Rowe Sanctuary - Wildlife refuge in Gibbon - 44450 Elm Island Rd, USA

We had a good visit with Sonceyrae, and a nice walk out the west trails, where we saw some very enjoyable sights. From the boardwalk at the first viewing building we watched a very tiny fawn standing in the water's edge drinking and looking around for quite a while, after Mama Doe ran away. We also saw newly hatched swallows near the door of the blind, their eyes still closed, poking their heads up above their nest. We didn't get as close as it looks, I cropped the photo for this close-up. There were so many milkweeds everywhere covered in beautiful pink blooms, and the prickly pears were in full flowering glory. Lots of birds, of course! They're beginning a year-long building/addition project, so much of the sanctuary will be closed after this week. Our timing was good for getting out there before we couldn't. The east trails will remain open during construction.

The cranes hadn't arrived yet, but there were 10-15 bald eagles hanging out on the ice and in the trees. The path was snow-covered but possible. Nice shelters to watch the birds. Nice gift shop and friendly staff.

Wow! We had an amazing sunrise tour for Sandhill Crane viewing. Volunteer guides were super nice and helpful. View station is so close to the heart of Platte River where the cranes were resting at night. We were very quiet and loved how the organization keep well respect for the wildlife. The tour hours were 6-9am, we arrived 15 minutes before 6, short walk to the view point before sunrise. Watched the Sandhill cranes waking up from a quiet night. Thousands of cranes lifted up to the sky, dancing with the moon in the sunrise was so stunning! Thank you for providing such wonderful experience for us, highly recommended to our friends and all of you out there!

This place is super cool and lots of great information from the very knowledgeable volunteers that work here during the Sandhill crane migration season. Can get blinds right on the river and get up and close with the cranes. Sunrises are better than sunsets, higher considerations of cranes at sunrise.

Visiting the Visitors Center is free BUT being guided on a tour and viewing of the Sandhills Cranes involves a fee. A fantastic experience!

I've been here twice since the beginning of the year, and both were great fun. We visited back in March for the crane migration, and we were able to hike the trails and see a few cranes during the day. We saw thousands in the fields along the way there, too. Amazing experience, I recommend it to anybody who wants to see the sandhill crane migration. The second time was just yesterday. They are gearing up for a remodel, so things looked a little sparse in the gift shop, but the lady running things was so kind. She answered our questions and really engaged with the kids. 10/10, lovely person who made our visit special. We took the trail by the river this time since it was closed on our last visit so as not to disturb the birds. It was lovely seeing how much the river had changed and what animals were around. The restored Prarie was beautiful to see and was more green than when we visited before. Loved seeing it both times; really makes you appreciate what the pioneers went through on their wagons. This visit, the only animal I was able to photograph was a rabbit, but the kids were delighted by it. Be warned, there are ticks. We found several on ourselves and the kids, so make sure to do a tick check before you leave the sanctuary.

We rented a spot in one of the viewing blinds to view the cranes return to the North Platte River at night. Amazing!! The guides are knowledgeable and can answer your questions.

I loved this wildlife (bird) sanctuary. It has so many nice bird watching locations. And the people are so friendly and knowledgeable.