Department of Parks
Barren River Lake State Resort To Host Two Nature Watch Weekends For Sandhill Cranes in 2010

LUCAS, Ky. -- Each year thousands of Sandhill Cranes make Barren River Lake a stop on their journey back home.  The park is holding two special weekends for guests to see and get close to these beautiful cranes as they migrate through the area.

The weekends -- Jan. 29-30 and Feb. 19-20 -- will consist of educational sessions conducted by Wayne Tamminga, a wildlife biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. CST.

Participants can register for either the morning Sunrise or Sunset trip. The Sunrise trip takes you to the roosting site before sunrise so you may experience the beauty of the cranes leaving the roost as they journey to nearby cornfields to spend the day. The Sunset trip begins by viewing the birds in the cornfields and ends at the roosting site so you may view the magnificence of thousands of cranes circling overhead as they get ready to settle down for the night.   Each of these trips will be lead by naturalists from the Kentucky Department of Parks.

Registration is $20 per person ($10 for children 12 and under) and includes the evening session, a Sunrise or Sunset field trip and snacks.  Registration forms are available online at http://www.parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/br/events/ or by contacting Parks Program Services Supervisor Lisa Deavers at 1-800-325-0057 or lisa.deavers@ky.gov

Please note the dates selected are based on historical records under normal weather conditions in January and at the end of February and past trends of the crane’s arrival to this area.  Be aware that this narrow window of opportunity can vary by several days based on weather and the crane’s migration schedule.

Barren River Lake State Resort Park near Glasgow has a lodge, cottages, Driftwood Restaurant, golf course, fitness center, gift shop, fishing, picnic areas and hiking trails. The resort is located 44 miles southeast of Bowling Green and 15 miles south of Glasgow.. Take I-65 to the Cumberland Parkway east, to US 31E south.

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The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov