The Fort Kearny State Recreation Area has a hiking trail bridge across the river from which roosting can be observed. The Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon and Crane Meadows near Grand Island have blinds set up so that observers can see the cranes come to the roost sites in the evening or leave in the morning. Both require reservations, but the sights are spectacular. Due to the popularity of the sandhill cranes in recent years, it may be that other viewing areas will become available. Sandhill cranes are generally gray feathered with occasional rust-colored streaks.
Adults have a red forehead while yearlings have a dark brown forehead.
The differences are not due to age but rather to the genetics of the individual subspecies. Most cranes in the Big Bend region are lesser sandhills, the smallest subspecies. Lesser sandhill cranes have a wingspan of approximately six feet. Greater sandhill cranes have a span of seven feet. While flying cranes appear quite large, they only weigh six to ten pounds.