The population of any given animal species in nature goes up and down over time in a geographic area. This is how nature works. Some years is species is plentiful and other years the population is dismal in a given area. These are the ebbs and flows of nature. I was reminded of this the other night while I stood outside my house in the dark and cold watching the Flying Squirrels that I love to see and feed.

For some reason, we people feel that nature should always be the same or the way we remember it to be. Or we feel that the population of a given species should remain the same over time. But this just isn’t the case. My Flying Squirrels in my yard are a good example of these classic population swings.

I have been feeding Southern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys volans) for about 10 years in my yard. At one point I would get about 10 individual squirrels coming to a special feeder that I made just for the flyers. They were bold and didn’t care that I may be standing very close by or taking pictures of their crazy antics. This went on for many years.

Then about 2 years ago, the number of flyers coming into my feeder each evening dropped dramatically. And, at one point I had no flyers showing up for the peanuts that I put out for them to eat. While I have no proof of why the population dropped so quickly and dramatically, I worried that a pair of Barred Owls that had moved into the neighborhood might have been responsible. Having thought that, it is also possible that the Raccoons that recently had increased in the neighborhood also could be responsible for the dramatic decline in my Flying Squirrel population.

In addition to these predators, there are also any number of diseases that can cause a population crash of Flying Squirrels. Or a combination of predators and disease together can trigger the tipping point for any given population in a geographic location, sending it plummeting. No matter what the cause, or causes, it happens and not just to my Flying Squirrels but any population of wildlife and in any place like my yard or your property.

For the better part of a year and a half, I didn’t get any Flying Squirrels coming to my feeding station. I was devastated. Every now-and-then I might get one flyer to show up in the wee hours of the morning but nothing like I had in the past. I just didn’t see them like I used to.

The fact is these population changes are natural and happen all the time. But we humans for some reason feel that it’s not normal. That it was caused by one specific event or worse yet one specific predator. Deer hunting is a classic example of this “not like it used to be” phenomena. When White-tailed Deer populations fluctuate, we humans are quick to look for a villain to point to and say “its all your fault”. We need something to blame it on without considering that populations change all the time in nature and rarely is it just one event or one thing/predator that has caused the change.

I often get emails from agitated people who are upset that a particular species of bird is no longer coming to their feeding station. Or they are used to seeing a specific kind of animal in the past that they don’t see anymore. While some of these are good examples of population crashes, such as Red-headed Woodpeckers, which where once the most numerous woodpeckers in North America, or the Eastern Meadowlark which was once very common, are simply no longer around because their populations have crashed and are nearly extinct.

In populations that are relatively stable, such as Flying Squirrels or White-tailed Deer, fluctuations of the population are normal and happen on a regular basis, geographically speaking. In some species the population ups and downs are predictable such as Ruffed Grouse. It is well known that these birds go through 10-year cycles of their populations and the predator birds and animals that feed on these grouse also follow a predictable population swing up and down closely trailing the prey species numbers.  

So, the other night while proudly watching at least 4 Southern Flying Squirrels coming into my feeder with no hesitation, I was simultaneously relieved and also satisfied that nature is functioning the way nature is intended to work. The facts are, populations of any given species will go up and down within a reasonable and tolerable amount, no matter what the critter.

It is so good to have my Flying Squirrels building back in numbers around my property. It gives me a sense that everything is ok in my little corner of the natural world. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and captures images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website www.naturesmart.com.

Winter bird feeding is one of the most common / popular hobbies in America. It is estimated that nearly 60 million Americans feed birds in their yards in winter or summer. That is about 40 percent of all American’s make backyard bird feeding part of their everyday activities. It’s estimated to be a 6-billion-dollar industry. America leads the world in supplementary bird feeding in terms of how much money we spend on bird feeding and the volume of food we provided for our feathery friends.

Our backyard feeding stations in winter can bring in a wide variety of birds. Some of the most common and usually the first to show up are the Black-capped Chickadees. They are tiny gray, black and white birds that will sing/call all year long. The White-breasted Nuthatches are usually not far behind the bold chickadees. If you’re lucky a small flock of American Goldfinches visit your feeding station. They always bring a lot of action and splash of muted yellow to the winter landscape.

Depending upon the kind of food you provide or the type of feeder you put out, there is one group of birds that is always fun to see visiting your feeding station. These are the woodpeckers. This is an amazing group of birds that are unique even among the uniqueness of other birds.

The most common woodpecker visiting backyard feeders, in both winter and summer, are the Downy Woodpeckers. These small and bold woodpeckers are considered the most common woodpeckers in North America. But that wasn’t always the case. Red-headed Woodpeckers were once considered the most common woodpeckers. In 1830 John James Audubon said, “it is impossible to form any estimate of the number of these birds seen in the United States; I safely assure that a hundred have been shot upon a single cherry tree in one day”. In other words, there were a lot of these woodpeckers, and it wasn’t uncommon to shoot birds such as woodpeckers just because.

Woodpeckers are different in so many ways from other birds. For example, they have bills/beaks that are larger and stronger than most other birds of their size. They use their bills for excavating nesting cavities in trees. This isn’t totally unique to the woodpeckers, there are other birds that do this kind of activity, but the woodpeckers have perfected it.

To survive thousands of powerful impacts to their brain, woodpeckers have their brains slightly above the plane of their bill. In other words, the impact from striking the tree is concentrated just below the brain cavity avoiding a direct impact to the brain. They have extremely long tongues that exit their oral cavity and wrap around the outer skull of the bird to help absorb each blow. This is truly a remarkable adaptation to a high impact lifestyle and prevents the birds from getting concussions.

But banging their faces against a tree isn’t the only thing that woodpeckers do so well. They do things that most other birds can’t do. They cling to the sides of trees as if gravity doesn’t exist in their world. We see woodpeckers clinging to the sides of trees all the time, but have you ever stopped to think about what exactly they are doing? Woodpeckers have a different toe arrangement compared to other birds. Most birds have three toes pointing forwards and one toe back. The woodpeckers have two toes forward and two toes back. The placement of one toe from the front to the back allows these woodpeckers to land on a tree and creep around on the side of a tree defying gravity and making it look so easy.

Another incredible adaptation that woodpeckers employ is exceptional stiff tail feathers. Their tail acts like the third leg of a tripod when they land on vertical surfaces. Just holding on with two feet with an extra toe on the backside of the foot isn’t enough to defy gravity. It requires a tail that fully functions for flying and also functions as a third leg of the tripod. They do this with a larger than average central shaft on the individual tail feathers. Most woodpeckers have a large amount of black pigment in their tail feathers. The black pigment helps to strengthen the feather. They also have a strong set of muscles that control the tail movement and push the tail downward to brace against the tree surface. All of these adaptations in the tail really help the woodpeckers move about on the trees.

So, this winter, if you don’t already provide suet or peanuts to attract the woodpeckers that live in your area, you might consider changing your feeding station to include some of our woodpecker friends at the table. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com or facebook.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

It’s funny, I believe the average person knows more about the Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), a critter of Africa and Southwest Asia than they do about the badger in our own backyard, the American Badger (Taxidea taxus). Social media has a lot to do with the Honey Badger phenomena and widespread knowledge that Honey Badgers just don’t care. If you don’t understand this last reference you will need to look it up.

All of this was swirling through my head recently while photographing a beautiful adult male American Badger. Although the American Badger looks similar to the European Badger, and the Honey Badger, it is not closely related to either one. American Badger is found in open grasslands of the western states and the open pine forests of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states.

The badger is a member of the Mustelidae family, which means they are in the same family as mink, weasel, otter and wolverine. These are a diverse group of carnivorous mammals that have elongated bodies, short legs, short round ears and thick fur. Apart from the Sea Otter, all of these mustelids have anal scent glands that produce a strong musky smell that they use in marking territories, attracting mates and more.

Some of the more notable characteristics of the American Badger is its stocky body with very short and powerful legs. They have huge sharp claws on the front feet that measure upwards of two inches long. They use these claws to dig in the ground which also explains why they are often found in areas with sandy soils.

Until you get up close to these animals it is hard to judge their size. Measuring nearly 3 feet from nose to tail, the male badgers are slightly larger than females. Larger males are fairly common in the world of mammals, not so much in the avian world. I think it’s their short legs which gives the illusion of being smaller than they really are.

Badgers make a living by eating smaller animals that also live underground, such as Pocket Gophers, Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs, mice and voles. They usually dig to pursue their prey, often taking upwards of an hour to dig enough to trap their prey in a dead-end tunnel. A badger’s over all body size and shape makes them exceptional digging machines.

Once while I was out photographing the endangered Black-footed Ferrit in South Dakota, I came across a badger that was in the process of digging into a Prairie Dog tunnel. It was about 2 in the morning, and I had to use my flashlight to illuminate the larger tunnel that the badger had dug. About 5 feet down was the badger who just turned to look at me, then growled and snarled at me then turned and kept on digging. It took only another minute or so until it had dug enough to cover himself and disappear into the ground in pursuit of its Prairie Dog prey.

Another time I was very fortunate to witness an American Badger teaming up with a Coyote to hunt in tandem. The two hunted a prairie dog town like old and familiar friends who knew each other so well that they didn’t have to say anything to each other. The coyote would sniff each entrance hole to the prairie dog burrow and the badger would wait. They would switch off back and forth checking each hole until they decided which burrow they would excavate. The badger would quickly start digging and the coyote would wait at the nearby emergency exit hole for the prairie dogs to come out.

In one study of the amazing pairing of predators, it was found that most pairings were one to one, while 9 percent had two coyotes to one badger and 1 percent had three coyotes to one badger. The study also found that the benefits to the coyote were a 33 percent increased catch rate of prey. The study didn’t mention any increase benefit to the badger.

Another study showed that the sight of the coyote sent ground squirrels into their burrow and the badger could see which hole they went into making it easier to dig them out. This would give the badger a distinct advantage by helping to corner the prey.

I admit I don’t come across a lot of badgers in my travels so when I do, I usually spend extra time just to study and capture as many images and video as possible of this amazing hometown critter. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted vis his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

It was one of those dark and cloudy winter days in Yellowstone National Park where the clouds are so heavy and low, you feel like you can reach up and touch the cloudy sky. A light wind helped to blow the falling snow with occasional gusts of wind causing swirls of fluffy white snow tornados.

I had just one hour before the sunset, although in these conditions it was hard to tell the difference between the day and night. I was at about 8,000-foot elevation, which isn’t extremely high, but high enough to cause me to breathe extra hard when walking, or should I say plowing my way through the knee-deep powdery snow.

The spruce and pine trees that make up the surrounding forest were covered in a thick blanket of snow and when the wind gusted, it sent plumes of fluffy snow off the branches to the ground. A small stream snaked by in the forest. The water was moving fast enough to keep it from freezing. Next to the stream were several thick stands of willow shrub, the perfect food for the reason I was at this location, the Moose (Alces alces).

Moose are the tallest animal in North America and the second largest in overall size/mass, second only to the American Bison. The name Moose is thought to come from the Algonquin language and translate loosely to “he stirps off twigs”, or as some say, “twig eater”. This perfectly describes what these large members of the deer family eat in the winter. Small twigs, such as willow, are the main food during the winter months. This is why I was in this snowy meadow next to a creek looking for Moose.

During the daylight hours, Moose usually sit down in a covered area to rest and chew their cud. Since I couldn’t see any Moose in the area, I thought I would set myself up in the perfect habitat and wait for the Moose to become active at the end of the day. But first I needed to walk about a quarter mile through the woods to reach the open meadow. Walking in the woods wasn’t too bad but the open meadow had deeper snow making it more challenging. As I trudged through the knee-deep snow, I stopped often to catch my breath, before moving on.

While walking along the edge of the meadow, I spotted one Moose laying down. It was a bull (male) but his antlers had already fallen off. I was really hoping to find one of the bull Moose that still had their antlers. Not 20 yards later I spotted a nice big bull moose that still had its antlers. I was in luck. Now I just had to wait and see if the big boy would eventually get up before it got too dark to capture some images. I didn’t have to wait long and the big bull Moose stood up and shook the snow off its back and started to walk over to the willows.

Because of my background in wildlife biology, knowing and understanding the behaviors of the animals often gives me an edge when it comes to finding and capturing images of wildlife. Anticipating that the moose would eventually make its way to the willows, I hiked over to a slope that would give me a good view. The snow was extra deep on the downward side of the slope where the wind had blown the snow. I took a couple steps down the slope then just sat back into the snow. I was covered with snow from the waist down and I was next to a small pine tree, so I blended in perfectly. Now all I had to do was wait.

Within a few minutes both bull moose, walked into the willow stand and I was treated to unobstructed views. As I captured many images and better yet, stunning video, I could study the details of their feeding behaviors. I was close enough to hear the moose grab the ends of the willow twigs with their oversized lips and strip off the tips.

What was going through my mind was how such a large animal could first find enough to eat and also be able to obtain all the nutrients needed to survive a long harsh winter in the mountains of Wyoming on just some twigs.

I only had about 30 minutes together with the moose before it was too dark to capture any quality images. I sat in the snow for a few minutes after photographing to just watch and enjoy. I was able to slowly get up and head back to my truck. By the time I got back my truck was covered in snow, so I cleared it off and started the long hour and a half drive back to where I was staying. All in all, it was a great end to the day. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer to travels extensively to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.

Just the day before, a pack of wolves known as the Wapiti, had found a large bull bison that was weak and injured. Based on its size, this big boy was near the end of its lifespan and the winter weather was taking its toll. For a full day the wolves tried to approach the bison but when the bison turned to defend itself, the wolves retreated for fear of being injured themselves. All of this took place along the Firehole River in Yellowstone this past week while I was leading a group of photographers on a photo adventure.

Large male bison often weigh over 2,000 pounds (one ton) and are extremely strong and powerful animals. The big males are the size and weight of a small automobile. Their hides are thick and covered with fur making it very difficult for a wolf to grab ahold or tear the flesh of a bison. On the other side, the average weight of a wolf is around 80 pounds and is considerably smaller than the bison.

The bison was along the banks of the river and often retreated into the water to escape the wolves. At some point the bison, too weak from the winter weather, simply put its head underwater and drowned. This was the break the wolves needed. The 10 or so wolves entered the river and started pulling on the bison. Eventually the current took the carcass downstream about a couple hundred yards and got caught up on a shallow spot in the river.

The day after the demise of the bison, I arrived with my group of photographers. We had heard all the details of the day before, so we were eager to get to the scene. Early morning in the dark, we piled into our snow coach, a massive vehicle with 48-inch all terrain tires and headed into the depths of the park. Arriving just after daybreak, we set up about 130 yards away from the half-eaten bison carcass in the river. A coyote was already there trying to strip off some meat from the water-soaked hide.

The weather was cooperating with us. The temperatures were right around freezing with no wind, so if you are dressed right, this makes for very comfortable conditions. While everyone was busy capturing images of the coyote, off to our left deep in the woods, the Wapiti pack was bedded down and resting out of sight.

A couple hours after we arrived, we spotted the first wolf making its way through the forest heading in our direction. The coyote, knowing better, vacated the carcass when it saw the approaching wolves. At first, we only saw one black wolf then a second. The two wolves who looked like siblings, stopped at the edge of the forest where a small stand of young fir trees where growing. They surveyed the area carefully before approaching the carcass.

The wolves standing on the edge of the forest gave us some wonderful opportunities to capture some iconic images. After a minute or two, they came down the small hill and crossed right in front of us to the river’s edge. The wolves walked right into the shallow and fast-moving river heading right to the carcass. A flock of Common Ravens had moved in on the carcass the second the coyote left so the wolves started to have some fun chasing them off by running through the water directly at the ravens.

At one point, three wolves, two black and one gray, were all feeding on the carcass in the river. Every now and then one would lift their head to look around, surveying the area directly around them to make sure they were safe. This allowed us to capture some amazing action shots and riveting video of the food chain in the wild.

One by one the wolves would come down out of the forest to our left, cross in front of us and walk into the river to our right. At one point, three of the black wolves gathered together and started to play fight with each other. This type of behavior being displayed right in front of us, insured me that we were in no way affecting the behaviors of the wolves. They were very comfortable with us and respectful of the distance we kept between us. After a while a couple of the wolves laid down for a few minutes, again showing they were not being disturbed by our presents.

The wolves fed for the better part of a couple hours before they retreated to the forest to sleep again. We hung out and ate our lunches while we waited and sure enough later in the afternoon the wolves woke from their naps and returned back down to the river to feed more, allowing us to capture even more incredible images.

Normally the moments we get with wolves are measured in minutes, not in hours and definitely not in a full day. This was an outstanding opportunity to see, photograph and learn the behaviors of one of the coolest animals in the world. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed at www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his webpage at www.naturesmart.com.

If I have said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: nature is always changing. For some reason we people always think that everything stays the same. But when it comes to nature, it is never the same and is always changing. Nature is in constant flux. It is how nature works.

I have experienced the constant changing of nature many times. Over the past 40 years of working as a wildlife photographer I have seen this happen over and over again. It is a very familiar tune. Once incredible opportunities to photograph or study a particular critter were so good, then something changes, and suddenly it is no longer available.

So, with that in mind, a little over 20 years ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to meet the “Bunting Lady” in southern Florida. At the time she was running a daycare center but also liked feeding birds. She put out several feeders and had the most amazing birds coming in, including the famed Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). The male Painted Bunting is often suggested to be the most beautiful bird in North America. This has led to its nickname Nonpareil which is French for “without equal”. And I would have to totally agree with that name. This bird is definitely without equal, for visual splendor.

The Painted Bunting is about the size of a sparrow. The male has a dark blue head, vibrant green back and a blazing red chest, belly, and rump. The female is dull yellow-green without any markings. You might not even notice her because she is so drab. The first time you see the adult male Painted Bunting you can’t believe your eyes. The vibrance of this bird is unlike other birds in North America. Sure, there are plenty of birds in Central and South America that have similar eye-popping color, but for us, this bird is by far the most spectacular.

The Painted Bunting is a shy and secretive bird that is often difficult to see, let alone capture in images. They tend to stay in thick vegetation, only coming out to feed, or during the breeding season, the males sometimes perch in the open to sing their songs to attract mates and defend territories. 

These birds are short distant migrators. They nest in coastal northern Florida, Georgia and into the Carolinas. For winter they move to southern Florida and into the Bahamas. There is a western population that is found in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma that migrates to Mexico and Central America for winter. This population is declining quickly due to the illegal trapping and selling of this bird in the pet trade. This is a huge problem that pushes this bird closer to extinction. Over all the population of the Painted Bunting is trending downward.

Last week while leading a photo tour across the state of Florida, I got a crazy idea to stop by a location where 20 plus years earlier I had a wonderful opportunity to photograph a Painted Bunting. I figured I had about a 1 percent chance that the Bunting Lady would still be living on the property and that she would still be feeding the buntings or that the buntings were still coming around, because everything in nature changes, right?

When I pulled up to the property, the layout of the house and feeders didn’t match my memory of where I had been 20 years before. I drove slowly by looking for any bird feeders or signs of the buntings. That is when I saw the homeowner in the yard. I quickly pulled in and got out. Unbelievably it was the Bunting Lady. She was still there and amazingly still feeding the buntings.

I was so happy to see her, and we spent a few minutes getting caught up and figuring out just how long it’s been since I was there last. I was thrilled to be invited onto her property to see and photograph the famed Painted Bunting once again.

We set up near one of the bird feeding stations. Since it was the middle of the day the birds weren’t as active as they would be in the morning. We didn’t have to wait too long before three female Painted Buntings showed up at the feeder. A few minutes later we spotted the flash of bright red deep in the shrubs next to the feeder. A few minutes later the brightly colored male made its way to the edge of the shrub. It took one last hop and paused on an open twig in a perfect spot.

The male bunting stayed on the branch with plenty of time to focus and compose a stunning image of such an amazing looking bird. Of course, I couldn’t believe that after all these years, nothing has changed and the Bunting Lady was still enjoying these magical birds and more importantly she was willing to let me stay and photograph the birds. Perhaps not everything changes. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who leads photo tours all over the world. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his webpage at www.naturesmart.com.  

I think we all have heard about the issue with non-native species and how they can interrupt a habitat. There are many examples of this in both plants and animals. One of the big problems in the plant world is European Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). It is a small tree that is native to Europe and northwest Africa and western Asia. It was brought here by people to be planted as an ornamental tree and has exploded across the country, growing in all sorts of habitat and crowding out the native trees and shrubs.

There are also some non- native mammals that were introduced to North America that are considered a major problem. The Norway Rat or Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a good example. Contrary to its common name, it most likely originates from the plains of northern China and Mongolia. When it was named back in the 1500’s it was incorrectly thought to come from Norway. This animal has spread around the world and has been the cause of disease and contamination of food. If you have ever seen a large rat, especially on farms, no doubt you are seeing this non-native rat species.

We have countless non-native insects also. One that jumps to mind is the Asian Lady Beetle. Similar to our native Ladybugs, the Asian Lady Beetle was introduced on purpose to North America to control aphids in agricultural crops. It quickly spread across the entire country in just a decade or two. Many believe our native beetle is now extinct or nearly so.

In the bird world, there are several prime examples of non-native birds being introduced to the United States. The European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) are well known, widespread and generally hated by most bird watchers. I often ask people who bring up their dislike of starlings and sparrows why they don’t like them. The response I get is because they are “not native”. When I inquire deeper, they don’t have any other reason other than the status as a non-native bird. When I point out that Ring-necked Pheasant are also not native I don’t get the same hatred, presumably because they like the looks of the pheasant.

So last week while leading a photography tour of southern Florida, we spent some time photographing an absolutely stunning bird. A large green parrot-like bird, about 12 inches long, with a dark hood and bright red ring of feathers around each leg. They are amazing looking birds, and everyone was thrilled to capture some stunning images. While we were photographing, I explained to the group that these birds were not native. They casually asked how they got to Florida since they are native to the south-central part of South America, many thousands of miles away.

These birds were trapped and sold in the pet trade and people purchased them from a pet store. When they realized that the birds needed a lot of care and they tended to be very loud, and demanding, a lot of people just released the birds. Well of course the newly released birds found each other and did what comes naturally and they started to reproduce. Now large flocks of these birds fly around places like Florida, Arizona and Texas.

But what I found the most interesting is that no one seemed upset that these beautiful birds were not native. There was no outcry of disdain and dislike for these magnificent looking birds. And that is exactly the problem. We as people often use our emotions and often are quick to judge something without any background information or education.

Because this bird is beautiful, elegant and pleasing to look at we think it is ok and it doesn’t matter if it is non-native or not. We simply like it. We often don’t consider the scientific or biological ramifications of a non-native bird on a given ecosystem. Nanday Parakeets often out compete with other birds for local food sources. Their diet consists of seeds, fruits, nuts and berries, the same food source for other birds.

While looking through my long lens while photographing, I noticed the parakeets spent a lot of time feeding on the seed heads from low growing flowers. Native ground birds such as Ground Doves would be a good example of a native species that would now need to compete with the parakeets for the seeds produced by these flowers.

I guess my point is, native verses non-native species is a tricky subject. It is important we don’t let our emotions get in the way of sound, reasonable and scientific decisions. Nothing is simple and has clear black-and-white answers in nature. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed at Instagram.com and facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.

It was just before the pandemic that I last went to see one of the most amazing natural spectacles on the face of the earth—the annual migration of the Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) in south central Nebraska. For the past 30 plus years, I have led a trip to see the crane migration each spring. It was a trip I looked forward to every year. It was like going to visit an old friend each spring.

This year I had an incredible group of 10 that were so fun and just as excited to see the cranes as I was. The dynamics of a group can make or break a trip and this group was perfect. It’s not easy getting up at 4 am to go out in the cold and dark, so having an energetic group is always a good thing.

We made our way to south central Nebraska where hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes gather on their northward, spring-time migration. A stretch of just 80 miles along the Platte River hosts upwards of a half a million cranes each spring.

Upon our arrival, we had gray skies and high winds, but the agricultural fields near the Platte River had many flocks of Sandhill Cranes. It wasn’t unusual to see 500 or more cranes in just one location. Towards evening the cranes start to move back towards the Platte River. The Platte River is a large river in southern Nebraska that runs over 300 miles long before it terminates into the Missouri River. The Platte is a very shallow, meandering river with a sandy bottom and most importantly hundreds of small islands or sandbars which are perfect for the cranes to roost overnight.

After a hot dinner and a few drinks, we went to bed looking forward to watching the sunrise and seeing thousands of cranes. When my alarm went off at 3:45 am I wasn’t happy about getting out of bed but when I did, I looked out the window and all I could see was snow blowing horizontally. Not a good start. The 30 mph plus wind was driving snow horizontally causing the roads to be shut down stranding us in the hotel.

After breakfast we ventured out into the snow-covered landscape to see how the cranes were doing and also what other birds we could see. It was a very productive morning and by noon the snow stopped and by 4 pm the skies on the western horizon started to clear. Temperatures were just above freezing so the snow started to melt. We made our way over to the river at sunset to watch the cranes flying in from the surrounding areas to roost in the river.

We had a wonderful sunset and saw thousands of cranes and a few hundred Snow Geese flying into the river. Watching this is always a spiritual experience.

For thousands of years, these Sandhill Cranes have been visiting the Platte River on their migration northward. There are no cranes that nest in Nebraska, they are just passing through. The Sandhill Cranes are some of the oldest birds in North America. Fossils of Sandhills dating back 2.5 million years are common and one crane fossil (similar species of crane) found in Nebraska is estimated to be about 10 million years. Either way you cut it; the cranes have been around a long, long time.

The next morning my alarm went off again at 3:45 am and this time when I looked out the window the sky was clear, and the wind had died down and was calm. From all my years of coming to see the crane migration, I knew it was going to be a great morning. We packed up and drove over to the blinds we had reserved. After a 15-minute walk in the dark down a gravel pathway we entered the wooden structure (blind) on the banks of the Platte River. Even though it was so dark we couldn’t see anything, we could definitely hear thousands of cranes right out in front of us.

Slowly as the sun rose in the eastern sky, it gave us enough light to see that approximately 10,000 plus cranes were standing in the shallow water of the Platte River right in front of us. The brighter it became the louder the cranes became. Soon, groups of cranes (family units) started taking off from the river heading out for the day to find food. Hundreds of cranes were flying at the same time. Often the entire flock takes off all at the same time in a thunderous and chaotic blast off.
But not this morning. It seemed they were going to fly off the river in a slow but steady pattern.

Over the next couple hours, the cranes slowly pealed off from the roosting flock and headed out to feed. With thousands of cranes still in the river our group was getting cold and hungry, so we left the blind and headed back. We had just experienced one of the most amazing and spectacular wildlife events in North America. It was so good to be back visiting my old friends the Sandhill Cranes. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels (and leads trips) extensively to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed at Instagram.com and facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.

For me, I enjoy all aspects of nature, not just birds. I find all of nature fascinating and that is what keeps me interested. So, while leading a photo tour to Florida recently I was so excited to see a crazy cool critter that isn’t what you expect when you see it. A true rule breaker.

I was on a boardwalk over a shallow wetland. A wide variety of shrubs and small wetland trees were dotting the landscape along with a ton of aquatic plants and algae. The water was only a few inches to about a foot deep. Long-legged birds and ducks were swimming/walking around feeding on insects and plant leaves. It was a great example of an ecosystem in balance.

I was looking at all the life forms when something different caught my attention. Standing in about 3 inches of water at the base of a large shrub was a small rusty brown, fuzzy mammal, a Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris). Yep, you read that correctly, a rabbit standing in the water/marsh.

While I have seen many Marsh Rabbits before, they have all been on dry land. Never had I seen a Marsh Rabbit in a marsh. I was thrilled and immediately started taking pictures because I didn’t know how long it would stay out in the open.

The Marsh Rabbit is a semi-aquatic cottontail rabbit that is found in the swamps and marshes of coastal areas of the southeastern United States of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. It tends to be rusty red in color and has shorter legs and ears than the more familiar backyard Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit. It is not uncommon for individuals in Florida to be melanistic, which means they can have very dark to nearly black fur.

Sometimes they are called Marsh Hares, which is an unfortunate common name because they are not a type of hare. Rabbits and Hares are very different kinds of critters. I will need to write a separate column about the differences sometime in the future.

The Marsh Rabbit lives near the coast and tends to stay in freshwater marshes only. They breed year around with females being able to produce up to 6 litters of young each year. The female builds a nest just above water line with aquatic plants and lines it with fur she pulls from her body. Nests are usually deep in dense thickets and surrounded by water, presumably to help protect the young in the nest.

They are herbivores, eating the leaves and stems of marsh plants including cattails, bullrush, and other grasses. Like other rabbits, the Marsh Rabbit re-ingests their food through their poop. This is called coprophagy. After eating, they produce both hard and soft fecal pellets. The soft fecal pellets, known as cecal pellets, are re-ingested (eaten) to remove any nutrients that weren’t picked up the first time through their digestive system. The dry pellets are not re-ingested.

Since these rabbits are mainly nocturnal, I felt lucky to be able to see one during daylight hours. They usually spend their days resting in dense thickets to avoid predators. They often follow the same pathways, creating “runways” through the dense vegetation. While they often hop like other rabbits the Marsh Rabbit is known for walking on all fours, placing each foot down alternately like a cat or dog. They also have long toes, which is evident when you see their tracks in the mud.

They are excellent swimmers and often go to water to escape danger, submerging themselves to the point where only their eyes, nose and ears are above the water’s surface. Since their hind legs are shorter than other rabbits they aren’t as fast on land but still are able to make a quick getaway if chased by a predator.

When I spotted the Marsh Rabbit in the water, I was quick to tell the others in my group, but no one seemed to be interested. For some reason they didn’t understand the uniqueness of this rabbit and for so long I have wanted to see them in an actual marsh. I watched over the next 5 or so minutes as it munched on aquatic vegetation. I could see it was very comfortable standing and moving around in the water. After a while it walked off into the thick branches of an aquatic shrub. I was thrilled to have seen a very unique critter doing what doesn’t look normal for a rabbit. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture images and video of wildlife. He can be followed at www.instagram.com and facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.

I am not a stranger to getting up at O’ dark thirty, to be able to get out and capture some images of wildlife. Over the past 40 years I would say it is definitely in the hundreds if not thousands of times I’ve dragged myself out of bed so early. So, last week when the alarm went off at 4 am it wasn’t a surprise. For what felt like the millionth time, I got up and got ready to go out.

I grabbed a few snacks for breakfast and a bottle of water and headed out to my truck. Sometimes I think my truck is getting tired of this early morning routine, but my old truck fired up and we headed out on the road. It was a short drive before I exited the main road and got onto a series of dusty gravel roads. Many miles later, with a cloud of dirt bellowing behind me, I pulled up to the desired location.

Of course, it was still dark, so I needed to gather up all my camera gear by feeling around in the dark taking care not to drop anything. I wasn’t sure which of my large lenses I should take with me. I thought about it for a minute weighing the pros and cons of each lens. I finally settled on the shorter of the two long lenses. I mounted the lens and camera on the tripod, grabbed a few extra batteries and made sure I had memory cards.

First, I slung my chair blind on my back and strapped on my short lens over my shoulder. Next, I hoisted my big camera and tripod over my right shoulder. This is more of a balancing act than anything. It’s so heavy and all the weight lands only on my right shoulder. Altogether, the blind and camera gear weighed well over 40 pounds.

I figured I had everything I needed so I headed out walking in the dark. The overnight temperatures where below freezing and so there was a layer of frost on the grass. It was a very long walk out to the location I needed to be before the sun came up. Looking to my right I could see a glow on the eastern horizon. The sun was on its way. I needed to get going.

About 20 minutes later, I was winded and breathing heavily from the long trek. I could see the area I needed to be, so I set up my chair blind and aligned my tripod and camera facing the right direction. I sat down and pulled the blind material over my head, and just-like-that, I was covered up and hidden except for the front of my lens sticking out.

Now it was time to make sure I have everything I might need within easy reach while it was still dark. Too much moving around will scare the birds, so preparation is important to a successful shoot. I knew shortly the sun would come up and the birds would be arriving. I was out in the middle of an extremely large windswept prairie area and the Greater Prairie Chicken’s would soon be arriving on their traditional booming ground.

The Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) is sometimes called the Pinnated Grouse because of a set of feathers, called pinnated feathers, near the neck of the male which he raises while displaying. They are a large chicken-like bird that is found in prairies, as its common name suggests.

The Greater Prairie Chicken was once an abundant and dominant species across the windswept prairies. In the 1800’s there were millions of Prairie Chickens. Due to over hunting and habitat loss, this bird was nearly extinct by the 1930’s. In many parts of the country this bird is still considered endangered of extinction. It has been completely killed off in Canada and is listed as extirpated in Canada.

Currently there is an estimated 500,000 or so Prairie Chickens in the United States. However, the population is steadily decreasing. In many places such as Iowa, which historically had millions of Prairie Chickens, now has less than 100. Wisconsin has around 500 to 600 birds in a good year. Some years only 200 to 300 are counted in Wisconsin, while in Minnesota, around 5,000 chickens are reported. While that may seem like a lot in comparison, it is a tiny fraction of what was historically in the state.

As the sun slowly rose over the prairie the male Prairie Chickens flew and walked into the traditional dancing ground, called a lek which was right in front of me. The males would pair off and call loudly. Sparring matches break out as the males are working out the hierarchy of dominancy. They would display and dance about waiting for a female to show up. For the next couple hours I watched, studied and captured images of these amazing birds, wondering just how much longer these marvelous creatures will grace this planet. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to capture images and video of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.