Thousands of sandhill cranes are converging in the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado as part of their annual northerly migration from New Mexico to habitat in states like Idaho and Montana. It's the Rocky Mountain population of the Greater Sandhill Crane, and the flock is around 25,000 birds.
Other places across North America see cranes too. In Indiana, at least 1,500 of the eastern population have died as a result of bird flu.
With the small San Luis Valley town of Monte Vista set to host its annual Crane Festival Friday through the weekend, those involved say they're not seeing the same impacts from avian flu.
It's good news for a festival and the weeks surrounding it that bring an estimated 18,500 people to the area with an estimated economic impact of at least $3.35 million.
But, for some, it's a little bit of a waiting game, with threats coming from unexpected places.
"The threat of avian flu to wild birds is very closely tied to commercial agriculture, the poultry farms," said Jenny Nehring, a wildlife biologist who helps with the festival.
Nehring said the bigger issue right now—for both the festival and the long-term health of the flock—is the effect of federal cuts in the workforce and frozen funds. When it comes to monitoring avian influenza in commercial operations, for example, that's the job of the Centers for Disease Control.
"To monitor and keep avian flu in check, we really need to rely on the CDC and tracking that virus in commercial operations to prevent that jump to wild populations," Nehring said.
But Nehring said they've been in touch with biologists across the migratory range for these cranes, and they have not seen any signs of avian flu, despite sharing a habitat with waterfowl.
"Bird flu is endemic to waterfowl, so I'm talking ducks and geese,” she said. “And cranes would have exposure because they share the same habitat."
But in a poultry operation with an active outbreak, the virus is likely mutating to something that the cranes wouldn't have a resistance to.
"If we don't have the checks and balances of disease monitoring that we rely on the CDC and other federal agencies to keep an eye on, then yeah, the long-term outlook, it will be impacted."
As for the festival itself, Nehring said there has been a little bit of a scramble related to some of the cost-cutting measures at the federal level, but they're managing to move forward.
The Monte Vista Crane Festival runs through Sunday. A ticket is required for the festival, but it is free to see the cranes.
