Panorama Point
Nebraska
July 2013
Standing on the highest land form in the state of Nebraska, looking southwest. In the far distance, we can see the Rocky Mountains. East and southeast holds the multitude of windmills of the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, or MEAN, wind farm. Looking west, bison.
I understand also that this is the place where the antelope play.
Lots of birds fly willy nilly, flitting past our windshield as we drive up, dive-bombing nothing in particular other than insects. Plover, woodpecker, vireo, jay, crow, chickadee. Also nuthatch, warbler, kingfisher and I think we see one called a phainopepla, a type of flycatcher. The name means “shining robe.”
Look at this one, flapping around in the dust, with his sideburns and tiara. I call the Kimball Chamber of Commerce about this bird, since they are so closely associated with Panorama Point. Through several references, first Betty, then Ruth, I find Larry the bird expert. Ruth gives me Larry’s wife’s name and his home telephone number. Trying this number yields nothing: no answer and no answering device. When is the last time that happened to you? Ringing until you tire of listening to the sound. When we do connect the next day and I describe the bird, Larry instantly says, “That, sir, is a horned lark. But let me look it up to make sure. Yep, that’s what it is. Very common around here.”
“Shucks,” I say, “I was hoping for something exotic.”
“If you had seen a plover, that would have been something. Plover preservation is my specialty.”
What a great T-shirt that could be!
PLOVER PRESERVATION
IS MY SPECIALTY
Briefly, about the horned lark…
. it’s the only true lark native to North America
. they have little tufts of hair that look like horns
. they walk, they do not hop
. It is the bird species most often killed by wind turbines
A few feet to the west of the marker at the high point is the log book. It is housed in what looks like a metal desk with a drawer. N’wait, it is a metal desk with a drawer. Now what would a horned lark do with a metal desk with a drawer…