Harvard Waterfowl Production Area

The Harvard Waterfowl Production Area is
located three miles west of Harvard. For
five weeks each Spring, visitors to the
Waterfowl Production Area and other areas
within the Platte River Valley in
south-central Nebraska can enjoy the
symphony of sounds and dancing rituals of
90% of the world's sandhill crane
population.

Approximately 500,000 sandhill cranes stop
to gain energy from the fertile lands along
the Platte River. From mid-February to
mid-April, the cranes can be seen and
heard for 30 miles along the Platte River.

In addition to cranes, visitors will see 10
million ducks and geese that use the Platte
and the neighboring Rainwater Basin
wetlands. More than two million snow geese
stopped in south-central Nebraska last
Spring alone.

During April and May, wildlife watchers see
shorebirds arriving by the thousands from
wintering grounds in Central and South
America.