NEBRASKAland Articles

CHADRON — In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nebraska reintroduced wild turkeys from other states to its landscape after the big birds had been extirpated decades earlier during the nation’s westward expansion. The reintroduction was so successful that turkeys have again become common border-to-border and Nebraska is now able to return the favor to another state. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission led an effort this week to trap wild turkeys on a ranch near Whiteclay in northern Sheridan …

Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) offers a great public area to hunt – located near Lewellen the WMA is a short travel distance for those in central and southwest Nebraska and a go-to destination for others. The area is owned by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and encompasses more than 6,200 acres of land and water depending on lake elevation. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) leases this area for wildlife management and public use access. …

On Saturday morning, my alarm sounded at 3:45 a.m. and I rose out of bed in order to take the three-hour drive to Sutherland Reservoir to “twitch” a Brown Pelican.  For non-birders, “twitching” is a British birding term meaning to chase after a previously located (usually rare) bird.  Brown Pelicans are typically found in coastal areas but birds occasionally wander inland.  The Brown Pelican I was chasing was found by Stephen J. Dinsmore and Kevin Murphy on 26 December 2014.  Nebraska’s …

Big water reservoirs are often hunted by Nebraska Game and Parks commissioner Lynn Berggren along with family and friends. Commissioners Berggren, Jerrod Burke and Norris Marshall along with Burke’s son Logan, and Berggren’s sons Kevin and Pat and grandson Kaleb were all out waterfowl hunting this past month – making lasting memories and enjoying morning sunrises. Part of hunting is spending time with family and friends, chasing sunrises and sunsets and enjoying time spent together in the field or on …

On the weekend of December 6 -7, the Luther family from Omaha and the Netherton family from Fairbury traveled to Knox County to deer hunt for the first time. The muzzleloader doe hunt took place on the Jessen Ranch near Center. Leased by Chris Edwards of Big Red Outdoors, Edwards offered to open up his lease for this two-day hunt. Husband and wife Todd and Stacy Luther brought their 11-year-old son Chase and 10-year-old son Brady, while Troy and Paula …

It usually takes some prodding to get me into the holiday spirit. I’m much more inclined to get excited about the arrival of ice for fishing this time of year than the coming of Santa Claus and his reindeer. Thanks to one event this season, though, I moved the needle a little closer to the “St. Nicked” side of the holiday excitement meter from its position at “Scrooged.” My wife and I attended Fort Robinson State Park’s annual Christmas dinner …

CRAWFORD – In order to find success, one hunter this week made the 430-mile journey from Western, Nebraska, to Western Nebraska. Yes, you read that right. Johnny Barta, a big game hunter from Western, Nebraska (the village near Fairbury, not the region), visited the butte country of western Nebraska (the region, not the village) to fill the state’s lone bighorn sheep tag. His hunt ended successfully at noon Tuesday, Dec. 9, when he bagged a trophy ram at Fort Robinson …

Here we are in December, and there’s no reason for the weird Nebraska weather of 2014 to stop now. In typical fashion, we were just freezing cold a few weeks ago around Thanksgiving. Now, we’re back to above normal temps, and I hope some of you have been out taking advantage of it, like we have been. We made it to Harlan Friday for a day on the water, and managed to have a little bit of fun. We found …

Join Ponca State Park for the Annual Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, December 14. Experienced and novice birders, nature enthusiasts, and families are invited to participate in this 115-year-old tradition sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Guests are advised to dress accordingly and to bring their binoculars and bird books. The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Missouri National Recreational River Resource and Education Center. A chili feed will be offered at noon amid counting. This event is …

Nebraska’s second Snowy Owl report of the season occurred today (3 December) east of Kearney.  The first report involved a bird recovered by Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery a couple weeks ago in Saunders County.  Today’s Snowy Owl was first reported by Kent Skaggs on NEbirds.  Late this afternoon, I received  an independent report, apparently of the same bird, that included photos provided by Diana Merryman.  One of her photos is provided, below. Today’s report in Nebraska prompted me to check eBird to …