By Seth Boster | The Gazette
One of Colorado’s most anticipated natural phenomena is about to get underway.
Sandhill cranes start flying into the San Luis Valley this month for their annual stopover.
The majestic birds — long-legged with 6-foot wingspans, guttural songs and dances beloved by legions of admirers — arrive from wintering nests in the southwest U.S. and Mexico. En route to the northern Rockies and plains, tens of thousands of cranes are known to “spring break” in the barley fields and wetlands spanning this southern Colorado valley framed by the Sangre de Cristo peaks.