Sandhill crane migration | From late February to early April, 500,000 migrating sandhill cranes feed and rest along the Platte River in the center of the state near Kearney. At sunset, the horizon can go dark as the gray birds -- 6-8 feet across the wingtips -- return to the sandbars after feeding in the fields. The northbound cranes present one of planet's great remaining . And thanks to viewing areas stretching along Interstate-80 from Kearney to Grand Island, you can see the birds with hardl