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Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River
For those of us living and working on the Central Platte River in Nebraska, the birds that signify spring’s arrival are much bigger than robins. The annual arrival of sandhill cranes (we usually see...
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What Do Grassland Birds Need for Migratory Habitat?
A new study sheds (a little) light on a slice of grassland bird life we know very little about. We know a lot about grassland birds. Sure, there’s a lot we don’t know too – but we certainly know a lot...
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It’s Spring for Snakes
The temperature topped 80 degrees F today in the Platte River Prairies. I heard a frog plop into the water as I walked along a wetland edge. Red-winged blackbirds were defending territories. …and...
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Photo of the Week – March 7, 2013
It’s March, which means the sandhill cranes are back on the Central Platte River. Every spring, the entire mid-continent population of sandhill cranes (500,000-650,000 birds) comes to the Platte River...
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Keeping a Low Profile in the Spring
At times, prairies in east-central Nebraska can have such an abundance of large wildflowers, they resemble flower gardens. Early spring is not one of those times. There are plenty of prairie flowers...
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Difficult Decisions – Growing Season Fires and Other Prairie Management Choices
Would you purposefully destroy the nest of a wild turkey or grasshopper sparrow? Of course not. But what if that destruction was a consequence of a land management action that benefits the larger...
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Hubbard Fellowship Blog – Cranes and Blind Mice
The sandhill cranes have returned for their annual visit to the Platte River of Nebraska, one of the greatest migratory phenomena in the world. The following is a guest post by Hubbard Fellow Anne...
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What Do Swallows Eat on a Cold Windy Day?
Today was a cold blustery day, on the heels of some severe weekend storms. I went down to check on our prairie (five inches of rain, strong winds, and a tornado a few miles away) and was glad to see...
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Photo of the Week – May 22, 2014
Last weekend, I took advantage of a beautiful evening and went for a hike at Griffith Prairie, a site north of town owned and managed by Prairie Plains Resource Institute. It was mostly cloudy, but I...
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Photo of the Week – March 26, 2015
Despite snide comments from certain friends, I do – now and then – take photos of subjects other than insects and plants… As I write this, the annual sandhill crane migration phenomenon is taking place...
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Photo of the Week – December 31, 2015
My wife and I have a tradition of spending part of our holiday break up at the Niobrara Valley Preserve. It’s only a two year old tradition, but nevertheless… This year, the weather was great for...
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Hubbard Fellowship Blog – Spring’s Beginnings
This post was written by Evan Barrientos, one of our Hubbard Fellows. Evan is a talented writer and photographer and I encourage you to check out his personal blog. If you would like to see more of...
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Photo of the Week – March 11, 2016
In some ways, this is a great time of year in the Platte River Prairies – we’re gearing up for prescribed fire, and clouds of migratory sandhill cranes provide background music as we prepare our...
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Hubbard Fellowship Blog- Emerging Life
This post was written by Evan Barrientos, one of our Hubbard Fellows. Evan is a talented writer and photographer and I encourage you to check out his personal blog. If you would like to see more of...
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Photo of the Week – March 24, 2016
Early spring on the Platte River is crane season. Every one of the half million or so birds in the mid-continent population of sandhill cranes spends a few weeks along Central Platte River each...
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Hubbard Fellowship Blog- Sprouts
This post was written by Evan Barrientos, one of our Hubbard Fellows. Evan is a talented writer and photographer and I encourage you to check out his personal blog. If you would like to see more of...
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Hubbard Alumni Post – Chicken Wire?!
This post was written (and illustrated) by Evan Barrientos, one of our Hubbard Fellows back in 2015-2016. Evan now works for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon as a monitoring and outreach assistant....
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Spring Obsession
Man, I sure do love Carolina anemone (Anemone carolinianum). It’s such a beautiful plant in such a compact package. We have a few plants blooming in our prairie garden at home, but last weekend, I...
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Photo of the Week – April 13, 2017
Prairie dandelion, aka prairie false dandelion (Nothocalais cuspidata) is different from common dandelion (Taraxacum officianale), the one most people are familiar with in yards and weedy places....
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Photo of the Week – April 20, 2017
I’ve been enjoying the early flush of wildflowers this spring, and have been trying to photograph them when I get time. Because I already have quite a few close-up portraits of most of these species...
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