Sunrise at a Sandhills lake, photo by Steve Jones.
Over four decades, Steve Jones has spent more than 300 nights camping out by himself at a State Wildlife Area in the northwestern Nebraska Sandhills. He was drawn to the Sandhills because it's the last expanse of mostly natural prairie in North America. In this State Wildlife Area alone, he's documented 124 potential breeding bird species while enjoying intimate interactions with long-eared owls, trumpeter swans, and wild turkeys.
Screech Owl, photo by Steve Jones.
The breeding bird population at this area has grown more diverse, while numbers of birds have tended to peak during drought years. These trends provide a window into the unique natural processes in the Sandhills, where there has been no drawdown of the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer and native grasses still extend from horizon to horizon.
Snapping turtle, photo by Steve Jones.
In-Person Gathering - Doors open at 7 PM for socializing and the program begins at 7:15. For in-person programs, we will follow CDC, State of Colorado, and Boulder County Public Health guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as policies of the Church that hosts our programs.
At this time, all persons who enter the UU Church building are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To keep our community healthy, we also ask that everyone who attends in person wear a high-quality mask over your mouth and nose; stay home if you have symptoms, a known exposure to COVID-19, or a positive test result; and confirm a negative result on a rapid antigen test prior to attending, if you have recently tested positive or had symptoms.
Online Gathering - The meeting room will open at 7:10, the program starts at 7:15. Questions for the speaker will be taken from the chat feature of the Zoom session.
Click this link to join the Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 813 6506 7090
Passcode: 679476
One tap mobile
+17193594580,,81365067090#,,,,*679476# US
+12532050468,,81365067090#,,,,*679476# US
Steve Jones is author of Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky; The Last Prairie; and Owls of Boulder County; and co-author of Peterson Field Guide to the North American Prairie, Wild Boulder County, and Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range. He organized the first small owl and wintering raptor surveys in Boulder County and has conducted more than four dozen breeding bird surveys for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, and various private companies. He helped organize the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas I and II projects, and he currently trains and works with more than 100 volunteers monitoring Boulder County birds of special concern.