In winter 2019–2020 three cameras paired with acoustic recorders were added to the network of Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) cameras in south-central Nebraska. UNK researchers and science communicators sought to document additional areas and add to existing image and audio archives from the region. The cameras take images at least once hourly during daylight hours. The acoustic recorders document sounds of the natural environment and are programmed to record five-minute audio clips each hour, at the same time photos are taken.
One camera was installed facing east at the Kearney Outdoor Learning Area (KOLA), which is in the Platte River floodplain adjacent to Turkey Creek in southwestern Kearney, NE. The camera views a human-made wetland depression that floods in some springs; a restored prairie; and vegetation along the creek that includes mature cottonwood trees. In the distance, images also show human structures, including the observation tower at Yanney Park and ongoing building development to the east.
Sunrise in Kearney, NE, and view of a depressional wetland, prairie, and cottonwood trees in early April 2020. Image Mary Harner.
Late afternoon view of KOLA with camera’s shadow in late May 2022. Image Mary Harner.
Sounds of waterfowl, cranes, distant train, the hum of Interstate-80 on a morning in early April 2020. Audio Mary Harner.
Dawn chorus of birds interspersed with and sounds of traffic and airplane in late May 2022. Audio Mary Harner.
The KOLA camera is oriented in the same direction as the PBT camera on Mormon Island that views a natural prairie and wet meadow on land managed by the Crane Trust. Located about 40 miles to the east of the KOLA camera, the Mormon Island camera is one of the longest-running PBT cameras, with an image archive that started in 2011. It has served as a source of data for research, such as a study of examining dynamics of flooding in the meadow. One intent for the KOLA site is to have a camera closer to schools in central Nebraska and to offer a view to compare with wet meadow and prairie scenes from another part of the river valley.
In December 2019, a timelapse camera was placed near the original Mormon Island camera to view an area that had been an agricultural field and was undergoing restoration and subsequent management as prairie. This Mormon Island Restoration camera witnesses the succession of prairie vegetation following seeding with native species in 2019. This camera offers another view of Mormon Island, which is formed by channels of the Platte River, and is an area that provides habitat for migratory and nesting birds, as well as a diversity of other species.
Short film introducing a grassland restoration and acoustic monitoring at the Crane Trust. Produced by Platte Basin Timelapse.
Sandhills cranes in the restored field on Mormon Island in March 2020, a few months after the site was seeded with native species. Image courtesy of Mary Harner, University of Nebraska at Kearney and Platte Basin Timelapse, from Crane Trust property.
Also in December 2019, a timelapse camera was installed on the bank of the Platte River near the headquarters of the Crane Trust to add another river scene to PBT’s archive of images from the central Platte River valley. This location views the main channel of the Platte River on Crane Trust property, southwest of Grand Island, Nebraska. This stretch of river is managed to maintain wide, open channels relatively free from disturbance. During spring migration, sandhill cranes and whooping cranes roost nightly on the shallow sandbars and forage and rest by day in surrounding fields and wet meadows. In its first years, the camera documented a range of flows in the river, including a very low-flow period in summer 2022. This camera also captures expansive views of the sky over the Platte River.
Exposed sandbars in the Platte River during a dry period in August 2022 and the moon over the Platte River in May 2023. Images courtesy of Mary Harner, University of Nebraska at Kearney and Platte Basin Timelapse, from Crane Trust property.
Supported by University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative and Programs of Excellence.