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Flora & Fauna

Always Time for Teal

If the sound of a material like canvas or sturdy flannel being ripped brings a smile to your face as you look skyward – then you’re probably a duck hunter.  Wind rushing through the cupped wings of a flock of ducks as they quickly descend from high above makes a near identical sound.   The larger the flock the greater the sound and the bigger the smile.  This early in September the ducks are nearly always blue-wing teal – a …

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Bioblitz coming to Chadron State Park

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CHADRON, Neb. – The public is invited to examine the natural diversity of the Pine Ridge during the third annual Chadron State Park Bioblitz on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14-15. A bioblitz engages attendees to identify as many plants and animal species as possible within a designated area and timeframe. During this bioblitz, members of the public will team up with local natural resources experts to explore and learn about the biodiversity and habitat at Chadron State Park.  The event, …

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Birds of Nebraska Online provides new resource for birders in Nebraska

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LINCOLN, Neb. – A new website makes it easier for birders to learn about the birds that inhabit Nebraska. Birds of Nebraska Online, available at birdsofnebraska.org, offers information on status, distribution and temporal occurrence of 512 species that occur regularly or have been reported in Nebraska in a searchable format. Distribution maps are provided for species that occur regularly in the state. In addition, each species account includes detailed information that will be of interest to professional ornithologists and ardent …

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Wetland work planned at Kiowa WMA

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MORRILL, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is lowering the water level at Kiowa Wildlife Management Area south of Morrill in efforts to improve the property’s wetland. The Commission is employing multiple management methods to control cattails encroaching the wetlands. A lower water level will allow a firebreak to be created by disking. The break will be used for a prescribed burn of the cattails this winter.   In spring 2019 the water level will likely return to normal, …

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Why Not Jump At The Chance For Bullfrog Season

It is a season that opens at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 15th. It is an unusual season, but one that just reeks of adventure, challenge and tremendous entertainment value. And, trust me, this is season that will create memories and stories like no other! No, it is not a hunting season. IT is Nebraska’s bullfrog season. Look at the size of this adult North American Bullfrog being held by your blogger. Photo by Jo Momsen/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. “Bullfrog season,” you’re saying, “really?” Yep. I know …

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Here’s Your Sign

caterpiller

Sometimes nature sends obvious signs about what a person should not touch. Cacti, yucca plants, porcupines and rattlesnakes have signals akin to a flashing billboard. Then there are more devious dangers such rash-inducing urushiol on unassuming poison ivy plants. I am not sure where the subject of the following story fits into that spectrum, but I now know I should have been paying a little closer attention to some signs. “Ohhh, look at the fuzzy caterpillar,” my 10-year-old daughter Kiera …

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Success in the Salt Marsh

The sun sets as shadows fall over a saline wetland and a muskrat hut at the Little Salt Fork Marsh Preserve.

It is just before dawn in Nebraska’s eastern saline wetlands. You sit quietly on the edge of a salt marsh – a nearly level pan of sparse vegetation and mud. Just in front of you water laps in rhythmic beats at the shoreline. On the opposite shore, the growing light gently begins to fill in the dark spaces, giving definition to the dusky shapes that have been murmuring in the distance. They are a mixed flock of shorebirds and waterfowl …

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The Eclipse through the eyes of citizen scientists

Photograph taken during the middle of the day during the eclipse at Verdon State Recreation Area (SRA) in Richardson County. Kurrus, Aug. 15, 2017. Copyright NEBRASKAland Magazine, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

One year ago, for just a couple of minutes, the sky darkened in the middle of the day. The air cooled, stars and planets appeared, and the sun seemed to transform before our eyes. The 2017 solar eclipse was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But as fascinating as it was, not everyone had their eyes trained on the skies the whole time. There was a question that needed answering: how would animals and plants react to the eclipse? Life Responds That was …

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Program to explore ‘Creatures of the Night’

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CHADRON, Neb. – The public is invited to learn about and search for “Creatures of the Night” at Chadron State Park. On Saturday, July 21, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission outdoor education specialist Amanda Filipi will lead attendees on a journey to explore the park’s nocturnal animals, such as bats and owls. The group will meet at the lagoon shelter at 8:30 p.m. The activity is open to the public free of charge, but a park entry permit is required …

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