WINGED MIGRATION

Winged Migration

Thursday, September 10, 2015 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
  • Library Hall

A screening of the Academy Award winning Best Documentary to open the 2015 Yampa Valley Crane Festival!

Come early to explore the educational crane displays outside Library Hall and see the Crane Coloring Contest award ceremony at 6 p.m., with prizes from Ciao Gelato.

For 80 million years, birds have ruled the skies, seas and earth. Each spring, they fly vast distances.  Each Fall, they fly the same route back. This film is the result of years following their amazing odysseys, in the northern hemisphere and then the south, species by species, flying over seas and continents.

Three years of shooting were needed by five teams in order to follow bird migrations flying over the seven continents: from one pole to another, from the seas to snowcapped mountains, from the canopy of heaven to mangroves and swamps, from frozen areas and scorching deserts to our peaceful countryside.  To film birds in flight under all the latitudes, to observe the behavior of species on the ground or even on the seas, the filmmakers developed innovative techniques in order to follow every type of movement birds make, whatever their size, altitude, weather conditions and speed of their travel. 

All manner of man-made machines were employed, including planes, gliders, helicopters and balloons, and numerous innovative techniques and ingeniously designed cameras were utilized to allow the filmmakers to fly alongside, above, below and in front of their subjects.The result is a film of staggering beauty that opens one's eyes to the ineffable wonders of the natural world.

Run time: 85 min.

About the Yampa Valley Crane Festival
The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley. Returning in the spring, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley. In late summer and early fall, hundreds of cranes from the Rocky Mountain flock join the local birds to rest and feed before continuing their journey south. The festival includes daily crane viewings, expert speakers, films, art exhibits, workshops, family activities and more. All community activities and events are free unless otherwise indicated in the program, and the Bud Werner Memorial Library will be home base for many of these talks, films and events.

Learn more about the festival at www.coloradocranes.org.

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