15 March 2026
I heard my first Western Meadowlark this week. That is telling me migration is going to start to pick up soon. Waterfowl are already moving. Soon will be some of the warblers. I saw a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds this week, too. They weren't calling just yet but I wager soon since the temperatures are going to be abnormally warm by mid-week. Unfortunately, it will be muddy after all the snow so not a great time to go on some of the gravel or not so gravel roads I like to use to get deeper into the grasslands.
Seems like this weather is validating my concerns for the pending fire season looking at the fires in Nebraska and the Black Hills. Moisture is good, but it creates a large amount of fuel for fires. Fires are important for the landscapes here, but at that intensity not so much.
As an aside, I am (hopefully) get a better grasp of the website building process again. I know I still have a ways to go before it is where I want it to be but certainly better than where I started. Just need to get it in better order before mid-April for ease of updating field season posts. There will be more tweaks in coming weeks. I keep finding I think I like the style then find it cloys after a week. next big task is getting rid of the java script for the blog component. Figured it would make it easier for what I want but it doesn't. Oh well, had to try it to see.