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<br />,,~(JrJ <br />.(. -> <-J <br /> <br />Ouri ng the-morni ng hours, cranes 1 eave thei r watery roosts for the wet <br />meadows. The Fish and Wildlife Service has provided this description <br />of wet meadows: "lowland areas which are relatively free of sizeable <br />trees and where the soil is usually without standing water during most <br />of the growing season, but is periodically ,~ater10gged within a few <br />inches of the surface in scattered spots due primarily to a high water <br />table. These areas are frequently undulating; therefore; are often <br />basically habitat complexes. Vegetation commonly occurring may include <br />grasses (excluding feed grains, grains, and/or sorghum crops), and/or ' <br />sedges, and/or rushes, and/or small nonagricultural broadleaf plants. <br />This wet meadow classification includes ephemeral (lasting only a short <br />time) areas which are a gradation between the lowest areas and the more <br />upland areas." Wet meadows are the cranes' "marshaling areas," where <br />they often group before moving,into'the,grain fields to feed. Generally, <br />less than a mile from the river roosts, wet rneadows are used for preening, <br />dancing, resting, feeding, and as secondary roosts. <br /> <br /> <br />Migratory Habits <br /> <br />The "stem of the hourglass" between Overton and Chapman, Nebraska, <br />provides some of the most important habitat within the sandhill cranes' <br />top and bottom-heavy migratory route (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1976). <br />There is no habitat of similar quality and quantity within the United <br />States' portion of the Central Flyway in North America (Fish and <br />Wildlife Service, 1976). It is here, after a nonstop 600-mi1e migration <br />from wintering areas, that the cranes choose to pause 'and replenish <br />their energy reserves. The birds arrive at the Platte in relatively <br />poor physical condition. Each bird stays on the Platte River for <br />approximately 6 weeks feeding on sprouting vegetation and invertebrates <br />in the wet meadows and waste grain and sprouts in the croplands. Each <br />one of these types of foods provides essential elements in their diet <br />(Fish ~~d Wildlife Service. 1976). During this stint, each crane gains <br /> <br />26 <br />