We are stopping for lunch and I must say, we are seeing oodles of red-tailed hawks at least six of which are dark-morphs, mostly in Iowa. Red-tails seem to be one every 4.3 miles. It's gotta be some spring migration. Other highlights include merlins and meadowlarks--spring woot.

No cranes yet, but we won't see those until we're much closer to Kearney.

Oh and in case you have not heard, the long-whiskered owlet has been "rediscovered". There are photos and everything! This is a species that wasn't discovered until 1976, and until now was only known from a few specimens captured in nets after dark, has been seen in the wild for the first time by researchers monitoring the Area de Conservación Privada de Abra Patricia – Alto Nieva, a private conservation area in Northern Peru.