Dr. Doyle Howitt
director of the Elderhostel Program for UNK, 308.627.3222
From Staten Island, N.Y., to Sacramento, CA., nearly 70 bird watchers from across the nation are coming to Central Nebraska over the next two weeks to see and study the Sandhill Cranes as part of a University of Nebraska at Kearney-based Elderhostel program.
“In a narrow hourglass region of the Platte River Basin, more than 650,000 cranes stage and rest during the journey from their winter havens in Mexico and South America to their breeding grounds in Canada and Siberia,” said Dr. Doyle Howitt, who directs
the Elderhostel program.
“Watching from river viewing blinds, participants will study other flyway migrants, including waterfowl and endangered species, and learn to identify field markings, characteristics, behaviors and habitat,” he added.
According to Dr. Doyle Howitt, the annual Elderhostel workshops about the Sandhill Cranes have been offered for more than 25 years.
