Tag Archives: niobrara valley preserve

Photo of the Week – May 27, 201

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We just returned home from our family trip to The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve.  I posted some photos from the first half of the trip earlier this week.  Here are a few more, but they don’t begin to cover all the experiences we had.  I’ll share more photos and stories in the coming weeks (after I unpack and get my life organized again!)

I revisited the same group of bison we'd seen earlier in the week, and the second time I found them, the cows, calves, and yearling bulls had been joined by three mature bulls. I'm not sure why the bulls weren't with them the first time, or why they joined them the next day.

I revisited the same group of bison we’d seen earlier in the week, and the second time I found them, the cows, calves, and yearlings had been joined by three mature bulls. I’m not sure why the bulls weren’t with them the first time, or why they joined them the next day.

The former pine woodland north of the river continues to progress in its revegetation (unaided by humans). Shrubs such as coralberry, smooth and skunkbush sumac, chokecherry, and currant are starting to become more prevalent, as are many grasses, sedges and wildflowers.

The former pine woodland north of the river continues to progress in its revegetation (unaided by us). Shrubs such as coralberry, smooth and skunkbush sumac, chokecherry and currant are starting to become more prevalent, as are many grasses, sedges and wildflowers.

After a wet May, the Niobrara river was running fast, making our canoe trip fly by. We didn't have to pull the canoe over sandbars (or really even steer around obstacles of any kind other than a few islands). On the other hand, the current made pulling over to the bank to hike up creeks to see waterfalls a little more challenging than it often is. Regardless, the National Scenic River lived up to its name.

After a wet May, the Niobrara river was running high and fast, making our canoe trip fly by. We didn’t have to pull the canoe over sandbars (or steer around obstacles of any kind, other than a few islands). On the other hand, the current made pulling over to the bank to hike up creeks to see waterfalls a little more challenging than it often is. Regardless, the National Scenic River lived up to its name.

Family Time on the Niobrara

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It’s family vacation time for The Prairie Ecologist.  The objective for this week is to see how much fun two adults and three kids can squeeze out of The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve.  Ok, I’m actually doing a little work too, setting up this summer’s data collection efforts.  But I’m mostly taking vacation…

The visit got off to a good start when we arrived last night because the boys found the rope swing over the creek.  That provided a good half hour of fun, and would have gone on much longer except that bedtime was looming.  After the boys went to bed, Kim and I enjoyed a little quiet time listening to whip-poor-wills, cricket frogs, and nighthawks before heading to bed ourselves.

The boys - entertaining themselves the way boys should.

The boys – entertaining themselves the way boys should.

After breakfast this morning, we drove out into the Sandhills and found a small group of bison cows and calves resting on a hillside.  We watched them from the truck for quite a while.  The kids did a great job of staying quiet, and the bison were very relaxed.

A recently born bison calf.

A recently born bison calf.

As the sun rose higher and it started getting warm, we slipped down into the woodland between the Sandhills and the river and explored a spring-fed creek Kim and I had found last winter.  The kids had a great time splashing around and trying to dam up small sections of the creek, and Kim and I enjoyed looking at the ferns and other woodland plants.  The cool and humid conditions along the creek contrasted starkly with the hot dry prairie just upslope.

Walking along the spring-fed creek was a welcome relief from the

Walking along the cold spring-fed creek was like being in a different world.  It was over 80 degrees and sunny in the Sandhills prairie less than 50 yards uphill

It was a great day, and it would be hard to pick a favorite experience, but if pressed, I’d probably go with finding a pair of twin pronghorn fawns.  I was driving through the hills by myself in the mid-afternoon, trying to figure out some research logistics when I saw a pronghorn across the valley.  As I got closer, it looked like it was feeding, but it was so engrossed in the activity it didn’t notice me until the truck was less than 100 yards away.  It finally spotted me and bounded up and over the hill.  I saw something dark move near where the pronghorn had been so I got out and walked over to investigate.  Much to my surprise, I found a fawn that was still wet from being born – I assume the mother had been licking it, which explains her preoccupation as I drove up.  As I bent down to take a quick photograph of the fawn I noticed the second one (already dry) right behind it.  I snapped a couple of quick photos and slipped away so the family could reassemble itself without further delay.

Pronghorn fawns (the second is to the left and behind the one in the foreground). The newest one was so recently-born it was still wet.

Pronghorn fawns (the second is to the left and behind the one in the foreground). The newest one was so recently-born it was still wet.

After supper, the boys and I hiked up the ridge north of the river so they could work off some energy before bedtime.  They had a great time, and loved the view from the top.

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We’ve been here less than 36 hours, but it already feels like we’ve been here a week.  …In a good way…

Two more days to go!