The brochures have been mailed so I am now "allowed" to post something on the Crane Festival. I was told the new information will be on the website by the end of the day tomorrow: www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org will get you there. (Please go to the website rather than contacting me for information.) The date is March 19 with additional field trips and crane viewing busses on March 18 and 20. We had to push the festival up a week to avoid Easter weekend, but for the first time we are scheduling additional morning and evening crane viewing tours the two Saturdays following the festival (March 26 and April 2).

In addition to the assortment of field trips (including Columbia NWR, Crab Creek, Wahluke Slope, Douglas County, and Lower Grand Coulee), an ever-expanding children's program, and various vendors, there will be several featured guests. Friday evening Dr. Estella Leopold will reflect on Sand County, cranes, and their influence on humans through history in her talk Ode to Wetlands and Sandhill Cranes. Dr. Sergei Smirenski is featured Saturday afternoon with parallels to our local farming community and festival with Muraviovka Park and the Cranes of Eastern Siberia. At least six authors will participate in the Authors' Forum. Storyteller Dayton Edmonds will "tell stories". The raptors are returning from WSU. Birds, bugs, rocks, squirrels, history, friendly farming, photography. An encore showing of Winged Migration on the big screen.

And don't forget the banquet. This is the only banquet I know of where attendees buy tickets for the food, thanks to the efforts of award-winning chef Lance Wells. The speaker will be world-renowned grouse expert Dr. Michael Schroeder talking on his specialty. His historical perspective will lead into current population concerns, and a biologist's perspective on managing a species where birders can have a negative impact. This should be a timely topic with recent decisions by USFWS not to list sage grouse under ESA, and by the Crane Festival Committee, WDFW, Central Basin Audubon and others to not sponsor or endorse field trips to sage grouse leks in Douglas County.

I heard second hand that cranes were seen today south of town.

Randy Hill
Othello