#216. Still a Trend

One of my 2008 Top Ten Trends was “Birds Beating Birdies”. One of the fastest growing spectator sports in the USA is bird watching. Golf will still be important, I suggested, but not as dominant as it was in the 1990’s.

I blogged on the Chicken Dance Trail on April 18, 2007. Two sisters, Nancy Herhahn and Betty Sayers, started the Chicken Dance Trail website dedicated to birds in SW Nebraska. It is named after the unique mating dance of the Great Prairie Chicken in which males raise their ear-like feathers above their heads and inflate orange sacs on the sides of their throats.

The Chicken Dance Trail is a collection of great bird watching locations in southwest and south central Nebraska, between the Platte and Republican Rivers.  Millions of different birds come through the area during spring and summer migrations, making it one of the best places in the country to see a wide variety of species in a relatively small area.

Thanks to Phil Soreide for reminding us that “Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you have to give up birding as a rewarding hobby.”

Isn’t this a beautiful Northern Cardinal? Check out the Chicken Dance Trail to learn more.