Pockets and Puddles
White-crowned Sparrow
My kids love pockets and puddles, so do I, and so do birds migrating through Nebraska in October. Of course my children like their pockets for storing spare change, candy wrappers, rocks and other treasures they find, whereas the pockets I am referring to are small pockets of habitat scattered across the landscape. These pockets might consist of isolated trees, plum thickets (or other shrubs) or weed patches (sunflower, pigweed, etc.), and can be found all along the Chicken Dance Trail in woodlands, grasslands, croplands and even around wetlands or in suburban areas. On the right day, under the right conditions, these pockets may have a higher density and diversity of birds per cubic foot than any other habitat.
Unfortunately, not every pocket holds birds (maybe some have holes in the bottom) and you can’t always tell which ones will have something to look at. Some plum thickets will have virtually nothing in them and others will be loaded. One tip is to look for thickets with bare ground under them and weed patches nearby or mixed in. Our winter sparrows love these kinds of thickets (White-crowned, Harris’s, American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos) and other migrating sparrows are commonly found there as well (like Vesper, Savannah, Song, Lincoln’s, Field, Chipping, Clay-colored and who-knows-what-other sparrows). There is also a good chance of finding Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Spotted Towhees, various blackbirds and Northern Shrikes. And don’t be surprised if a busy thicket happens to attract a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harrier or Merlin looking for a quick bite to eat.
Now back to the puddles. I don’t think I need to tell you what my kids do in puddles — we have all been there and done that. Well, birds like those puddles as well. These puddles may be literally puddles in low-lying areas that attract shorebirds or even just passerines looking for a drink, or they can be larger and deeper bodies of water that attract shorebirds, waterfowl, gulls, herons, grebes, etc. October is a good month to see a good diversity of waterfowl in Nebraska and is also a good month to find a rare gull, a Bald Eagle or a Peregrine Falcon near a puddle.
So take your keys out of your pocket, take a drive to some nearby puddles and look in the other pockets on your way there and back. You just might be amazed at all the great birds you find in Nebraska in October.
— T.J. Walker
Wildlife Biologist
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
North Platte
About the Chicken Dance Trail
The Chicken Dance Trail is actually a collection of great bird watching locations in southwest and south central Nebraska, between the Platte and Republican Rivers. Because the area includes the narrowest section of the hourglass-shaped Central Flyway, the Chicken Dance Trail is uniquely situated for birders. Millions of different birds come through here during spring and fall migrations, making the Chicken Dance Trail one of the best places in the country to see a wide variety of species in a relatively small area.
Our bird watching sites were developed by local naturalists and birding experts and are collected into a series of bird watching “adventures” which are described in detail, along with interactive maps, on our Web site at www.chickendancetrail.com. Other resources include a birding chart, useful birding links, and guides to restaurants, lodging and activities in the area.
Our wildlife and bird watching sites were developed by local naturalists and are collected into a series of “adventures” which are described in detail, along with interactive maps, on our Web site at www.chickendancetrail.com. Other resources include a birding chart, useful links, and guides to restaurants, lodging and activities in the area.
Come and visit and learn why we say, “Birds love this part of Nebraska...and you will too!”
Special Thanks to:
Nebraska Game and Parks, Birds of Nebraska
www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/guides/birds/findbirds.asp