Tour Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to Nebraska. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they take this tour. Although we do our best to make sure that what follows here is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all tour registrants, and whose contents supersedes any information contained here.
ENTERING THE UNITED STATES: Non-U.S. citizens will need a valid passport and may need a tourist visa. Consult your nearest U.S. Embassy or consulate for details. Canadian citizens should carry proof of citizenship in the form of a passport or birth certificate.
HEALTH: The Platte River region presents no real hazards to the visiting birdwatcher. Staying warm and dry in the late winter-early spring Nebraska weather is important. Participants should bring an adequate supply of any personal medications as they may be difficult to obtain during the tour.
PACE OF THE TOUR: Birding during this tour takes place on relatively level ground, with much of the birding on roads and wide gravelled trails. Depending on weather, early mornings can be the best time for birding activity; we will often be out in the field by dawn, which sometimes will be preceded by a drive of 30 minutes or more. Breakfast is usually pre-dawn, and lunches are a combination of picnic lunches and sandwich shops (mostly). If our schedule allows, we’ll have an afternoon break, bird again in the later afternoon, and then have an early dinner before heading out again for the dusk fly-in of cranes.
ACCOMMODATION: We stay at standard, comfortable motels. Our hotel in Grand Island has an indoor heated swimming pool.
FOOD: All breakfasts are sit-down affairs, either pre-birding or after our dawn prairie-chicken or crane-roost watching. Lunches will be picnics or at typical sandwich-type shops. Dinners include some at the hotel restaurant or other local restuarants (which may offer large dinner and breakfast buffets for those who want them) and a couple at local steakhouses.
CLIMATE: The Platte region in March experiences a wide range of weather conditions. It may be quite cold and windy with temperatures in the 20s and 30s F. or possibly mild with readings from the 50s to 60s F. Please be prepared for cool to cold temperatures and wind. Early mornings spent looking for displaying prairie-chickens may be especially chilly. Rain or even snow is possible at any time.
DRESS: Informal throughout.
SMOKING: Smoking is prohibited in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group. If any location where the group is gathered has a stricter policy than the WINGS policy, that stricter policy will prevail.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS OF WINGS TOURS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information and Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
FINAL INFORMATION: A more complete General Information for Tours to the Platte River will be sent to each registrant on receipt of their booking. Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary.
Updated: December 2011