By Stan Tekiela, Correspondent

There are many marvelous places and natural events in the world that can dazzle your eyes and entertain your mind. I am fortunate enough to travel and photograph some of these amazing events and places.

Some of these marvels of nature are well known, such as the migration of 1.5 million wildebeest on the plains of east Africa. These animals cover nearly 2,000 miles of the African plains each year in search of fresh green grass.

The gathering of the Andean flamingos in South America is another great example of a special natural event. Tens of thousands of long-legged pink birds gather in huge flocks in shallow lakes to feed. It’s certainly a pink spectacle unmatched in the world.

Closer to home, the Grand Canyon is a good example of a natural place. Measuring 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide, the Grand Canyon is unmatched in its grandeur and splendor. All you need to do is stand at the rim and gaze upon the canyon to know what I mean.

The problem with many of these amazing natural events and places is they are often in faraway locations and only accessible by those with enough time and money. However, there is a natural marvel that rivals the great events of Africa and South America much closer to home. It is the annual migration of the Sandhill crane and snow goose in south central Nebraska. Yep, that’s right — Nebraska.

I have just returned from leading a bird watching/photography trip for four days of eye-popping, jaw-dropping natural splendor. And the best part is, I didn’t have to take malaria pills, update my health insurance or break out my passport.

I have traveled to Nebraska each spring for nearly 20 years, and I still get excited at witnessing this ancient event unfold before my eyes. For the past 20,000 years, nearly half a million Sandhill cranes and millions of snow geese funnel down to an 80-mile stretch of the Platte River for the first leg of their migration to nesting grounds.

After spending the winter scattered in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico, the cranes and geese start to move north in mid-February. During a six- to eight-week period, millions and millions of birds bottleneck down to this special place in Nebraska where they will feed and put on enough body fat to fuel their journey to the breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska.

Each evening, my group of bird watchers and photographers would end up near the Platte River to watch the cranes return from feeding in the surrounding fields. Both the cranes and the geese return to the sandbars in the river just after sunset, using the water as a form of protection from predators.

We would watch from the banks of the river as thousands of cranes and geese would fill the sky and swirl around and around before finally settling down on the safety of the sandbars in the river. The birds appeared as moving black silhouettes in the fiery sky. The accompanying sounds of this huge mass of birds all calling together added greatly to the magic of the moment.

I can say in all confidence that the annual migration of the Sandhill crane and snow goose is North America’s most amazing natural spectacle and is in the top 10 natural events in the world — and I am not the only one who feels this way.

I recently saw a television show featuring Jane Goodall, famed primatologist and world traveler, who said she felt the migration of the Sandhill crane and snow goose in Nebraska was one of the most remarkable natural spectacles on the earth and that it shouldn’t be missed. She comes to Nebraska each spring to see it for herself. I couldn’t agree more, and that’s why I come back year after year. Until next time…

(Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist and wildlife photographer from Victoria who travels the United States to study and photograph wildlife. He can be contacted at www.naturesmart.com.)