CHICKENS AND CRANES

TUESDAY:

In early March I was off to Nebraska to photograph a couple of birds: Greater Prairie Chickens and Sandhill Cranes. Why, you ask? Prairie chickens have a special courting activity, and Cranes are beautiful large birds that fly great distances through the area en route to their summer locations in Northern Canada.

This was a short adventure with only two of us being photographers. My companions were Valerie and her Mom, Doris, and our interpid leader Mark Rasmussen.

Nebraska this time of year is in a Spring weather pattern. Anything is possible from warm and sunny to cold, snowy, overcast. We had a bit of it all.

I flew to Omaha where I was met by Valarie and her Mom, Doris, who were driving from the Chicago area. We then drove West to the town of McCook where we stayed for four days. Our leader, Mark Rasmussen, arrived that night by train from Illinois. Our accommodations  were at the Garrett House, an airbnb, which had plenty of room and we each had our own bedroom.

THE GARRETT HOUSE

Tuesday evening was quiet with dinner at Citta's Deli, and then there was time to organize for our upcoming adventures.

WEDNESDAY:

This morning was an easy and relaxing start of the day. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Sehnert's Bakery. It has quite a selection of pastries, including donuts, and sanddwich breakfasts. There is plenty of coffee and other drinks available as well. It is definitely the place to go to for breakfast.😋There were plenty of locals stopping in as well.

The remainder of the day was spent looking for and photographing sandhill cranes and snow geese that were roosting in various farm fields.

SANDHILL CRANES:

Snow Geese

Before dinner we had an orientation meeting with the owner of Prairie Chicken Dance Tours to prepare us for tomorrow's morning adventure of photographing the Prairie Chickens. It was quite thorough and informative. Afterwards we went to dinner at Taste of Texas BBQ. Doris and I split an order and there was plenty to eat for both of us.

THURSDAY: 

Up early, 0630 for our session at a Blind for viewing the Lek area for the Prairie Chicken morning activity. A Lek is an assembly area where the chickens display and carry on courtship behavior. It is an open area with short buffalo grass surrounded by taller native grasses. The birds stomp their feet, inflate their air sacs, boom, and jump into the air. All of this activity is to attract and impress the ladies.

Sunrise would not be until 0755 so we would have plenty of time to settle into the blind and get set up for the morning photography. There was no heat in the blind. The blind was an old stock trailer which has been fitted up with a viewing table, some old kitchen chairs and a blanket for each person. Very basic, but adequate. We were all dressed for a cold morning where the temperature was in the low teens. It was quite windy and snowing. Thankfully the blind is set up so that the wind was blowing at the closed side of the blind. Only a few birds appeared and they made a quick show and then departed for a quieter and protected location.

            OUR BLIND

    PRAIRIE CHICKEN FACING THE ELEMENTS

        MALE PRAIRIE CHICKEN

        THE WEATHER

We returned to town and a welcome breakfast at Sehnerts. While there we enjoyed getting to know Carol Schlegel, the director of our tour company, and a little bit about life on the prairie. She is a native to the area and a formidable lady.

The remainder of the day was quiet with the weather continuing to be quite windy and snowy - not conducive to any photography. I finished my book by Daniel Silva, took a nap, and also did a walk about in the neighborhood. I visited the nearby playground that had a large jungle gym which was being well used.

                QUITE THE PLAYGROUND AND JUNGLE GYM

Dinner was at the Coppermill Steakhouse where once again Doris and I split a dinner this time of medallions of beef and all the fixings. It was very good.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day at the Lek.  

FRIDAY:

Today we had some good light which helped to highlight the birds and their unique air sachs. There were not many birds, but this made it easier to isolate activity. We were all happy to have had a better day observing the activity and hearing the booming of the air sack, and observing the dancing.

Good Morning

oG

SHOWING OFF

HIGH JUMP 

At breakfast we were able to meet Angus Garey, the land owner where the Lek is located and who  shares his love of the birds with the visitors. 

After breakfast we returned to the Garrett House to finish packing and be on our way to Kearney, Nebraska which is located about 110 miles to the East. We were now going to concentrate on sandhill cranes and snow geese which are very abundant in the area as they are migrating North to Canada for the summer. 

 It is reported that between 400K and 500K cranes are in the area on a given day this time of year.

The cranes feed during the day at various fields but roost for the night along the Platte River which gives them safety from a number of predators at night.  

In the afternoon we checked into our hotel in Kearney before going off to see and photograph sandhill cranes and snow geese as they feed in the various fields in the area.

    A Blind Set up along a road for viewing Sandhill 

                                     Cranes

                                 Sandhill Cranes munching

Feasting

Snow Geese Gathering

Late in the afternoon we took a break and had an early dinner at a Perkins located near our Super 8 hotel. We went back out with cameras for the sunset experience and were rewarded with some good light.

SANDHILL CRANES

Snow Geese

SANDHILL CRANES NEAR SUNSET

SATURDAY:

After breakfast at Perkins we set off to find and photograph more snow geese. We were successful and enjoyed ourselves. Way too many photographs to edit but it was fun.

 We took a break from about 1300 to 1630. I used the time to take a nap. 😉 Afterwards we dined at a Runza eatery. What is a runza sandwich? It is blend of spices added to ground beef, mixed with cabbage and onions, inside a bread pocket. It was quite good, and I would rate it better than a big mac!! 

We were then off to the Rowe Sanctuary run by the Audubon Society for an evening in a blind located very close to the Platte River. You walk about a half mile to the Blind which is enclosed with viewing openings facing the river. We were there for two hours in a photographer blind. There is also a warming room built into it so you can get some relief from the weather. As it was I was well prepared clothing wise though my hands got quite cold at times when I did not use my gloves. 

What a wonderful experience - the sound of the birds as they fly to the river, the sound of the flock as they settled in for the night, and the flying. 

            CRANES COMING IN TO ROOST FOR NIGHT

SUNDAY:

Off to photograph the dawn activity once again from the Blind. It was lots of fun watching all of the various activities transpire as the sun creeped up from below the horizon. Got some nice early morning light on cranes in flight. After calling it a morning at the Blind we stopped at the visitor center and perused the gift shop for souvenirs and gifts.

EARLY MORNING ACTIVITY:

Finally we were off to breakfast at Perkins once again. Due to it being Sunday morning there was a bit of a wait, and  leisurely service. 

We took a break for some rest. In the afternoon we searched for photo ops of snow geese. They were around, but nothing spectacular was happening in the various fields. We actually had some good opportunities to photograph cranes in flight.

WESTERN MEADOWLARK

MONDAY:

Time to leave Nebraska, and return to California. We were off about 0800 from the hotel having had a quick breakfast at their breakfast bar. It was nothing fancy and actually not fully stocked with choices.

The drive to Omaha went smoothly as it truly is flat prairie country. Saw some large farms along the way. Valarie dropped me off at the airport where I had about a three hour wait for my flights home. Phoenix was busy but I was able to walk 1.5 miles along one of the terminal causeways. It was good to stretch my legs a bit. Arrived on time back in San Diego where George met me.

Summary: This was quite an enjoyable trip to see these special birds. It was also good to experience a little of the life in this part of the country. A different life than what I have experienced as a member of a Navy family. The ties that keep people together are varied and this was seen on this trip. I might return to photograph the greater prairie chickens once again as we really did not have much time with them.