“Hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes are once again flocking to central Nebraska during their annual migration—and so far, the leggy birds appear to be unaffected by the highly contagious bird flu strain H5N1.

Wildlife biologists in Nebraska remain concerned about the possibility of the deadly virus spreading through the huge numbers of the gray birds with red caps that congregate on the Platte River every spring.

But, as they reach the likely peak of their migration this year, the birds seem to be happy and healthy. No crane deaths have been reported in Nebraska so far, reports NTV News’ Jack Bartlett.

Bird flu aside, Nebraska biologists have another reason to celebrate: During their weekly aerial crane survey on March 17, the fifth week of the migration, they counted roughly 736,000 sandhill cranes between the towns of Chapman and Overton, Nebraska, which are roughly 80 miles apart. That’s an all-time, record-high number of cranes counted in the region at once—and it’s probably an underestimate.”

From Smithsonian Magazine.