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Prairie-Chicken Festival 2016

Joel Jorgensen April 10, 2016 Leave a comment

I had the pleasure again this year of helping out with the Nebraska Prairie Chicken Festival hosted by Calamus Outfitters.  Even though the wind blew, it was an excellent weekend and the chickens showed very well and put on a great performance.  I also caught wind of a big-time rarity that visited the area back in February.  Below are a few photo highlights from the weekend.

About 25 Greater Prairie-chickens were on the lek and put on quite a show early Saturday morning.
About 25 Greater Prairie-chickens were on the lek and put on quite a show early Saturday morning.

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A shot of the blinds after the show.
A shot of the blinds after the show.

This is an Eastern Screech-Owl we called in at dusk on Friday evening.This is an Eastern Screech-Owl we called in at dusk on Friday evening.

Ring-necked Ducks
Ring-necked Ducks

American White Pelicans over the Calamus River with the last bit of light Friday evening.American White Pelicans over the Calamus River with the last bit of light Friday evening.

The biggest surprise of the trip was seeing a photo on Teresa Switzer's phone of what appears to be a Curve-billed Thrasher that visited their residence on 19 February. The biggest surprise of the trip was seeing a photo on Teresa Switzer’s phone of what appears to be a Curve-billed Thrasher, a big-time rarity for Nebraska, that visited their residence on the north side of Calamus Reservoir back on 19 February.  Photo by Teresa Switzer.

Good birding!

Nongame Bird Program

Thanks to Sarah Sortum and Calamus Outfitters for an excellent weekend.  Thanks to Teresa Switzer for sharing her unusual bird observation!

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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