Birds Flock to Habitats Created By Mining Sand & Gravel

Western Sand & Gravel (WS&G) mines sand and gravel to make concrete or a variety of spec materials such as plaster sand or masonry sand for construction. The main goal is to produce aggregate for NEBCO’s Ready Mixed operations as well as supply sand and gravel to Southeast Nebraska and the Lincoln area. Throughout the years, the mining process has created an ideal habitat for birds, most notably, the Least Tern and the Piping Plover that are listed on the federally endangered and threatened species lists.

“There is an abundance of fine sands,” said Dave B., General Manager of Western Sand & Gravel. “We end up wasting it back on the property near the lake and it really mimics the Platte River to the birds.”

With minimal extra care by Western Sand & Gravel employees, a variety of bird species benefit from the activities of mining at sand and gravel pits.

In addition to years of partnering with and supporting the Tern & Plover Conservation Partnership at the University of Nebraska, Western Sand & Gravel recently began working with the Wildlife Division of the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission. In January, the National Audubon Society put on the nation’s annual largest-running citizen science birding project known as the Christmas Bird count. For the first time, the organization conducted a bird count along the Lower Platte River, including WS&G’s Sand Creek, Sandy Pointe and Louisville sites.

The three WS&G sites within the Lower Platte River Christmas Bird Count ended up being some of the few areas with open water. Sandy Pointe and Louisville both had patches of open water with a good number of geese and ducks. Sand Creek did not have any open water but included thousands of Mallards and Canada Geese on the ice. In total, 36 species were observed in the area.

 

Species: # Species: # Species: #
Mallard Duck 10,543 Common Goldeneye 12 Greater White-fronted Goose 2
Canada Goose 3,586 House Sparrow 12 Northern Harrier 2
American Tree Sparrow 394 Eastern Bluebird 8 Merlin 2
Dark-eyed Junco 256 Cackling Goose 6 Black-capped Chickadee 2
American Crow 70 Northern Cardinal 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Common Merganser 37 Red-tailed Hawk 5 American Wigeon 1
Meadowlark 32 Snow Goose 4 Green-winged Teal 1
American Goldfinch 32 Blue Jay 4 Great Blue Heron 1
Harris’s Sparrow 18 Redhead 3 Downy Woodpecker 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 17 Rough-legged Hawk 3 Northern Flicker 1
Bald Eagle 16 Rock Pigeon 3 Horned Lark 1
European Starling 15 Red-winged Blackbird 3 Song Sparrow 1