Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes will soon be flocking to Nebraska, and Phelps County offers uncrowded viewing of cranes and all types of birds.
The Funk Waterfowl Production Area is a prime area for bird watching all times of the year, but winter and early spring give bird-watchers a chance to see the rare Whooping Crane.
USFWS Rainwater Basin Project Leader Brad Krohn said it’s common to see Whooping Cranes in the Funk WPA in late March to mid-April depending on whether there is water in the wetland.
The Funk WPA accommodates bus parking and has public restrooms available during business hours (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday). No park sticker is needed.
Krohn said February, March and April are also prime times to view pintail and mallard ducks and thousands of snow geese migrating through the area.
The nearly 2,000-acre WPA has an information kiosk at the central parking lot with maps.
The Funk WPA also features the 3-mile Funk Peterson Trail, which was designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2008. A handicapped-accessible wooden walkway takes visitors directly into the Rainwater Basin for an up-close view of nature.
For directions and more information, visit the Funk Waterfowl Production Area website.
Sandhill Cranes can also be commonly seen feeding on empty cornfields in northern Phelps County just south of Interstate-80. Every year, nearly 1 million Sandhill Cranes (80 percent of all the cranes on the planet) land in the central Platte River area of Nebraska on their trek to their Arctic and subarctic nesting grounds. The cranes can be seen in fields in northern Phelps County just south of Interstate-80 and the Platte River.
We invite you to stay in Holdrege at one of our three hotels and enjoy the cranes and other birds. From here, it’s an easy drive to see bald eagles and pelicans at Harlan County Lake, just 24 miles south of Holdrege.
When you Visit 37, you are getting away from it all in the heart of it all!
The Cobblestone Inn & Suites (new in 2020)
The Rodeway Inn (remodeled in 2022)
The Plains Hotel
Visit our hotel directory for reservation information.
