It was too cool early in a day. There were winds that added an unappreciated chill. And it was too cloudy to be any nice of a pleasant time outdoors.
This was the weather that outdoor enthusiasts dealt with at the public lands day event at the wilderness outlook at the western extent of Fort Niobrara NWR during the morning of Saturday, September, 28th.
To start the time of appreciation, birders listened at the outlook over the beautiful Niobrara River valley where crows were distinct so vociferous. Then we walked about as led by a some so-called local bird expert. Some bird lore of the refuge was shared as we all wandered across the prairie of the northern extent of the refuge, which is one of the oldest such public places in the U.S.A.
There were 14 avian species identified according to the indicative list. It started with a downy woodpecker. Flickers were very vocal as a single turkey vulture floated above the landscape to the west. Two transitory Canada goose flew overhead and were quite notable as they are the signatory species for the federal agency caring for this public land.
One of the best occurrences were one or two very small red-breasted nuthatch vocal among the pines. This arboreal habitat is their home and they indicated this reality on another one of their days in the wild. Four so subtly colored birds on a tree snag finally became identified as pine siskins. A regular towhee of the regularly occurring spotted sort was in the river valley, adding its voice to the morning scene. When a red-tailed hawk flew along overhead, it must have been obviously looking for cottontail rabbits, as two were seen hopping around along our walk route. Other regulars were black-capped chickadees, the blue jay and a very nice flock of goldfinch.
Missing on the list were the LBJs. Those would be the little brown jobs, most notably autumnal sparrows. They would have been lurking amidst the ample growth of prairie grasses but since they prefer to dive deep in the vegetation or lurk behind some shrub growth, their identify was very much anonymous though very present as noticed elsewhere in the Valentine vicinity.
Then on this Saturday, a volunteer of the National Park Service described identifying features of monarch butterflies and their nature. Especially notable were facts about how this species strives to survive and what many people do and can do locally to assist. The reality is very subtle but distinctive as it was shown and explained.
Some errant rain drops ended the event enjoyed by a few visitors to a natural place for which they were notably appreciative.
This event was sponsored by the National Park Service and Niobrara Council of Valentine.