Thanks to the NRCS for the funding and for RES for the excellent work in burning the conservancy on Saturday, April 16th.  Looking forward to seeing how the prairie (and the grassland birds) play out this year!

My brother Mike and I braved -2C temps this morning at the start of the annual Crane Count.  We saw eight cranes but most interesting among the 35 species were the three short-eared owls that circled over our heads on the Inner Peace Trail by the two osprey nesting boxes.  By the time my cold hands had the camera ready, their radius had expanded and the picture below is poor.  Shortly after, we came upon a river otter on land on the dike path by the osprey box closest to the Bark River.  The buffleheads were also active...so there's one photo of an owl and a video of the buffleheads.  The female seems able to stay under the water longer than the male.