It’s mid-August already…where does the time go? The Gray Catbirds in my backyard are some of the first to go as the summer winds down. They’ll migrate to the southern US down to Central America and the Caribbean. They have a fairly broad vocabulary…not as diverse as the Blue Jays but decent enough to keep … Read more
Some Sandhill cranes are downright playful. It’s not uncommon to find them grabbing stalks and sticks and just tossing them as high into the air as they can….or jump with some object in their mouth and just fling it upward with what appears to be an almost gleeful attitude. I guess in a sense, Nebraska … Read more
It’s been almost two years since I’ve visited Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in Northwest Missouri. Rampant flooding in the spring of 2019 made the area almost impassable, but the waters have now receded, and this late winter is looking to be a lot more stable…so theres hope for a more normal spring this year. … Read more
The spring migration of Sandhill Cranes through central Nebraska is one of nature’s greatest spectacles. From late February through early April some 600,000 cranes will pass through this area, stopping for a few weeks to rest and recover along the Platte river. It’s an ancient route of passage.
The cranes are returning from winter grounds in the southern US, and Mexico, and heading to nesting locations throughout the northern US, Canada, Alaska, and even Siberia. Along that lengthy route they need certain places to safely roost and find ample foods supplies and so the shallow Platte allows for nightly roosting protection, and the nearby picked grain fields are a haven for hungry cranes.