Nebraska Bird Partnership

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack plans to showcase the link between conservation and revitalizing rural communities during a visit to Nebraska today.

Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, is scheduled to address the annual convention of the National Farmers Union at the La Vista Conference Center, and he later will visit Cabela's.

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Bob Grier shares some great bird photos and the stories to accompany them in his latest "From the West" blog post.  Click here for more photos and the article.

Acclaimed conservation photographer, Michael Forsberg, will be the guest speaker at the inaugural Crane Watch Festival Liftoff Luncheon.

The luncheon, sponsored by Edward Jones, will begin at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, March 23 at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney.

The skies over south Central Nebraska are alive with hundreds of thousands of migrating sandhill cranes, snow geese, Canada geese and other birds. The annual spring migration is under way.

This year’s migration is about two weeks early, said Dan Glomski, program manager at the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center near Alda.

Golden Eagles, the largest eagle in Nebraska, will begin nesting at sites on Panhandle bluffs and cliffs later in March.

Golden Eagle is a Nebraska Bird Partnership priority species for conservation.  Learn more about Golden Eagle from the Nebraska Bird Library.

Photo courtesy NebraskaLand magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Crane blind tours offered throughout March by the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center and Rowe Sanctuary.

Mar 3:  Becoming an Outdoorswoman Birding Workshop, Gretna

Mar 3:  Bader Park Bird Hike, Chapman. Contact Pat Carlson for more information, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 308-986-2522.

Mar 4:  Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip, departing from Lincoln

Mar 14:  "The Big Year" book discussion, Grand Island

Mar 15-18:  Rivers and Wildlife Celebration, Kearney

Mar 16:  Nebraska Bird Partnership 7th Annual Awards Ceremony, Kearney

Mar 21:  Beyond the Screen:  The Big Year w/special guest Greg Miller, Grand Island

Mar 22:  Q & A with Greg Miller, Grand Island

Mar 22-25:  Great Plains Sandhill Crane & Bluebird Festival II, Kearney

Mar 23-31:  White Pelican Homecoming Celebration, Harlan County

Mar 24, 2pm:  Presentation "Swamps, Mountaintops, and Cheap Motels: My Big Year Travelogue", Greg Miller, Alda

Mar 24, 7pm:  Presentation "The Big Year: the Triumph of Nature and the Human Spirit", Greg Miller, Alda

Birding enthusiasts have something new to crow about: "Birds of Southwestern Nebraska" has landed. The book is the latest annotated guide to bird species found in and around the Lake McConaughy region, published by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Conservation and Survey Division within the School of Natural Resources.

A bill making its way through the legislature may impact birds that benefit from prairie dog colonies.

Click here for the Omaha World-Herald article "Last-ditch effort to stop prairie dog bill"

Legislative Bill 473 (Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Management Act’) may be scheduled for a final vote at any time. This bill would give Nebraska counties the authority to require landowners, both private and public, to poison or otherwise prevent prairie dogs from moving onto neighboring properties.

The March issue of Prairie Fire features several bird-related articles:

• Book review: "Have you seen Mary?" by Jeff Kurrus
• For the birds, Joel Sartore
• Rainwater Basin Joint Venture: the early years, part one
• A sandhill crane family nesting in Alaska
• Sandhill crane congregation makes a prolonged visit

In "Conservation:  Anatomy of a DU Project", author Ryan Heiniger provides a bird's eye view of the Rainwater Basin wetland restoration process from beginning to end.