Fourth Annual Sandhill Crane Festival
Othello, Washington March 23-25, 2001

The Crane Festival in Othello returns for a fourth year with lots of
activities and field trips. The main Festival will be at Othello High
School on Saturday, March 24. Additional field trips are scheduled for
Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.

This year Friday's field trips are moved to the Columbia NWR office (735 E.
Main St.), where check-in and departure will take place. Mike Denny and
several FWS biologists will lead a tour of Columbia NWR at 4 p.m. Last
year's tour had a Prairie Falcon perched for all to see, and the trip
through the channeled scablands will be a great introduction to the
diversity of the scenic and natural wonders of the area. This tour does
not seek out cranes, but may venture into crane country. One crane viewing
bus will depart at 4:30 p.m. and stay until sunset, catching the cranes at
their noisiest.

Saturday's schedule includes 12 presentations during the 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
lecture period. Lectures include: Falconry (Steve Herman); Fire effects
on birds at the ALE Reserve (Bill LaFramboise); The Missoula Floods (Brent
Cunderla); Woodland Park Zoo-Wild Wise (Frank Hein); Grouse of Washington
(Mike Schroeder); Othello History within the Drumheller Channeled
Scablands (Gladys Para); Shrub Steppe Flora and Fauna (Andy Stepniewski);
Owls of Eastern Washington (Mike Denny); Wildlife Habitat Design for your
Home (Cary Munce); Spring Migration in the Columbia Basin (Bill
LaFramboise); and Human and Natural History of the Columbia Basin (Jack
Nisbet). The Keynote Speaker at 2 p.m. will be Joe Engler of the
Ridgefield NWR Complex. His talk is entitled "The Status of Breeding
Greater Sandhill Cranes in Washington." Jack Nisbet, author of Singing
Grass, Burning Sage, will be the banquet speaker at 7 p.m. His talk is
titled "Condors, Cranes, and Curlews: Columbia Basin Birds at the time of
European Contact."

Saturday field trips include eight crane viewing bus tours lasting two
hours each. Those busses will leave on the half-hour beginning at 7:30
a.m. (five busses) and at 4 p.m. (three busses). A 2 ?-hour geology field
trip leaves at 11 a.m., immediately following the geology lecture. All
Saturday field trips board at the high school.

Sunday's field trips offer visitors a chance to explore the Columbia Basin
with experienced leaders. For the early risers, a sage-grouse lek tour to
Douglas County will begin at 4 a.m., led by Mike Schroeder or another WDFW
biologist. This trip will seek out all of the shrub steppe obligates of
the area. An extended tour of the Columbia NWR and Potholes area will
depart at 7 a.m., led by Mike Denny and refuge biologists. This tour will
cover the variety of wet and dry habitats of the area, keying on cliff and
canyon habitats and local nesting species, including owls. If Burrowing
Owls are not seen on this tour, they will be searched for after returning
to Othello. At 7:30, Bill and Nancy LaFramboise will lead a tour up north
to the Lower Grand Coulee. This trip is guaranteed to produce something
special as it covers waterbirds, canyon and cliff areas, and early migrants
through the Columbia Basin. At 8 a.m., Andy Stepniewski leads his annual
pilgrimage to the Wahluke Slope, where Sage Sparrow is abundant. Expect
shrub steppe species and a great view of the White Bluffs along the Hanford
Reach of the Columbia River. Local historian Gladys Para will lead the 9
a.m. history tour of the Drumheller Channeled Scablands. And one last
crane viewing bus will depart at 10 a.m. All of these tours will leave
from the high school parking lot.

More details and registration information are available from the Othello
Chamber of Commerce. Visit their web site at www.othello-wa.com. The
Chamber office can be reached by e-mail at othello at othello-wa.com or by
phone at 1-800-684-2556.


More details coming. Wait a few days for the web site as the schedule was
just finalized and sent to the printers today.

Randy Hill
Othello WA