The Switzer family near Burwell did something clever: they noticed that birders would pay to see what their ranch had all along — greater prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse dancing on spring leks. Early spring used to be the ranch’s slow season; now it’s one of the busiest, with birders arriving from across North America.
From mid-March through the end of April, visitors are escorted before dawn to leks of both species and watch 15 to 20 males perform their courtship displays from stationary school buses parked as blinds — close, quiet, extraordinary. Then breakfast back at the guest lodge. The ranch also offers lodging year-round, canoeing on spring-fed streams, hunting, and horseback riding. This is the spring trip for anyone who thinks they’ve seen everything Nebraska has to offer.