Weekend Wild Walk - Butterflies

Butterflies are the subject of this Saturday's Weekend Wild Walk. And do we have them in abundance!

Undoubtedly the most conspicuous butterfly out there now -- and often sought-after by visitors from elsewhere -- is the regal fritillary. According to Butterflies of North America by Brock and Kaufman, "This well-named regal creature is one of North America's vanishing butterflies," having disappeared from much of their former range, particularly east of the Mississippi River. Fortunately for them -- and for us -- regal fritillaries are doing quite well in Nebraska.

While regals are quite obvious, closer looks reveal plenty of smaller butterflies too. I had to wait for these fulvia (?) checkerspots to calm down, but they finally stood still long enough for me to take their picture. [Butterfly experts can correct me on the ID if I'm wrong.]

So what about that most famous of butterflies, the monarch? Sadly, I've seen only one on the prairie all year, despite plenty of milkweed (their larval plant). Clearly, they are having trouble here as well as on their wintering grounds in Mexico.

The walk begins at the nature center at 9:30 Saturday morning and wraps up by 11. We encourage participants to bring cameras and binoculars (though these are not required). Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Hope to see you there!

Dan talks about telescopes and stargazing.

Dan had a chance to talk about telescopes this morning on NTV Good Life Program. Here's a post in case you missed it.

Weekend Wild Walk - Animal Tracks

We know a lot of critters run around the nature center grounds, in our prairie and along the river. Deer and rabbits are quite commonly seen, and we've encountered the occasional skunk (luckily, not too close).

Yet, we know a lot more animal life exists here: fox, otter, coyote, bobcats and others are all possibilities. While we rarely if ever directly see these, we've know some of these are present -- partly through the "fingerprints" they leave behind in the form of tracks.

During this Saturday's Weekend Wild Walk, our good friend Blake Hatfield will take us on a search for those tracks. What will we find? Show up at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and let's find out!

Admission to the Weekend Wild Walks is free of charge, though donations are greatly appreciated. Visitors of all ages are invited to attend.

Looking forward to seeing you Saturday morning!

Weekend Wild Walks

This Saturday, June 18th, the nature center offers our first Weekend Wild Walk. These Saturday morning walks begin 9:30a and end by 11a and are free of charge (though we won't turn down donations!). The theme for this walk is breeding birds at the nature center; we'll look for five or six species, such as this dickcissel.

One bird much sought-after by visitors is the bobolink. This year, we're hosting at least a couple, and we have a good chance of seeing them. They have a beautiful bubbly song.

Please bring binoculars and bird ID guides if you have them; if not, we'll have at least one pair of binoculars to borrow.

Weekend Wild Walks will be held every Saturday morning through August 20. We'll highlight a different aspect of the prairie and river each week.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Nature Center Offers Weekend Wild Walks for Summer

Press release June 7, 2011

The Nebraska Nature and Visitor Center (NNVC) is pleased to offer summertime "Weekend Wild Walks" for families.

Every Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. beginning June 18 through August 20 visitors are invited to take in nature along our trails, within our woods and near or even in the Platte River! Each walk will have a theme: birds, butterflies, wildflowers, amphibians, the Platte River are all themes we will explore.

Butterfly Homes and Gardens

After Crane Meadows Nature Center unveiled its new facility around 2003, staff and volunteers -- including the Family Campers and RVers (FCRV) -- planted a butterfly garden. The garden was designed to provide food sources (i.e. leaves and stems) desirable to butterfly larvae, while adults would probe flowers for nectar.

Sadly, between that time and the nature center's reopening and renaming in 2009, the garden had gone largely to weeds, with only a scattering of survivors remaining from the previous planting. Clearly, the garden was in a need of a renovation.

Mountain Lions in Nebraska

With the recent Mountain lion dispatch in Kearney, I thought it might be good to post the Game and Parks informational video on the topic.