The Medicine Creek Adventure

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Click to Enlarge We’ve got nothing particularly against motels, it’s just that most of the time, motels are surrounded by parking lots and civilization, which makes them less than ideal places to look for birds, especially when you first wake up to a Nebraska morning.

Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.34661 N
-99.50901 S
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The North York Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast is a perfect example of the kind of place we like to look for and stay. This delightful 90-plus-year-old house is nestled along Spring Creek, in the country just a few miles north of Oxford, Nebraska. With big trees and running water, it’s the kind of place you can wake up early and, if you’re lucky, spot a couple of orioles or warblers before breakfast.

Or who knows what else? This is Nebraska, after all, the narrowest part of the hourglass in the North American flyway, which means that one time or another, some 257 different species of birds pass through, linger or live here.

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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.250774 N
-99.632851 S
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Oxford Park

Click to Enlarge After having a great breakfast of our own at the North York Farmhouse, we head down to the Oxford Park in nearby Oxford.

Oxford Park is located just south of the town, on the west side of Nebraska Highway 46. With plenty of turn-of-the-century deciduous trees and winding primitive trails, it’s a nice, big area and a good place to look for red-headed and other woodpeckers, vireos, king birds and other woodland dwellers, especially during the spring and summer.

To get there, follow Nebraska 46 into and through Oxford. At U,S, 136 (Cornwall), turn right, then left again on Nebraska 46, and right on Clark Street and you’re there.

When you’re through exploring Oxford Park, it’s time to jump back in the car and head west on U.S. 136 toward Arapahoe. At the junction with U.S. Highways 6 and 34, turn left.

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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.299412 N
-99.896879 S
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Arapahoe Sewage Lagoons

Click to Enlarge Now, I know you’ve read that subhead about “sewage lagoons”, and already you’re forming a negative opinion. But in this case, you’d be wrong. For intrepid birders, the Arapahoe lagoons are easy to get to, not at all unpleasant, and an excellent place to check for woodpeckers, waxwings, terns and other water fowl and shorebirds.

Once you get into Arapahoe, turn south on U.S. 283 to get to the lagoons. You’ll see the lagoons off to the west. Look for a gated road leading around to the north side of the lagoons for the best viewing spots.

As I am almost always ready to stop for coffee – it’s one of my favorite vices – we stop into the Take 5 in Arapahoe. It’s a great, friendly place for a skim latte and a chai tea, although you can also get soup and sandwiches, as well as pie, scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls and ice cream specialties with your drinks.

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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.287612 N
-100.12167 S
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Cambridge Diversion Dam

Click to Enlarge Although our ultimate goal today is the Medicine Creek State Recreation Area, another stop worth making along the way is the Cambridge Diversion Dam Wildlife Management Area located two miles east of Cambridge. There you’ll find some 21 acres of grassland bordering the Republican River and brushy bottomland along with some great views of the river.

The Cambridge Diversion Dam WMA is a favorite local hangout for a variety of shorebirds and wading birds, including egrets and herons in season, and it’s also a good place to look for vireos, warblers and thrashers.

topLearn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.28325 N
-100.166259 S
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The Town Talk Restaurant

Click to Enlarge Thinking it will be wise to fortify ourselves before hiking around Medicine Creek and Lake Harry Strunk, we decide on lunch in Cambridge. Cambridge is a delightful little town, not untypical of many fine old settlements in this part of Nebraska: big trees, wide streets, and friendly people.

The Town Talk Restaurant on Sixth and Patterson in Cambridge offers home cooked lunch specials as well as choice steaks and broiled seafood in a new non-smoking dining room and newly-remodeled bar. As you know if you’ve read many (or even any) of these adventures, we are particularly partial to small town, independent restaurants, and hope to preserve these gems of Americana for future generations of birders. In Cambridge, the Town Talk prides itself in offering a “big –city” dining experience in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of a small town.

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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.384834 N
-100.204582 S
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Medicine Creek State Recreation Area and Harry Strunk Lake

Click to Enlarge Especially if you still have wood ducks and barn owls to check off your birding list, a trip to the Medicine Creek SRA and Harry Strunk Lake might prove particularly fruitful. Wood ducks are surprisingly common here and barn owls are known to breed in the area.

To get to Medicine Creek SRA, go west from Cambridge on U.S. 6 and 34, until you reach the junction of Harry Strunk Lake Road. Then go north seven miles to the well-marked entrance.

This is a large area, encompassing over 1,700 acres of reservoir as well as 1,200 acres of upland shrubs and sage. Throughout the Republican Valley, western meadowlarks, Nebraska's state bird, are common, but also look for the eastern meadowlark in the tallgrass prairies, and along wet meadowlands farther west.

Because there are 17 hiking trails, and a great deal of interesting and varied upland habitat, thoroughly birding the Medicine Creek SRA could take hours or days. We should also warn you that there is a park entry permit required for the State Recreation Area, but these can be purchased onsite for the day or season.

topLearn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.282865 N
-100.168635 S
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Back in Cambridge

Click to Enlarge Back in Cambridge, we decide to stroll along the trails in the Cambridge Park, on Highways 6 and 34 to enjoy the colorful flower garden and sculptures. The 1.2 mile Medicine Creek walking trail crosses Medicine Creek twice and in summer attracts a wide variety of songbirds and other species.

We’ve decided to spend the night at the elegant Cambridge Bed and Breakfast. This elegant white-on-white four-story house was once the home of William H. Faling, the first mayor of Cambridge and an amazingly successful man of his time. The Cambridge Bed and breakfast exemplifies opulent 19th Century architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nebraska’s only AAA approved bed and breakfast, the Cambridge Bed and Breakfast was awarded a 3-diamond rating for its extraordinary sumptuousness.

Sounds like the ideal place for a weary birder to lay his head.

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The Birds of Central and Western Nebraska

  Spring Summer Fall Winter
photo Bittern, American   summer    
  Blackbird, Brewer's   summer    
photo Blackbird, Red-winged   summer    
photo Blackbird, Yellow-headed   summer    
photo Bluebird, Eastern   summer    
  Bluebird, Mountain   summer    
photo Bobolink   summer    
  Bufflehead spring   fall  
photo Bunting, Indigo   summer    
  Bunting, Lark   summer    
  Bunting, Snow       winter
photo Bunting,Lazuli   summer    
photo Canvasback spring   fall  
  Chat, Yellow-breasted   summer    
photo Chickadee, Black-capped spring summer fall winter
photo Coot, American   summer    
photo Cormorant, Double-crested spring summer fall  
photo Cowbird, Brown-headed   summer    
photo Crane, Sandhill spring   fall  
  Creeper, Brown spring summer fall winter
  Crossbill, Red spring summer fall winter
photo Crow, American spring summer fall winter
  Cukoo, Black-billed   summer    
  Cukoo, Yellow-billed   summer    
photo Curlew, Long-billed spring summer    
  Dickcissel   summer    
photo Dove, Mourning   summer    
photo Dove, Rock spring summer fall winter
  Dowitcher, Long-billed spring   fall  
photo Dowitcher, Short-billed spring   fall  
photo Duck, Gadwall   summer    
  Duck, Ring-necked spring   fall  
  Duck, Ruddy   summer    
photo Duck, Wood   summer    
photo Eagle, Bald       winter
photo Eagle, Golden spring summer fall winter
photo Falcon, Peregrine spring   fall  
  Falcon, Prairie spring summer fall winter
photo Finch, House spring summer fall winter
photo Finch, Purple       winter
  Finch, Rosy       winter
photo Flicker, Northern spring summer fall winter
  Flycatcher, Great Crested   summer    
  Flycatcher, Least spring   fall  
  Flycatcher, Willow spring summer fall  
photo Godwit, Marbled spring   fall  
photo Goldeneye, Common spring   fall winter
photo Goldfinch, American spring summer fall winter
photo Goose, Canada spring summer fall  
  Goose, Ross' spring   fall  
photo Goose, Snow spring   fall  
photo Grackle, Common   summer    
  Grebe, Clark's spring   fall  
  Grebe, Eared spring summer fall  
  Grebe, Horned spring   fall  
photo Grebe, Pied-billed   summer    
photo Grebe, Western spring   fall  
  Grosbeak, Black-headed   summer    
  Grosbeak, Blue   summer    
photo Grosbeak, Evening       winter
photo Grosbeak, Rose-breasted spring   fall  
photo Grouse, Sharp-tailed spring summer fall winter
photo Gull, California spring   fall  
photo Gull, Franklin's spring   fall  
photo Gull, Ring-billed spring   fall  
  Harrier, Northern spring summer fall winter
photo Hawk, Cooper's spring summer fall  
photo Hawk, Red-tailed spring summer fall winter
photo Hawk, Rough-legged       winter
photo Hawk, Sharp-shinned spring summer fall winter
photo Hawk, Swainsons's   summer    
photo Heron, black-crowned night spring   fall  
photo Heron, Great blue   summer    
photo Hummingbird, Broad-tailed spring   fall  
photo Hummingbird, Rufous spring   fall  
photo Ibis, White spring summer fall  
photo Jay, Blue spring summer fall winter
  Jay, Pinyon spring summer fall winter
photo Junco, Dark-eyed spring summer fall winter
photo Kestrel, American spring summer fall winter
photo Killdeer   summer    
  Kingbird, Cassin's spring summer fall  
photo Kingbird, Eastern   summer    
photo Kingbird, Western   summer    
photo Kingfisher, Belted spring summer fall winter
  Kinglet, Golden-crowned spring   fall winter
photo Kinglet, Ruby-crowned spring   fall  
  Lark, Horned spring summer fall winter
photo Lesser Scaup spring   fall  
  Longspur, Chestnut-collared   summer    
  Longspur, Lapland       winter
  Longspur, McCown's spring   fall  
photo Loon, Common spring   fall  
photo Magpie, Black-billed spring summer fall winter
photo Mallard spring summer fall winter
photo Meadowlark, Western   summer    
photo Merganser, Common spring   fall winter
photo Merganser, Hooded spring   fall  
photo Merlin spring summer fall winter
photo Nighthawk, Common   summer    
  Nuthatch, Pygmy spring summer fall winter
photo Nuthatch, Red-breasted spring summer fall winter
photo Nuthatch, White-breasted spring summer fall winter
  Oriole, Northern   summer    
  Oriole, Orchard   summer    
photo Osprey spring   fall  
  Ovenbird   summer    
photo Owl, Barn   summer    
photo Owl, Burrowing   summer    
photo Owl, Eastern screech spring summer fall winter
photo Owl, Great Horned spring summer fall winter
  Owl, Northern saw-whet spring summer fall winter
photo Owl, Short-eared spring summer fall winter
photo Owl, Snowy       winter
photo Pelican, American white spring   fall  
photo Pewee, Eastern Wood spring   fall  
  Pewee, Western Wood   summer    
  Phalarope, Red-necked spring   fall  
photo Phalarope, Wilson's   summer    
photo Pheasant, Ring-necked spring summer fall winter
photo Phoebe, Eastern   summer    
  Phoebe, Say's   summer    
photo Pintail, Northern   summer    
  Pipit, American spring   fall  
photo Plover spring   fall  
  Poorwill, Common   summer    
photo Prairie Chicken, Greater spring summer fall winter
photo Redhead spring summer fall  
photo Redpoll, Common       winter
  Redstart, American   summer    
photo Robin, American spring summer fall winter
photo Sanderling spring   fall  
  Sandpiper, Baird's spring   fall  
  Sandpiper, Buff-breasted spring   fall  
  Sandpiper, Least spring   fall  
  Sandpiper, Pectoral spring   fall  
photo Sandpiper, Semi-palmated spring