Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition camera crew members, who had spent more than a month watching and recording two greater Sandhill crane nests in the Hayden area, last week realized the chicks they had been waiting for are not coming this year.

“It was disappointing, especially for the camera crew and the people involved with making the nest camera happen,” said Nancy Merrill, president of the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition board. “We sort of went through a mourning period after that, but (the cranes) are resilient and they’ll come back next year and try again. This is the first year that this has happened … we’ve always had at least one successful chick hatch, but this year we lost out.”

Merrill said the coalition turned off its cameras on May 23 and is in the process of evaluating what they have learned — and are already making plans for next spring. The coalition, formed in 2021, has livestreamed greater Sandhill crane nests since that time.

“They’ve got a lot of factors against them, and they just get that one chance with one or two eggs,” said Megan Karschner, executive director of the coalition. “If it’s early enough in the season sometimes the cranes can renest, but we haven’t seen that with any of the pairs that we’ve been observing this year.”

This year the coalition observed two pairs of nesting cranes — Lucy and Ricky, and a second pair, Shrek and Fiona.

The first nest was discovered in a secluded and protected wetlands area on April 22. The pair, Lucy and Ricky, are believed to be young and inexperienced based on behavioral observations. The last sighting of Lucy and Ricky at their nest was on May 16, and Merrill said reasons for abandonment of the nest are unclear. The coalition said eggs may have been infertile, predated or damaged.

“Initially when we turned the camera on, we thought that the cranes in the vicinity were potentially cranes from the previous year, given the territory where they were located,” said Megan Karschner, executive director of the coalition. “However, once we watched the pairs, their personalities and behavior were so different from the pairs that we saw last season that we didn’t think it was likely the same birds this year.”

The coalition was disappointed that the pair was not successful in rearing a chick, but Karschner and Merrill said observing the young pair provided insight into the behavior of greater Sandhill cranes in Routt County. They watched as the birds learned to work together, had territorial disputes with other cranes and faced predators.

“The biggest lesson the (livestream) teaches us is just how challenging it is for cranes to rear young successfully,” Karschner said. “That’s above and beyond the biggest lesson — it allows us to see how difficult circumstantial things are, as well as predation and competition for habitat. Being a ground nesting bird, they have got a lot stacked against them, especially when they only have those one or two eggs.”

The crane camera also observed a second pair, Shrek and Fiona, who were discovered nesting on April 24 on an island across the Yampa River. These birds also had territorial disputes with a group of crane bachelors in the area, but ultimately the biggest battle was with Mother Nature.

On the morning of May 5, it appeared that the nest and eggs were lost due to rising Yampa River water levels — but incredibly, the pair managed to recover the eggs and rebuild the nest. They continued to tend the nest for a few days but ultimately abandoned it on May 8.

The coalition remains hopeful that one or both crane pairs might attempt to nest again. However, the window for either pair to have a chick is limited. It normally takes 29 days for an egg to hatch, and 65-70 days before the chick can fledge — meaning it has the wing development to fly.

Merrill said the chicks are most vulnerable prior to flight. Even though the cameras did not capture any chicks this spring, Karschner said it was a successful venture for the coalition that works to promote and educate people about greater Sandhill cranes. She said the organization has leased land in Routt County and is growing crops which, after harvested, will provide feeding ground with the grains the cranes like to eat.

The hope is that the greater Sandhill cranes will gather in these areas before migrating south in the fall. She is also eagerly looking forward to the Yampa Valley Crane Festival, set for Aug. 28-31.

Karschner said the organization has a strong social media presence where people can post observations and ask questions. Karschner also encourages people to check the coalition’s website, which is filled with information about cranes.

“We want to understand more about the population, and we hope to contribute to the greater body of scientific knowledge about the Rocky Mountain population of greater Sandhill cranes, and what we know about them,” Karschner said. “We want people to tune in and watch the camera, but we want people to be able to be informed about what’s happening with the season, which is why we do post on our social media and have the blog on our website where we keep people updated.”