Great bird watching is right up the road
by Tim Hajda
One of my favorite places to go birding here in Custer County is Road 793, a humble 1½ mile minimum maintenance road south of Berwyn (map). Because it’s minimally maintained (more like never maintained), the road has “gone natural,” as you can see in this photo.
This makes for some great birding and other wildlife watching, as diverse and good-quality habitats grow right up to the road…and in the road. I’ve found a little over 100 bird species along it. It’s impassable with a vehicle, so you have to explore it on foot (but hey, no traffic!).
During the summer, Grasshopper Sparrows, like the one below, are abundant breeders in the surrounding prairie.
Noisy Upland Sandpipers make themselves obvious as they try to distract you from their eggs and young.
Summer also means insects. The sandy stretches of Road 793 are host to many tiger beetles (I’ve been fortunate enough to find six different species here) including this stunning Green Claybank Tiger Beetle.
The area is very reliable for Greater Prairie-Chickens (pictured below) and Sharp-tailed Grouse in the spring, winter, and fall. I often see large flocks (sometimes as many as 100 birds) “commuting” between the pastures and the cornfields.
And lastly, as the road climbs up and down ridges, the views of the rolling Loess Hills are spectacular.
Come visit this little “road” sometime. You’ll be impressed!
Tim Hajda is a homeschooled high school senior living on a farm near Broken Bow. He got into birding nine years ago when he purchased his first field guide. In addition to watching birds, he also enjoys studying and photographing tiger beetles, butterflies, and odonates (dragonflies and damselflies). He currently volunteers as a data editor for eBird (www.ebird.org) in Nebraska.
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