Barren River Lake State Resort Park will hold a nature watch weekend on Feb. 27-28 as Sandhill cranes migrate through the area.

Each year thousands of Sandhill cranes make Barren River Lake a stop on their journey from Florida to the upper Midwest.  The park is holding guided tours to allow guests to get up close to these beautiful cranes and learn more about them.

 The weekend will consist of a program on the natural history of Sandhill cranes, conducted by Wayne Tamminga, a certified wildlife biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. CST.  On Saturday, participants can register for an early morning van trip and short hike to the winter pool backwater of Peters Creek to visit a roosting area or an afternoon van tour with a series of stops to various feeding/roosting sites along Highway 31E and surrounding areas. Guests interested in both tours can pay an additional $10 fee if space is available.

Each of these trips will be lead by naturalists and biologist from the Kentucky Department of Parks and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Registration is $20 per person ($10 for children 12 and under) and includes the evening session, a morning or afternoon field trip, transportation 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 that the dates selected are based on historical records under normal weather conditions at the end of February and past trends of the crane’s arrival to this area.  Please 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. Take I-65 to the Cumberland Parkway east, to US 31E south.

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. Each year, Kentucky parks draw 7 million visitors and contribute $317 million to the economy. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov