It’s difficult for longtime Yampa Valley resident and self-proclaimed “craniac” Nancy Merrill to hide her excitement every April when the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition’s nest cam livestream goes live.

“We’re really excited that we’re cranking again,” said Merrill, co-founder and president of the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition. “One of the crane pairs is back, for sure, and there are a lot of cranes around in the area, but one that’s really sticking in the territory.”

The livestream, which runs 24/7, can be seen through the coalition’s website at ColoradoCranes.org.

This marks the fifth year the coalition has set up a camera on private property in west Routt County. The device provides a peek into the daily life of sandhill crane pairs as they go through the process of building their nest, taking turns incubating eggs over the period of a month and then caring for the chicks.

The coalition keeps the exact nest location a secret to protect the birds.

Merrill said the camera is an important part of what the coalition does, allowing the staff and the public to watch often unseen aspects of the bird’s life — including nesting rituals, conflicts with predators and, last year, the loss of the pair’s eggs to predation.

Merrill said she thinks the camera, which can be rotated 360 degrees and can zoom, this year will focus on a pair of cranes believed to be Eric and Ariel. However, she admits that cranes are very similar in appearance, and it can be difficult to differentiate the birds.

“There were two pairs on the camera last year,” Merrill said. “One pair was Rocky and Adrian, but their nest was predated by coyotes. Then there was another nest in the area that was Eric and Ariel, which were named for ‘The Little Mermaid’ characters because they nested in a watery area. We think those are the cranes that are back because they’re roosting at night and are very close to where the nest was last year.”

The project was launched in 2021 with help from grants provided by the Yampa Valley Community Foundation and the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Local District or WHILD fund, a philanthropic initiative that provides funding for conservation efforts focused on protecting wildlife and wild places. Internet access for live streaming is provided by Zirkel Wilderness.

Camera installation and setup were completed by Photon Syndicate.

“The nest camera provides a wonderful opportunity to learn what goes on in the life of cranes at a time when they are normally very secretive,” Deanna Simonsen, events and marketing coordinator for the coalition, wrote in a news release.

The Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition is funded by private donations and grants. Staff includes three full-time and part-time members.

Merrill said the team appreciates the community’s support and interest in the cranes’ activities.

The livestream allows the public to stay current with the cranes’ activities and allows viewers to submit comments or questions.

Once the cranes start nesting, Merrill said normally it takes 29-32 days for the eggs to hatch. Once the chicks are up and moving, Merrill said the amount of time they stay near the nest is inconsistent. She said the best times to view the livestream generally are between 6-9 a.m. and then again from 6-8 p.m.

“There are so many characteristics that all come together in this one bird,” Merrill said. “They mate for life, they have this incredible bugling call that carries for a couple of miles, and they dance. I think the thing that I find most attractive is how diligently they guard their chicks and how devoted they are to each other as a pair. Those characteristics are just so attractive, and they’re big and they’re easy to see — so as my birding eyes get worse as I get older, I can still always see the cranes.”