Nebraska's South Central Counties

Adams County (14)

County road west of Holstein; have been Greater Prairie-Chickens along there.

Ayr Lake

Private property across the road to the west of Theesen Waterfowl Production

Area (Clay County).  Usually good mudflats for shorebirds in spring

and late summer.

Buffalo County (9)

Audubon's Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary

Currently there are three different web sites for Rowe Sanctuary:

http://www.rowesanctuary.org/

http://204.234.8.2/~murwille/birding.htm

http://rip.physics.unk.edu/Rowe/(including a BIRD LIST)

Well known for its Sandhill Crane viewing in March and April, Rowe Sanctuary also

has an extensive network of primitive trails that take you through well managed

native and restored prairies as well as riverside woodlands.  Bobolinks and Regal

Fritillaries are numerous in the summer along with warblers, vireos, sparrows,

grosbeaks, thrushes and many other woodland birds.

Bassway Strip State Wildlife Management Area: located between Interstate 80 and the Platte

River between the Minden and Gibbon exits, this area is a long narrow strip of woodland habitat.

It includes several small lakes surrounded mostly with trees and bushes. It is a good area

for woodland birds. There is a road through most of it with primitive picnic areas along the way.

Blue Hole State Wildlife Management Area

Cottonmill Lake

East Odessa State Wildlife Management Area

Ft. Kearny State Historical Park and Hike/Bike Trail

The Fort Kearny Hike/Bike Trail is a well maintained, handicapped-accessible

trail across the Platte River on a former railroad bridge. Provides an excellent

view of the river and the woods along its banks and islands. Birds that can be

seen along the trail include Bald Eagles, geese and ducks in January and February;

Sandhill Cranes and American Woodcock in March; warblers and other passerines in

April, May and June. One of the few public areas where hunting is not allowed so

there are birds there in the fall.

Ravenna State Recreation Area

Sandy Channel State Wildlife Management Area: located a couple miles south of the Elm Creek

Interstate 80 exit, this area is an old sand and gravel operation. There are several

small lakes with some trees, bushes and sandy beaches. The area is good for fish-eating birds,

such as grebes, herons and gulls, and also open woods type birds, such as bluebirds and

kingbirds.

Clay County (30)

Harvard Waterfowl Production Area owned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Massie Waterfowl Production Area owned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Kissinger Basin

Dawson County (18)

Lexington Chamber of Commerce, (308)324-5504

Eagle watching at the J2 Power station, (308)324-2811

In addition to eagles, this is a good place for mergansers and goldeneyes.

Johnson Lake: is on the Dawson and Gosper County line. The best birding is in late

fall, winter and early spring when there are fewer people around. It is a good area for

gulls, waterfowl, cormorants, eagles, loons and grebes.

Gallagher Canyon State Recreation Area: includes a relatively small lake and a primitive

campground in an area of steep canyons.

Franklin County (50)

Ash Grove Wildlife Management Area: located one mile west and four miles south of

Franklin. It is a hilly prairie with wooded ravines and some rocky outcrops. It

is about a quarter of a section in size. There are no services and no trails.

Good habitat for prairie birds and some woodland birds.

Limestone Bluffs Wildlife Management Area: located six miles south and three miles

east of Franklin. It is also a hilly prairie with wooded ravines but the rocks are

limestone. It is about three quarters of a section in size. There are no services

and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and some woodland birds.

Macon Lakes Waterfowl Production Area: located just south of the small town of Macon.

It is a flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland. It is just under a thousand

acres in size. There are no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds

and marsh birds.

Quadhammer Waterfowl Production Area: located three miles west and one mile south

of Hildreth. It is a flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland. It is about

six hundred acres in size. There are no services and no trails. Good habitat for

prairie birds and marsh birds.

Ritterbush Waterfowl Production Area: located five miles south of Hildreth. It is

a flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland. It is about eighty acres in size.

There are no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and marsh birds.

Furnas County (38)

Arapahoe sewage lagoons: located on the south edge of town, on the west side of

highway 283. There is a road to a gate on the north side of the lagoons that goes between a

home and a business. A good spot to check for waterfowl, gulls and swallows.

Cambridge Diversion Dam Wildlife Management Area (WMA): located two miles east of

Cambridge between the Republican River and the railroad tracks. Nice view of the River.

Facilities include an outhouse and a picnic area. A good spot for waterfowl, sandpipers,

woodpeckers, flycatchers and swallows. Also a good place to watch for eagles, osprey and

others flying up and down the Republican River.

Oxford Park: located on the south edge of town just west of Highway 46. There is

a large mature deciduous woodland on the south and west sides of the park with primitive

trails through it. A great place for woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, wrens, kinglets,

thrushes, warblers, grosbeaks, buntings and orioles. All services are available in Oxford.

Gosper County (73)

Johnson Lake: is on the Dawson and Gosper County line. The best birding is in late

fall, winter and early spring when there are fewer people around. It is a good area for

gulls, waterfowl, cormorants, eagles, loons and grebes. There are two state parks providing

camping and picnicing. There is also a convenience store providing services to the residences

and visitors around the lake.

Hall County (8)

Crane Meadows Visitor Center

Mormon Island State Wayside Area

The Taylor Ranch is private property which can be viewed from the county roads. It is a

great place to view Greater Prairie-Chickens and Sharp-tailed Grouse.

For directions to the Taylor Ranch see the Spring Migration Guide

Cornhusker Ordnance Plant

Hamilton County (28)

Aurora City Park: located near the Highway 34 and Highway 14 intersection in

Aurora. Lots of trees. All services available in the park or in town.

Deep Well Wildlife Management Area (WMA): located three miles south of Phillips.

It is a typical Rainwater Basin, a flat prairie and marsh with a few trees. There are

parking lots but no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and marsh birds.

Farmers' Valley Cemetery: located five miles east of Stockham beside the West Fork

of the Big Blue River. Lots of big old trees are in and around the cemetery.

Gadwall Wildlife Management Area (WMA): located 3.5 miles north and 2 miles west of Aurora.

Nelson Waterfowl Production Area (WPA): located 2.5 miles north of Stockham.

It is another Rainwater Basin, flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland. There are

parking lots but no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and marsh birds.

Phillips cemetery: located beside Highway 34 about one mile west of the S-41A and 34

intersection. The cemetery is filled with pines, cedars and spruce trees. It is surrounded

by crop land.

Platte River bridge for Highway 34: located at the western edge of the county.

There is enough room at both ends to pull off of the highway and park. Nice view of the

River from the highway right-of-way. Many species of waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors

can be seen flying over or swimming or walking on sandbars in the River. All of the land

beyond the highway right-of-way is private property and is posted 'No Trespassing.' There

is usually too much traffic to walk out onto the bridge.

Pintail State Wildlife Management Area (WMA): located 4.5 miles north of Stockham.

It is another Rainwater Basin, flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland. There are

parking lots but no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and marsh birds.

Springer Waterfowl Production Area (WPA): located one to two miles northeast of the

Giltner I-80 exit. It is another Rainwater Basin, flat prairie and marsh with a little

woodland. There are parking lots but no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie

birds and marsh birds.

Troester Basin Waterfowl Production Area (WPA): located about one mile northeast of

Pintail WMA. It is another Rainwater Basin, flat prairie and marsh with a little woodland.

There are parking lots but no services and no trails. Good habitat for prairie birds and

marsh birds.

Harlan County (51)

Harlan County Reservoir:

A large lake on the Republican River near the Kansas border. In winter

large numbers of Bald Eagles, gulls and waterfowl can be seen depending

upon how much open water is there. Some wooded parks on the north side

of the lake provide good habitat for woodland birds. The River's Edge

Nature trail is located below the dam on the north side of the river. There

are lots of prairies and open farmland all around the lake that offer good

opportunities for open country birds. For more information, write to the

Harlan County Lake Project Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 128,

Republican City, Nebraska 68971 or call (308) 799-2105. Alma Chamber of

Commerce, P.O. Box 52, Alma, Nebraska 68920 or call (308) 928-2992.

We know a couple who retired and moved to Alma. They chose Alma

because they like the community and there are many good birding

opportunities. They like the Republican River because it creates

mud flats which are great for shorebird viewing in spring and fall.

The river also has some good forest areas and brushy areas which

attract many species. They like the fact that there is a lot of

public access along the river and around the Harlan County Reservoir.

They also appreciate that there are not a lot of people in the area

so there is not a lot of traffic. In their first year of living in

Alma, their county list was 185 species.

Visit Alma, Nebraska

Welcome to Harlan County Lake

Howard County (49)

Dannebrog Hike/Bike Trail and Hannibal's Nature Trail: a very nice hike/bike trail from

the edge of town, along the edge of a rather large mature oak forest with a good side trail into

the woods (Hannibal's Nature Trail). The hike/bike trail goes around the sewage lagoons, past

the cemetery and back into town. It's a couple miles long and passes through several habitat

types including mature woodland, sewage lagoon, woods edge, a little Sandhills prairie, a small

stream and small town yards.

Harold Andersen State Wildlife Management Area: located along the northwest bank of the Loup

River about two miles northeast of Dannebrog. There are primitive trails through the flooded

woods to the river. Access is from the graveled county road just northwest of the river.

Loup Junction (also called Leonard A. Koziol) State Wildlife Management Area: located where

the North Loup River joins the Loup River about four miles northeast of St. Paul. There are

flooded woods, marshy areas, prairies, the rivers and some farm land. There are extensive

thickets along the road to the WMA. Access is from the first graveled road south of the highway

281 bridge over the North Loup River going east. Follow this road about two miles to the WMA.

Marsh Wren State Wildlife Management Area: located along the south bank of the North Loup River

about two miles east of Elba. There is a primitive trail through a marshy area to the flooded

woods along the river. There is also a small lake beside the river. Access is from the graveled

county road just south of the river between highways 11 and 281.

Kearney County (52)

Ft. Kearny State Historical Park and Hike/Bike Trail

Gleason Waterfowl Production Area: One of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service's Rainwater Basin areas.  Good waterfowl and shorebird viewing

during spring migration depending upon water conditions.

Prairie Dog Waterfowl Production Area

Frerich's Waterfowl Production Area

Youngson and Jensen Waterfowl Production Areas are at times good to excellent for

shorebirds and waterfowl. These two areas are only a couple miles apart and are surrounded

by areas with gulleys and outpost sandhills.

There is a privately owned wetland two miles east of the northeast end of Funk WPA that is

usually good for shorebirds, waterfowl and sometimes raptors. View from the county road.

Merrick County (46)

If you have a favorite birding area in this county, please contact Robin Harding

at the address given below.

Nuckolls County (42)

If you have a favorite birding area in this county, please contact Robin Harding

at the address given below.

Phelps County (37)

Funk Waterfowl Production Area

A large freshwater marsh in the western part of the Rainwater Basin. It includes large

areas of open water, cattails and smartweed. There are several trails along dikes

offering excellent opportunities to view wildlife any time of the year.

Sacramento-Wilcox Wildlife Management Area: Located just west of

Wilcox, offers a nice variety of habitat types, including freshwater marsh,

prairie and woods. A wide variety of birds can be seen here.

Atlanta Waterfowl Production Area

Johnson Waterfowl Production Area

Located 7 miles south, 3.5 miles west and 0.5 mile south of the Odessa I-80 exit. The view

is best from the east side looking west.

High Wildlife Management Area

Two miles north of Bertrand. Good shorebird viewing especially in April, May, July and August.

The county roads nearest the Platte River are worth driving any time of the year.

Sherman County (56)

Sherman County Reservoir

Bowman Lake State Recreation Area

Gasteyer Sanctuary: Located on the bank of the Middle Loup River near Loup City.

Owned by the Big Bend Chapter of the National Audubon Society. Small heavily wooded

area across the highway from the Loup City sewage settling ponds.

See Big Bend Audubon web site

Webster County (45)

Liberty Cove State Recreation Area:  Located in the northeastern

part of the county, it is two miles east, two miles south and a half mile

west of the intersection of Highways 4 and 78.  The area has a good

variety of habitat types including a small, spring fed lake (36 acres)

with a little marsh at the spring and below the dam.  Some woods with

many Walnut trees and hilly prairie.  Facilities include picnic shelters,

outhouses, camping with electrical hookups.  There are many trails

around the lake.

In cooperation with the University of Nebraska at Kearney