Monte Vista Crane Festival 2014

Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge

Yesterday we went to see the cranes. In Monte Vista, they have an annual Crane Festival to celebrate the arrival of the Sand Hill Cranes to the San Luis Valley, and more specifically to the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge.

Cranes in the sky

The cranes come twice a year to the area...in the early spring (or mid February to mid March) and again in the fall (October, November). They stop over on their way north as the weather begins to warm, and they stop again on their way back south as winter closes in.

Cranes in a field on the refuge

The cranes will fill the farmers' fields from Monte Vista, through Alamosa and even over into Blanca on the eastern side of the valley. They come to eat the Barley seed heads from the fields. They will plant the fields in the Monte Vista refuge as food for the cranes, but the cranes will pick through fields throughout the area.

They are amazing creatures. They have been migrating through the area for centuries, before people came to the San Luis Valley. Now, there is fear of taking the water that is funneled through the wildlife refuge because water has become so scarce in Colorado. That seems wrong, doesn't it? We can find water to frack and poison our planet, but we can't let the water continue to run through the wetlands of the San Luis Valley?

Humanity has reached the point of absurdity. Without the diverse ecosystems that inhabit our planet, we will begin to lose all life as we know it, including human life that is ultimately just as dependent on the natural ecology of this planet as every other living creature. And, although the Wildlife refuge has created a massive wetland system by using the irrigation systems of the San Luis Valley, already the area is wet as the water runs from mountains and down into the basin of the valley. Drive around and you can sit standing water in a lot of fields. This water seeps into the aquifer at some point, but I imagine the birds have used these "wetlands" for centuries before humans stepped in to help them out.

The issues arise when we use the water foolishly, like to grow alfalfa for cows living in the deserts of NM. Maybe we could all eat a little less meat. Maybe we could raise cows in areas that don't require supplemental feeding (if that's even possible). Or, let's all stop flushing our drinking water down the toilet, shall we? There are alternatives (gray water, composting toilets). Or, and here's a big one....stop fracking!!!!! That is an enormous use of water that all life forms need to survive. Yes, let's all cut back on our energy consumption. Turn off the TV for a few days. Make one less shopping trip. Take one less traveling vacation. Whatever. Most people won't give it up, will they? We have to change our lifestyles, and we have to change our minds if we want to change the world.

Great Horned Owl

As part of the Crane Festival, there was a presentation on owls and also on raptors. We missed the raptor talk, but made it to the owl talk. Unfortunately the kids could only sit through about half of it and so we went to another building to see the live birds, which included some raptors and a few owls. It was pretty cool to see the birds up close, although it's always better to see them in their natural setting.

Home school was fun for all of us yesterday. We definitely need more field trips!