This was a nice relaxing day. Decided to skip the art
museum and not go back into the downtown Omaha traffic. Instead we went
to Fontenelle Forest, a conservation preserve which is in Bellevue about
five miles up the river between our campground and Omaha. It’s a National
Natural Landmark, founded in 1913, and one of the largest private nature
centers in the country. Fontenelle Forest, along with Neale Woods in
Omaha, encompass nearly 2,000 acres of forest, prairie and wetlands along the
Missouri River. Fortunately it was much cooler and less humid today which
made for a very pleasant outing.
It’s a beautiful place and reminded us very much of home.
The area along the river is hilly plus most of the plants we saw today
are found in WNC. The place is a premier spot for birdwatchers in the
Omaha area with over 80 species known to nest in Fontenelle and Neale
Woods. We were there at a bad time of day for birdwatching
(mid-afternoon) but still managed to find three species we’ve never seen
before. Such a difference from our southwest trip earlier this spring
during which we saw hardly any birds at all.
Fontenelle Forest has free motorized scooters for
handicapped visitors’ use. This was a huge benefit for Jim as his feet
have been exceptionally bad the past few days. It was a really enjoyable
way for him to do the one mile boardwalk trail.
The Constitution Tree, a bur oak which began its life in
1731. It was 56 years old when the constitution was signed and 136 years
old when Nebraska became a state in 1867. That was on the information
plaque so I didn’t have to look it up! :-D
Whimsical art in the forest. The little character in
front has captured a monster. They’re made out of old tires, hose, tape
and other oddments. Very clever use of things that would otherwise go to
a landfill.
Fontenelle Forest also runs a raptor recovery program.
They have many raptors in the program but most are not on site. I
couldn’t get pictures of the four who were there because there wasn’t enough
light so I borrowed one from their website. The great horned owl was
gorgeous and looked very ferocious. Looks are deceiving because it turns
out he’s a great foster parent to orphaned chicks and has helped raise many of
them. He came into the program with severe head injuries and loss of
balance. His injuries healed and he recovered his balance but he lost his
“owl-self-awareness” so could not be released back into the wild.
Halsey, the great horned owl foster parent.
A comment on last night’s post about the lack of plane
traffic at Offutt AFB. We’ve seen eight planes coming in since I wrote
that and we couldn’t hear a single one. They aren’t stealth bombers but
they sure are quiet. If we hadn’t been outside and turned towards them we
would never have known they were there. Sneaky.
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