloradocranes.org if you have additional questions or would like help viewing any footage in particular. We are so glad that you are enjoying the camera and are happy to help navigate the footage.
Thank for sending link to footage with Mallards – I can watch it & very grateful to be able to see & listen to the ‘natural world’ of the Sandhills & their wildlife neighbors. Many thanks.
This morning (4/21) we were treated to a fabulous show of ducks in the wetland that also hosts the crane nest. A beautiful male Wood Duck was the star, but we also saw Mallards and Cinnamon Teal. Previously, we saw a beaver patrolling this stream. Ellie and Frank continue to quietly tend their egg(s) and take turns on the nest.
At 9:48 a.m. this morning (4/23) both cranes were off the nest and foraging. Did something happen earlier?
Hello Barb, we observed this pair leaving the nest occasionally in the beginning, but they have been pretty solidly attentive now that they are in the swing of things. In reviewing this footage in this case, I see them doing some nest tending/building together at the nest site during this time before one sits down to incubate at 9:50am. Here is the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIq3o9xamZk
Let us know if you have any other questions!
The cranes are still faithfully tending their nest. Often it’s hard to see the crane that has incubating duties. Yesterday morning (4/23) we got good views of a pair of Gadwall ducks, and in the evening, a pair of beavers frolicking in the wetland.
Since the catastrophe with the coyote and their first nest, (see the highlight video), Ellie and Frank have been sticking fairly close to their nesting territory. Yesterday we counted 8 switches of duty at the nest by Ellie and Frank.
Franklin and Eleanore (“Frank” and “Ellie” for short) continue their egg-tending routine through the much needed rain. We continue to get great views of the waterfowl in the wetland, along with occasional views of marmots roaming the area. We are hearing other cranes calling occasionally, but there have been far fewer territorial disputes among crane pairs than in previous years.
It was an exciting morning (4/27) on the nest camera for wildlife. We enjoyed beautiful views of a Great Blue Heron feeding in the wetland. After the early morning nest exchange between Ellie and Frank, Ellie encountered first one, and then a small herd of deer, as she foraged for her morning meal. At one point, Ellie and a deer engaged in a stand-off! They seemed more curious about each other than hostile. Birds seen on camera this morning, in addition to the cranes and the Great Blue Heron, included magpies, a Red-tail Hawk, mallards, geese, and the ever-present Red-winged Blackbirds.
I was there too! I was worried about the deer but all was well and I was happy it was just a “mini standoff”!
Beautiful!
If one does not think about that coyote miscreant, the scene this morning has much of “the Peaceable Kingdom” about it even with the “standoff”.
Enlarging the image to fill the screen (clicking the little circle with tiny arrows pointing 5&10 o’clock in the lower right) demonstrates the improvement in color and resolution courtesy the new camera.
And am I correct that panning right (a few hundred yards? west?) to 7:17:40-48 AM shows the site of last year’s nest near the little streamlet?
Richard, I’m glad you are enjoying “The Peaceable Kingdom” of the cranes and the better quality of this year’s nest camera. The area you mentioned near the little streamlet did host a crane nest two years ago. Also, the very first year of the nest camera (2021), Rocky and Athena nested in that area. Thank you for following the nest camera year after year. Your comments are always appreciated.
Hello everyone. This morning (4/28/26) , the nest camera is down due to weather. We are currently working on getting it back online. Thank you for your patience as we navigate technical difficulties.
Last night and early this morning, the nest camera and surrounding areas were hit with rain, snow, sleet, thunder, and lightning. The camera was temporarily knocked out of commission, but our amazing tech crew got it up and running again in no time.
For the last two days, we have noticed Ellie and Frank increasing their nest-building activities – cutting down cattail leaves and stems and adding them to the nest. With all the rain and snow, we are speculating that the water level around the nest is rising, and the cranes are working to keep their egg(s) safe and dry. Last year, one of the crane pairs that we were following on camera lost their nest to rising water levels. We hope Ellie and Frank can stay ahead of the rising water. This is one of the challenges that nesting cranes have to navigate. Building their nest near water serves to alert cranes to approaching predators. But it also makes them vulnerable to flooding that could destroy their nest and eggs.
This morning, we witnessed a territorial dispute between Ellie and Frank and another pair of cranes. All 4 showed up in the horse pasture where Ellie has been foraging fairly regularly and where she interacted with a herd of deer on 4/27. The stand-off took place between 9:38 and 10 am and involved much unison calling and ruffle threats. Eventually, the rival pair departed, and Ellie and Frank flew back to the nest. Throughout the day, we have continued to hear cranes calling in the distance, resulting in Ellie and Frank being more vocal today than ever before.
It’s been a quiet day on the nest camera!
The weather has turned beautiful today, and our crane pair seems to be enjoying the sunshine. This morning, Ellie was discovered foraging in a distant field where she had not been spotted before. During the first two nest exchanges of the day, Ellie and Frank heartily engaged in unison calling. Previously, many of their exchanges have been silent, and our camera crew has sometimes found it difficult to know when these exchanges were happening and which crane was actually on the nest. Today, we were able to readily follow the action at the nest.
Today is a sunny, spring day in the wetland with a light breeze. A Wilson’s Snipe could be heard calling throughout the morning, among the songs of the Red-winged Blackbirds and honks of Canada Geese. As of noon, we’ve seen 3 nest exchanges between the pair. Frank flew off after another crane in the area at one point, but quickly returned to the nest. The first two exchanges included unison calling, and the third was a bit more stealthy. Since about 10:30 am, it has been warm enough today to cause both cranes to pant lightly while incubating the nest. You can see this when their mouths are slightly open to help cool themselves down (because cranes can’t sweat). Ellie was again observed in the newly discovered foraging area, while Frank was observed flying in the opposite direction to forage during his break later in the morning. The wind is picking up as we head into the afternoon.