20 Nebraskaland • December 2022
here is a true sense of
accomplishment when finding
winter wildlife. Whether by foot
or vehicle, being in the right place
at the right time to see Nebraska's
majestic animals is thrilling.
"See anything?" friends and family
often ask on the return home, and
when successful, a story ensues about
the location, time and an educated
guess: "Why were they there?"
It can be an animal the viewer has
seen a thousand times, or a bucket list
creature seen for the first time, be it
big or small, on the east or west side of
Nebraska. Regardless, these are sights
viewers file away for the "This one
time, I saw a … " conversations they
always circle back to among friends.
The story often works its way back
to "Did they see you?" This one is
tricky.
Hunters rarely want their quarry
looking in their direction. If the animal
knows you're there, there's a good
chance they're not coming any closer.
Some hunters even make it a point
not to make direct eye contact with
an animal.
Viewers want the exact opposite.
The thrill is when the white-tailed doe
looks over its shoulders at the person
with the binoculars or the sharp-tailed
grouse leaps onto a stretch of barbed
wire fence and faces the photographer
— ready to have its picture taken.
Nothing could be better.
Yet, when that pivotal moment
comes on a waterfowl flush, when
just enough sets of eyes become just
uncomfortable enough and the birds
fill the sky — even the most skilled
wildlife viewer wouldn't be able to
help but admire watching their prized
find flying in the opposite direction.
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ABOVE: White-tailed deer near Nine
Mile Creek in Scotts Bluff County.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
OPPOSITE: Eastern fox squirrel in
Lancaster County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
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