Find Nature In Nebraska

Additional Wildlife of Nebraska

To flesh out your understanding of the region’s natural history, here is a breakdown of the specific taxa you can expect to encounter in the Cornhusker State.

Birds (Avifauna) The migration of the Sandhill Crane on the Platte River is often cited as one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet. For a few weeks in March, 80% of the world’s population of Sandhill Cranes congregates in the central Platte valley. They are joined by the endangered Whooping Crane, making the river corridor critical habitat. In the Sandhills, the Sharp-tailed Grouse and Greater Prairie-Chicken are common, thriving in the mixed-grass ecosystem.

Mammals The Pronghorn is a common sight in the western panhandle, grazing on sagebrush and forbs. Bison have been reintroduced to the Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, grazing the pastures in a way that maintains wildflower diversity. The River Otter is a major reintroduction success story in Nebraska; once extirpated, they are now found in nearly all major river systems across the state, playing in the currents of the Platte and Niobrara.

Insects Nebraska is the primary stronghold for the federally endangered American Burying Beetle. This large, orange-and-black beetle requires undisturbed soil and Carrion to reproduce, a niche preserved by the unplowed Sandhills. The Salt Creek Tiger Beetle is one of the rarest insects in the world, found only in the saline wetlands of Lancaster County (near Lincoln). These beetles run down prey on the salt flats and are the focus of intense conservation scrutiny.

Plants The Blowout Penstemon is an endangered plant that is biologically unique because it requires the shifting sands of an active dune “blowout” to survive; as the dunes stabilize with grass, this plant loses its habitat. The Eastern Cottonwood is the state tree, its massive, furrowed trunk serving as the primary nesting site for Bald Eagles along the river corridors. The Goldenrod is the state flower, blooming late in the summer to provide critical forage for migrating pollinators.

Fungi Corn Smut (Ustilago maydis) is ubiquitous here given the agriculture; it transforms corn kernels into bulbous, grey fungal galls. In the riparian forests of the Missouri and Platte rivers, Morels are hunted obsessively in the spring. Puffballs (Calvatia species) are common in the nutrient-rich soils of the grazed pastures, often growing in “fairy rings.”

Nebraska Biodiversity Profile

Nebraska is biologically defined by the Sandhills, the largest stabilized sand dune system in the Western Hemisphere. Covering nearly 20,000 square miles, this region functions as a massive grass-covered sponge sitting directly atop the Ogallala Aquifer. Because the water table is so high, the valleys between the dunes (interdunal swales) are filled with wet meadows and shallow lakes, creating a unique wetland ecosystem in the middle of the Great Plains. This region is largely unplowed because the sandy soil cannot support crops, preserving it as one of the most intact native grasslands in the world.

To the south runs the Platte River, a mile-wide, inch-deep braided river that serves as the central artery of the Central Flyway. This river is the biological “pinch point” of North America. During the spring migration, the river’s shallow sandbars provide safe nocturnal roosting for millions of waterfowl and cranes, while the adjacent wet meadows provide the invertebrates needed to fuel their journey to the Arctic.

In the far west, the landscape breaks abruptly at the Pine Ridge Escarpment. This region resembles the Black Hills of South Dakota, featuring Ponderosa Pine forests, sandstone buttes, and deep canyons. Just north of this lies the Oglala National Grassland and Toadstool Geologic Park, a badlands landscape where fossil hunting reveals the state’s history as a prehistoric savanna that once hosted rhinos and camels.

The eastern sliver of the state, bordering the Missouri River, was historically Tallgrass Prairie and deciduous hardwood forest. While heavily converted to agriculture, remnants here (like Fontenelle Forest) support eastern woodland species that reach their western range limits, mingling with the prairie species of the plains.