A small group of Sandhill Cranes heads for their Platte River roosting area at dusk. Photo: Beth Russell
Every year the Platte River region in south-central Nebraska hosts one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in North America. Several million birds use this area as a stopover on their northbound migration. Each spring some 600,000 Sandhill Cranes—80 percent of the world’s population—gather along the Platte. Every evening the cranes return by the tens of thousands from feeding in the surrounding grain fields and wet meadows to roost on the river’s broad channels and sandbars. The spectacular flights to and from these roosts may be viewed from a number of vantage points. The nearby Rainwater Basin may host up to a million waterfowl, including hundreds of thousands of Snow Geese and some 90 percent of the midcontinental population of Greater White-fronted Goose, 50% of the Mallards and 30% of the Northern Pintails. Raptors will be numerous and Greater Prairie-Chickens and possibly Sharp-tailed Grouse will have begun their dancing displays. Other Great Plains specialties such as Ross’s Goose and Harris’s Sparrow will be present as well. As we search for birds we’ll also take in the sights of the central Great Plains via the region’s back roads and many small towns.
This trip is timed to coincide with the peak counts of cranes, near-peak numbers of waterfowl and the beginning of the prairie-chicken display season. Using Grand Island as a base we’ll explore the entire area. We have scheduled enough time to allow for a day of poor weather, always a possibility, and a relaxed schedule will permit full appreciation of the extraordinary concentrations of birds.
Day 1: The trip begins at 4:00 p.m. at our airport-area hotel in Omaha. We’ll depart for nearby Lake Manawa (good for many waterbirds) where at dusk (weather permitting) we’ll be treated to the displaying antics of American Woodcock. Eastern Screech-Owl is also likely. Night in Omaha.
Day 2: We’ll spend the morning birding in the Omaha area. A visit to bottomland forest habitat just south of the city should produce Red-headed Woodpecker and other woodland species not typically seen farther west. Barred Owl and Pileated Woodpecker are possible.We’ll then drive 140 miles west to Grand Island, stopping to check one or more large lakes nar Lincoln, and late in the day we’ll make our first trip to see the tremendous numbers - perhaps 200,000 in one evening - of Sandhill Cranes coming in to roost along the Platte River. Night in Grand Island.
Days 3-5: We’ll spend three full days exploring the birding areas of south-central Nebraska. We’ll check not only for concentrations of cranes but also for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey, Northern Bobwhite, Northern and Loggerhead Shrikes, Lapland Longspur, Great-tailed Grackle and, in the hedgerows, we’ll look for Harris’s and American Tree Sparrows. The Rainwater Basin a short distance to the south supports some truly incredible concentrations of geese, including hundreds of thousands of Snows and tens of thousands of Greater White-fronteds and Cacklings. In the larger goose flocks we’ll also see Ross’s Geese, which occur here regularly in moderate numbers. The plains and marshes are excellent for raptors such as Rough-legged Hawk, “Prairie” Merlin and possibly Prairie Falcon. There is a colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs nearby. On at least one early morning we’ll travel a short distance northwest of Grand Island to observe Greater Prairie-Chickens at their lek. Sharp-tailed Grouse are sometimes present here as well. If weather permits, on one day we’ll travel two hours south and west into northern Kansas or western Nebraska to visit a series of large reservoirs and drier upland habitats that support a number of species not usually seen close to Grand Island. These may include American White Pelican, flocks of Common Goldeneyes and Common Mergansers, numbers of Bald Eagles, Baird’s Sandpiper, Black-billed Magpie and thousands of gulls, possibly including Franklin’s, Thayer’s or Glaucous. Nights in Grand Island.
Day 6: This morning we’ll briefly visit an area near Grand Island before departing eastward for Omaha, with brief stops for sought-after species that may have turned up during our stay. The tour concludes at 12 noon in Omaha at the airport.
Updated: 24 April 2007
Prices
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Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader; 14 with two leaders.