The Region

Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.492915 N
-100.621033 S
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Barnett Park and Red Willow Diversion Dam

We’re starting our adventure in cool-crisp of early morning at Barnett Park, just a few minutes south of U.S. 6 and 34 on Highway 83. Right on the Republican River, Barnett Park is a favorite spot for local birders to look for water birds and song birds in the temperate months.

According to T.J. Walker, Nebraska Game and Parks biologist and an expert birder, the park is “good for water birds when it is not too busy, and the trees along the river are a good place to look for migrating warblers and other songbirds.”

From Barnett Park, we drive to another favorite local birding site just a few minutes outside of town. Sometimes described as a “birdwatcher’s paradise,” the Red Willow Diversion Dam, comprises 56 acres of good birding habitat located east of the McCook airport. Use your odometer to get there: drive three miles north, one mile east, two miles north, and one mile east again.

The Red Willow Diversion Dam is a “must-see” for dedicated bird watchers because the habitat is rich and variable and attracts dozens of bird species.  It is especially good for migrating sparrows and warblers, and a small farm pond just over a mile east can be good for waterfowl and shorebirds.

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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.822124 N
-100.643005 S
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Red Willow Reservoir

From the diversion dam, pick up U.S. 83 north and follow it to the well-marked entrance to Red Willow Reservoir and the Red Willow State Recreation Area.

Located 11 miles north of McCook, this reservoir, and the other reservoirs mentioned, often hold large concentrations of waterbirds such as grebes, ducks, geese, gulls and others with occasional rarities like Red-necked grebes and is considered one of Nebraska’s prime birding areas. With some 4,320 acres of upland area to explore, you’ll want to allow some extra time for Red Willow’s varied habitats. As T.J. Walker writes, “The reservoir and the roads around it can take a day to bird thoroughly due to the diversity of habitats present at the reservoir.” Look for burrowing owls in the prairie dog town near Spring Park. A white-faced ibis nests in the wetlands on the west side of the reservoir, and we spotted barn owls peering out of holes in the clay banks above the reservoir.

We see our job (and therefore the job of this Web site), as showing you as many great Nebraska birdwatching locations as we can get you to in a day, not taking into account how much time you might want to spend at each. How you decide to schedule the adventure is part of the fun. But on our adventure, this adventure, it had been too long since our last meal, and luckily McCook has some great eating spots.

At the upper end, the Coppermill Steakhouse provides a full service restaurant, a gracious atmosphere and attentive service.  Want faster food? Mac’s Drive-In, is an old-fashioned drive-up/drive-in experience. Schmick’s Market at the Junction of Highway 83 and U.S. 6 and 34, is a locally-owned restaurant serving tasty deli food along with traditional Midwestern breakfasts and lunches. (Try their Reuben sandwich, a meal in a sandwich and invented in Nebraska.)

For our part, we decide on the Sehnert’s Bakery and the Bieroc Café  located on historic Norris Avenue. Five generations of the Sehnert’s family baked bread and served good food in Germany and now their restaurant is a favorite in McCook. We stopped at the Bieroc for some of their famous stollen bread, a sweet yeast bread containing fruit and nuts, a cappuccino and a picnic lunch to go.

Learn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.647304 N
-100.994568 S
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Swanson Reservoir and SRA

At the risk of ruining our appreciation of these big, open reservoirs on the sand-sage prairie, we drive west toward Swanson Reservoir and Benkelman.

Now is the time to really appreciate the big-sky aspects of this Nebraska landscape. The dramatic, open country inspires us to stop to photograph the amazing scenery along with the picturesque villages rooted like wild plum thickets along the highway. In all of the sand-sage prairie region, keep your eye out any time of year for red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, Northern flicker, and horned lark. Sharp-eyed birders may also see black-capped chickadee or white breasted nuthatch.  

Before long, we are able to see the eastern end of Swanson Reservoir. Swanson Reservoir SRA is the largest of the four state recreation areas in the region, comprising over 9,600 total acres. Situated right on the Republican River, Swanson SRA is a big area with lots of trails and good birding habitat. Check in at the marinas at the north shore or the south shore to pick up a map of the trails, lake, and wetlands. The trails are well marked, and we are told that not long ago, bird watchers noted 88 species of birds in one day on the trails around Swanson.

Learn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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Approximate GPS Coordinates:
40.726446 N
-101.486206 S
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Benkelman and Enders Reservoir

When we get to Benkelman, a few more miles west, we stop at the Strikers Café’ for an espresso. Customers may order fresh dough pizza, handmade sandwiches from bread baked daily in the diner, salads, and fruit smoothies, along with gourmet coffee items.  Their address is main street Benkelman, 1309 A Street.  Take time to stroll the business district and enjoy the ambience of a small western town.  Trees shade the sidewalks, and in 2009 Benkelman was named Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.  The award honors its commitment to community forestry.

From Benkelman, it’s just 25 minutes straight north on Highway 61 to Enders Reservoir and State Recreation Area. Altogether, Enders encompasses over 3,600 acres, nearly all of which is open grassland and surrounding hills that go from rolling to rugged. From early spring until well into the fall, it attracts large numbers of waterfowl.

Learn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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The Lodge

Now this is what we call a great way to close a Nebraska birding adventure.  We are spending the night in Haigler at The Lodge, a green and tan Craftsman-style house tucked under stately, old elm and cottonwood trees. 
 
George and Carol Peterson, innkeepers of The Lodge greeted us and invited us into the lodge for iced tea or freshly brewed coffee and to sit down and “visit” after our day of driving.   In Nebraska I know when I cross the east/west divide because in the west people take the time to tell a story and enjoy a story. 

The Petersons advertise three tours: the scenic tour, the ranch tour, and the wild life tour on their website,   www.thelodgenatureviewtours.com.  Definitely, we wanted to get outdoors and walk along the trails and below the towering trees in the Republican River bottom.  We spotted vireos, flycatchers, a red-headed woodpecker, and a wild turkey on an early morning 20 minute walk.   I identified white prickly poppy wild flowers, the prairie rose and prairie coneflowers. 

There are plenty of other wildlife viewing sites in this area, including Rock Creek and the Rock Creek Fish Hatchery.  But tomorrow is another day and now seems the ideal time to relax on the porch and view the sun setting over the Nebraska’s vast sand-sage prairie.

Learn more about this site at Nebraska Birding Trails.com
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The Birds of Central and Western Nebraska

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