2007 Tour Narrative
Our spring trip to Nebraska was blessed with generally fantastic weather. All but one day was sunny at some point and we experienced no precipitation problems, in fact one afternoon we were all enjoying over 70 degree weather, and birding in short sleeves! The birds definitely cooperated as well, with fantastic showings of Sandhill Cranes on several evening fly-ins to their roosting spots along the Platte River. Seeing the sky literally filled with tens of thousands of these majestic birds coming in with a prairie sunset providing the backdrop is an experience that all North American birders should have, and ranks as one of North Americas most spectacular wildlife events.
The unseasonably warm weather brought in several early species of migrant shorebirds and passerines, and resulted in a species total of 103. We enjoyed immensely the opportunity to really work through the waterfowl flocks, and also our extended studies of close feeding groups of shorebirds. Several hard to identify species pairs presented themselves for side by side comparison. I’m hoping that the group feels a little more confident in identifying Cackling and Canada Geese, Ross’s and Snow Geese, Greater and Lesser Scaup and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.
A trip like this is a great way to see the interior of the prairie and some of the strongest memories that we likely will take with us are the giant ball of twine in Cawker City, small dusty farming towns with variable amounts of prosperity, the meandering Platte River, which is scenic in its braided and shallow stretches around Grand Island or maybe a herd of adorable Black-tailed Prairie Dogs enjoying the early spring weather and soaking up the sun. The birds will stay with us as well with some of the favorites being a Great Horned Owl incubating eggs, almost a dozen Greater Prairie Chickens in the early morning light as they ran, leaped, danced and called during their amazing ritual display, and attractive Harris’s Sparrows on their way north to their sub-Arctic breeding grounds…and I have a string suspicion that several participants have found a few new favorite places to eat!
Gavin Bieber
Updated: April 2007