MONTE VISTA — Activity is ramping up for the 2019 Monte Vista Crane Festival. The city recently hung new crane festival banners in downtown to welcome visitors. Local businesses are getting creative with “Crane Craze” ideas. And just a few days ago, local ornithologist John Rawinski spotted about eight thousand Sandhill Cranes on the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge.

The annual festival celebrates the spring arrival of some 25,000 Sandhill Cranes that sweep through Colorado’s stunning San Luis Valley to rest and refuel before heading north to their nesting grounds. The largest numbers of cranes can typically be observed at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge due to staff’s management towards prime habitat for the large, graceful birds.

The Monte Vista Crane Festival committee noted Rawinski’s sighting in a recent Facebook post:

“Their daily patterns are changing by the day, and while some birds are close, most of the feeding is far away in [the] distance. The auto tour loop south pond is a good place to find them when they are not out feeding. Bald Eagles are around in good numbers, as well as Red-tailed Hawks, Merlin and Prairie Falcons. The refuge is now plowing the snow off patches of the 8S barley field and more birds are using it to feed. Also, good numbers of cranes and geese using the 7S grain field. With the Crane Festival fast approaching, there should be plenty of birds to see.”  ---John Rawinski

Refuge manager Suzanne Beauchaine cautions folks driving on Hwy 15 south of Monte Vista and on Road 8S just south of the refuge due to an elk herd hanging out near the 8S wildlife-viewing pullout. “Folks need to watch for elk and deer crossing the roads,” said Beauchaine. “A few have been killed in the last week or two.”

In “Crane Craze” news, local businesses are finalizing plans for supporting the festival with crane- and wildlife-themed items in their stores and restaurants. Southwest and Rio Bravo liquor stores are creating displays for their Crane Lake wines; Nazarene Thrift Store is dedicating an entire display window for bird-oriented items that they’ve been collecting throughout the year; Safeway’s deli section will be selling made-to-order “Crane Craze” sandwiches for birders on the go; and Kaligans at 116 Washington has an array of upcycled bird and other wildlife-oriented items for sale.

Festival weekend, Mountain View Restaurant will again be serving up “Roasted Whooper on the Marsh”---which is actually a turkey dinner---and a surprise crane-themed craft cocktail. The name of the restaurant’s special menu item harkens back to the festival’s early days, which celebrated Whooping Cranes due to a U.S. Fish & Wildlife program in the Valley aimed at saving the endangered cranes from extinction.

Colorado Farm Brewery owners Jason and Josh Cody will be tipping their hats to Sandhill Cranes with a specially crafted, dry-hopped red ale called the Lazy Crane Session Ale. The sunset-red ale is a one-season-only batch incorporating barley, said Jason Cody. “It’s themed around the amazing red glow of San Luis Valley sunsets and the straw beds on which cranes sleep in the fields.” The Colorado Farm Brewery is the state’s only field-to-glass brewpub and located about 12 miles southeast of the refuge.

Even nearby towns are doing something special. The Salida Recreation and Aquatic Center, for example, has a bus heading from the rec center to Monte Vista for Saturday’s (March 9) Crane Sunset Tour. In Del Norte, the Windsor Hotel owners Kevin Haas and Cody Whitehead will be serving specialty craft cocktails for patrons.

As far as ticket sales, there is still availability for a couple of crane tours and one Colorado Farm Brewery tour (visit mvcranefest.com for available times and to purchase tickets). The Crane Festival committee is also looking for volunteers for the various events, from the bus tours to the Vali 3 Theater talks, Craft & Nature Fair and helping at the Refuge Visitors Center. People interested in volunteering should look for the links on the Monte Vista Crane Festival Facebook page or call 720-940-7561.

For more information about the Monte Vista Crane Festival, visit mvcranefest.org.