Our Long-billed Curlew surveys have taken us up to the northwestern corner of Nebraska. The Pine Ridge of Nebraska hosts a couple neat western birds. For example, Pygmy Nuthatches (see photo below) were common around Chadron State Park:
Another species that barely makes it into Nebraska is the Mountain Bluebird. I have seen many over the last couple days, here is a photo of a male:
The raptors have been great over the last several days as well. Species have included:
Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Prairie Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Merlin
American Kestral
Golden Eagle
Below is a picture of a Swainson's Hawk followed by a picture of a Ferruginous Hawk:
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A nice treat this afternoon were many McCown's Longspurs in central Sioux County. See photo below:
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Tomorrow it will be another survey before heading back to Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. From there, we head east!
