Watery Wednesday

I was sitting in my car on the beach south of Port Aransas watching, and photographing some shorebirds.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw two women walking towards me and knew the shorebirds would soon be scattering. The ladies were obviously in deep conversation. When I looked at them I was immediately struck by the contrast in their clothing. The one lady has a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts on, as opposed to the lady with a sweatshirt and longer pants. Also one has a purse and one doesn't. What I didn't notice at the time, and the photo makes apparent, is that they aren't walking in step with each other. I shot the photo just because the opportunity arose, but when I looked at it later, I really liked the contrast of the gray overcast skies, the gray Gulf of Mexico waves, and their colorful clothing.


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That's My World!---Squaw Creek NWR

Can you imagine 1.6 million Snow geese in one place, at one time?

I paid a visit to Squaw Creek NWR last Wednedsday, and that was the estimated count for the day.

Imagine if you can, driving for more than a mile and this is what you see.

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There were constantly geese in the air as well the geese in the water.

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The din from the geese was phenomenal. My dawg that normally snoozes in her bed in the back seat was sitting up and staring out the window. One really wishes at times like that you could read the doggy mind.

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Nebraska Sandhill Crane Viewing Resources

UPDATE: See my updated post for 2010

Thought I would put together a quick and dirty post on Sandhill Crane resources. To me, this is the time of year a Nebraska birder looks forward to the most, but I’ll leave the adjectives to the cited resources!

Rowe Sanctuary is operated by Audubon. Their center is located on the Platte River and is beautifully situated. They have blinds where the cranes can be observed. If for no other reason, they deserve a visit because their building is the second largest straw bale building in the United States. Lots of other interesting information at their site. The birding list for Rowe (pdf) is representative of birds in the area. CraneCam will be active from March 7 until April 8.

A new site this year that I really like, is Nebraskaflyway.com. More on that site later.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission provides all the information you would ever want to know about Sandhill cranes.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission also has some general information about crane viewing. There’s also a section on crane viewing etiquette.

The three main places to hang out during your stay are Grand Island, Hastings, and Kearney.
The visitor’s bureau for Grand Island
The visitor’s bureau for Hastings
The visitor’s bureau for Kearney

My personal preference is to stay in Kearney, but there are good reasons to stay in Grand Island or Hastings.

For a birding enthusiast there’s much more going on. Seven to ten million Snow geese, Canada geese, and ducks pass through the area. Other migrating birds are starting or are in the middle of their migration. As of the writing of this post, Snow geese are abundant.

Nebraska Birding Trails has oodles of information of birding throughout the state. If you doubt that there are places to bird in the area, these two maps will dispel that notion. Maps are here and here. (pdf)

Nebraskaflyway.com has printable maps of the Platte River viewing sites, of a tour of the Western tour of the Rainwater Basin and of the Eastern tour of the Rainwater Basin. (all maps pdf) More information about the Rainwater Basin. About a week ago I took the eastern tour route, and it is a very organized way to tour the area. Having been to most, if not all of the areas covered in the western tour route, it appears to be an organized way to approach that area also. As you go from county to county, roads names change, and these maps cover the road names very well. Conditions in these areas vary from year to year based on the amount of rain or snow we have had. Many of the roads are county roads (read gravel) and their conditions will also vary according to weather conditions.

Birding Adventures of Southwest & Central Nebraska has some tours of the area in their left sidebar. The fun part of their tours is they talk about the local flavor of rural Nebraska. They also suggest restaurants along the way. (no chain restaurants included!) Their tours are also printable with maps.

The last link I will provide is for Fort Kearney State Recreation Trail. There is a bridge over the Platte River that is excellent for watching the cranes come to their nighttime roost. It’s also an excellent place for sunset pictures over the Platte River. A daytime stroll on this path will usually offer the opportunity to see songbirds.

It can be wickedly cold in Nebraska at this time of year. Don’t forget your longjohns and bring clothes you can layer. Weather can be unpredictable. Sunshine and in the 50’s one day, snow the next day, and everywhere and anywhere in between.

I hope you find these resources helpful. If there is something else that you feel could or should be covered, feel free to leave a comment. I’ll keep an eye on the comments section and respond. And if you find the resources helpful, a shout out would be nice too. Okay, now I’m starting to beg…..

Last but not least, thanks for stopping by my corner of the world. If you come to see the awesome wonder of the crane migration, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Today's Flowers--Wildflowers in Texas

I took these photos about two weeks ago at Brazoria NWR. When I saw the first wildflower, I thought it was Indian Paintbrush, but while taking the photo, I wasn't so sure. I've looked through several sources, and am still not sure.


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I saw these little guys while the dawg was stretching her legs. They are really small. I was as close as my macro lens would allow me to get. Haven't figured out a name for them either.


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Camera Critters---Reddish Egret

I recently spent 10 days on the Texas coast. One of my favorite birds from the trip was the Reddish Egret. They are quite handsome. While feeding they seem to lurch from place to place. The thing I found most interesting about them was their head feathers. One field guide described them as "shaggy plumes" and another described them as "loose-feathered".

These photos were taken at Brazoria NWR. Brazoria was one of the refuges that was damaged during Hurricane Ike. According to the sign at the closed visitor center, things were beginning to come back. The day I spent there, there seemed to be a nice variety of birds.


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The next two photos show the "shaggy plumes"

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A Northern harrier had just passed over, and this is the reaction it evoked

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New Sandhill Crane Web Site

From the Lincoln Journal Star

Every year about this time, small flocks of sandhill cranes begin arriving along the Platte River in central Nebraska.

Now there’s a Web site to tell you, by e-mail, when most of the birds show up.

NebraskaFlyway.com also provides: maps of key birding areas along the Platte River and the Rainwater Basin; how to sign up for blinds and guided tours; calendar of wildlife-related events; a gallery where you can share your crane photos; information on lodging and attractions; and a link to a “Crane Cam,” where you can watch cranes from your computer.

Before you click on the web site, turn off anything else you are listening to, because when the site opens you will hear the call of the Sandhill cranes. The sound of Sandhill cranes is very distinctive, and once you have heard it, you will immediately recognize it whenever you hear it again.

NebraskaFlyway.com

I've added the link in the sidebar.

UPDATE: See my March 1 post with more Sandhill crane viewing resources and here for the link to Crane Cam 2009

That's My World!

Saturday morning I needed to do some errands, so I stopped at the neighborhood drive-through and got some breakfast to go. Headed to nearby Oak Lake Park to eat. It was a foggy, misty morning. This was my view as I ate my breakfast.

As it was in the mid-thirties, the ice on the lake was partly melted. It created for some interesting reflections.

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To the left of center in this photo is Memorial Stadium, home to the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. The stadium holds more than 80,000 and on football Saturdays, it is called the third largest city in Nebraska. Totally not visible slightly to the right of the stadium is the Nebraska State Capitol Building.

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Another view

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Today's Flower

Today's Flower is an Iris. These Iris photos were taken at the Pfister Iris Garden. The garden is located on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska. The garden was started as a result of memorial gifts to UNL in the 1980s for the purpose of establishing an iris collection. It now includes more than 150 varieties of award-winning and named iris varieties.


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Camera Critters---Cedar Waxwings

Yesterday was one of those gorgeous winter days that make it impossible to stay inside. So I headed out with cameras and Miz Winnie (the dawg). I was in search of at least one good bird photo to start the new year out right. We had been out for quite a while, and I had just mumbled to Miz Winnie that it looked like we were'nt going to score any bird photos when lo and behold we came upon a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I think they are a very elegant bird.

Cedar Waxwings are almost always found in large flocks. They are berry eaters. Waxwings are named for the waxy droplets at the end of their secondaries. Translated to nonbirdspeak, that means the red area on the wing that is very apparent in the first photo.


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Skywatch Friday

Mille Lacs Lake taken leaving Lake Hennepin State Park in Minnesota


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