March Madness...Nebraska style
College basketball isn’t the only kind of “March Madness”, and Nebraska can definitely lay claim to being the champions of March Madness in the bird watching world.
photo by Don Brockmeier
As you read this, there may well be geese flying overhead. Literally millions of geese are moving through Nebraska in March. Flocks of Snow Geese can block out the sun and may number in the tens of thousands of birds on the rivers, wetlands and croplands of the Chicken Dance Trail region of the state these days. These flocks will typically also contain a smaller white goose known as Ross’s Goose, not much bigger than a Mallard, but very similar in appearance to the Snow Goose. Canada Geese and Cackling Geese are also migrating through in large numbers, and some pairs of Canada Geese may be starting to nest in our area as well.
Ducks of all sorts are also moving through the state in large numbers, including most of the “puddle ducks” — Mallards, Northern Pintails, Gadwall, American wigeon and Green-Winged Teal — as well as the “diving ducks” — Redheads, Canvasbacks, Scaup and others.
Last but not least, this is the time of year when hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes “March” their way through Nebraska’s Platte River Valley. Their familiar “rattling” or “bugling” call can be heard for miles and they are a definite sign that spring is just around the corner. Watch those crane flocks closely and you may even find an early Whooping Crane or make an even rarer sighting of a Common Crane, which is a Eurasian species that occasionally gets mixed in with the flocks of Sandhill Cranes (note: there are reports of a Common Crane in the Kearney area this spring). People from all over the world “flock” to Nebraska to look at the cranes each spring as well.
So get out there and look for the migrating flocks. While you’re out there, you might find Wild Turkeys strutting and gobbling, Greater Prairie-chickens starting to “boom” and other water birds beginning their northward migration. March Madness indeed.
T. J. Walker
Wildlife Biologist
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,
North Platte
Special Thanks to:
Nebraska Game and Parks, Birds of Nebraska
www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/guides/birds/findbirds.asp