Don Brockmeier writes, “The gull (a ring-bill) was searching for minnows imbedded in the new ice at Johnson Lake. I started to follow her with my camera as she walked away. She suddenly turned, took a few steps and broke through some thin ice.” 

He said, “I got a good chuckle out of that because you think that wildlife do not screw up like us humans. This was a lot more interesting to see than a gull picking up a frozen minnow.” 

I responded, “I too laughed out loud as she hopped up, gave a shake and tipped her head as if to say, “To any gull watching, you did not see what you thought you saw. I did not misstep and break through thin ice. Must have been some other ring-bill that looked like me.” 

Don shared his reel with us to bring a smile and a chuckle in mid- February when our landscapes are washed in pale blue, gray, brown, and bronze and serve as a stage for crowds of  ring-bill gulls, millions of snow geese knitting patterns in the sky and the world- renown migration of sandhill cranes. 

Bring your cameras and your friends and family to join us on the plains of Nebraska for the grand spectacle of the skies.

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