Winter Cranes – Part Three

By Chris Helzer

It sure looks like we’re going to have sandhill cranes around for the entire winter.  In fact, the consensus among biologists is that the number of cranes has actually grown over the last couple of weeks.  There was even a sighting of three whooping cranes this week, a common event in April, but nearly unheard of in January.

If you haven’t been following this story, Nebraska’s Central Platte River is normally the site of a massive staging event of sandhill cranes each spring, when about 600,000 cranes converge on the river.  Those cranes roost overnight in the river and spend their days feeding and building body condition for the rest of their migration and the breeding season.  Typically, cranes begin arriving on the Platte in mid-February and are mostly gone by early April.

In the fall, cranes pass through the Platte Valley again on their way south, but they don’t usually appear in large numbers or stay very long.  This past fall, however, we kept seeing groups of cranes hanging around, and they never seemed to leave.  By December, it was clear that something unusual was happening.  I speculated in an earlier post about what might be going on, but no one really knows for sure.

This morning, on my drive out to the Platte River prairies, I stopped for a few minutes to look around one of our riverfront prairies just because I hadn’t been there for a while .  As I drove into the property, I got to watch three immature bald eagles chasing each other – apparently playing follow the leader – flying less than a foot apart from each other.  That was pretty impressive, but when the eagles got close to the river, they flushed several hundred cranes into the air.

The cranes circled a few times and returned to the river.  Grabbing my camera, I belly crawled through the tallgrass and shrubs along the river’s edge until I got into a position where I was well hidden but could see and photograph the cranes.  I spent the next 15 minutes or so watching them dance around and listening to calls I normally don’t get to hear in January.  There were only about 500 birds in front of me – a far cry from the tens of thousands that will be here in about a month – but that didn’t really diminish the experience.

 I couldn’t stay long because I was supposed to meet some other people, so after I’d delayed as long as I could, I belly crawled back away from the bank and made my way back to my vehicle.  On the remaining 6 miles of my drive, I saw another couple thousand cranes feeding in the fields and meadows.

 All in all, it was a pretty good start to the day.

 http://prairieecologist.com/2012/01/31/winter-cranes-part-three/

Squirrel Hunt or Baseball Practice?

By Jeff Kurrus

Days like today, when it’s 60 degrees, low wind, and still squirrel season, remind me of my pre-Nebraskaland days when I was a baseball coach. When I, the serious leader of young men I was, would find a reason to end practice prematurely so that I could take my .22 Ruger out in the woods instead of hitting more ground balls to my infield.

“Turner, what are you doing?” I would say, knowing that Turner could take it and that he wouldn’t mind spending the last hour or two of his day doing something fun instead of being pummeled with short hops by me. “Look, if you’re not going to give me more effort, then we’re done here.” Another grounder booted.

“That’s it, that’s it. Get off my field,” I’d say, watching my players walk to pick up gear. “If you’re not all off the field in two minutes, then we’ll run until dark.” At this point is when the praying began. Praying that Watson didn’t spill a bucket of balls or that Guy didn’t forget all his glove, hat, socks, car keys, or whatever else he was liable to forget on a day-to-day basis.

Because if these unfortunate moments did occur, my chance to stalk squirrels on those late afternoons would be halted, replaced instead by wind sprints. Who wants to do wind sprints? More importantly, who wants to watch others do wind sprints instead of sitting in a patch of quiet woods, watching grays scamper from evergreens to hardwoods, and from oaks back to pines?

And while these days seem like they are a million years away, I can’t help but wonder just a little if we might have been a better team if the coach didn’t forgo practice and conditioning for random small game hunts. Hmm?

Okay, I’m done wondering…or caring. I wouldn’t trade those afternoons for anything, and I’m sure those boys wouldn’t either.

Listen Live Tonight

By Jeff Kurrus

I will be an in-studio guest tonight, January 26, on Jeff Rawlinson and Aaron Hershberger’s “The Nebraska Outdoors Radio Show” from 6 to 7 p.m. on KFOR 1240 AM in Lincoln and online at www.kfor1240.com.

We will discuss hunting, fishing, other outdoor recreation in Nebraska, and my new children’s nature book, Have You Seen Mary?

It will be my first time as a guest on their show, and given their day-to-day energy and knowledge regarding the outdoors, I better be on my toes.

Be a part of the conversation by calling 402-489-1240.

The Last Day

By Jeff Kurrus

Today will be it for me in the deer woods. With the season closing 30 minutes after sunset, I will have watched the first sunrise of deer season and the last sunset. However, while I knew where I should be sitting on September 15, I have no idea where I should be at today. I can’t decide. If I’m at the brushpile, I want to be watching the field. If I’m watching the field, I’d rather be overlooking the road.

I need three of me in the woods today. Then each one could watch a different place.

But a fourth sure would be handy.

Visit jeffkurrus.com for more information about the author.

Blobs of Blogs

By Jeff Kurrus

I have to admit – by nature I’m not a blogger. My writing, while always at the forefront of my mind, is often too jumbled to share with others.

I am fascinated by good stories, regardless of where they come from. Books, magazines, movies, television – if it’s a good story, I want to know how it got to be that way and I want to study it. If it’s not, I want to know its source as well.

Enter blogs. Quite often blogs stem from places where space for creativity is replaced by the desire to constantly produce content.

Blogs can only be effective if people who write them do so in a way that represents another piece not being done two hours from now. If each piece matters. When ideas are thin, meanness is often thick (e.g. columnists). It is a true talent to produce constant content that is informative, fun, and poignant.

So when you come across the Nebraskaland blog and see that my content isn’t bombarding you every 15 minutes, keep in mind that I always remember my mother’s childhood advice: if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all.

Therefore, I’ll continue to search for good stories. When I find them, you’ll be the first to know.