Elm Creek, NE: familiar turf

Tonight I am just south of Elm Creek, Nebraska, where I spent the summer working on the Platte River for USGS (least tern and piping plover monitoring).  I made it quickly through the bottom corner of my NE area, mainly because it is familiar territory, and the weather is cooperating.  The majority of my survey locaitons in Kansas were grasslands (cow pasture), and so far the majority in Nebraska are, you guessed it, cropland, corn.

I saw another Harlan's today, but otherwise, did not see any new birds (see photos, bad lighting but can still see field marks).  I forgot to add that yesterday I saw my first juncos of the trip and the season. I have also been seeing huge flocks of migrating sandhill cranes.  I've been looking for whooping cranes, but so far haven't found or heard any in the flocks.  I am working west now across Nebraska, south of interstate 80.  When I get to Ogallala, I will head north east and start working through the sandhills, my favorite part of NE.

dark intermediate morph harlan's