From the museum: At a simple level, Migration introduces visitors to the wonder of America’s sandhill cranes; at a deeper level, to connect people with the challenges facing cranes and other natural wonders in an era of climate change and habitat destruction. Each fall thousands of sandhill cranes fly south from their Arctic tundra nesting grounds to wintering places in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. In the spring they reverse course, going back north to nest again. The journey is primeval--thousands of birds flying in groups over mountains, rivers, and fields in all kinds of weather. Artist Charlotte Bird is fascinated by the cycles of life in nature. She is troubled by observations that climate change is slowly and subtly changing the birds’ lives. The success of the sandhill crane rests on its ability to adapt to diverse habitats extending from the Arctic to the subtropics. The birds cannot adapt to nesting grounds flooded by melting permafrost or to flooded feeding-grounds in Nebraska and California.
