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125 Species Seen During Annual Spring Meeting, May 15-17, 1992, Scott Purdy

Nebraska Bird Review

Total: 125 species. County abbreviations: C=Chase, D=Dundy, F=Frontier, H=Hayes, HI=Hitchcock, R=Red willow, AII=seen in all 5 counties.

Common Loon (HI), Eared Grebe (F), Western Grebe (HI), American White Pelican (F, R), Double-crested Cormorant (F, H, HI, R), Great Blue Heron (F, H, HI, R), Green-backed Heron (D, H, R), Black-crowned Night-Heron (F, R), White-faced Ibis (H, R), Canada Goose (F, R), Wood Duck (F, H, R), Green-winged Teal (F), Mallard (D, F, HI, R), Blue-winged Teal (D, F, HI, R), Gadwall (HI), Redhead (F), Hooded Merganser (HI), Ruddy Duck (F), Turkey Vulture (All), Northern Harrier (F, HI, R), Cooper's Hawk …

Spring 1992 Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

During the reporting period from January 1 through June 30, 1992, 305 species were observed in Nebraska. The reports came from 56 counties, and ranged from one-date observations to the six-month range. For comparison, there were 301 species recorded in 1991 with reports from 34 counties. The number of counties was increased significantly in 1992, particularly in the western part of Nebraska.

Records covering the six-month period, or several dates over a shorter span of time, are presented in Table 1. The same species are listed on facing pages (except for page 136) for two groups of counties, which are …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue (September 1992)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Business Meetings, 1992 ... 76

List of Bird Species Seen during 1992 Annual Spring Meeting ... 77

List of Bird Species Seen during 1992 Fall Field Trip ... 78

Spring 1992 Occurrence Report ... 79

Table for Spring 1992 Occurrence Report ... 80

Sighting Documentation for Spring 1992 Occurrence Report ... 137

Additional County Observations, Spring 1992 ... 141

Reporters and Observers for Spring 1992 Occurrence Report ... 146

An Additional Nebraska Record of Common Eider? ... 149

Notes On Bird Sightings

Nebraska Bird Review

Brown Pelican in Nebraska. A BROWN PELICAN arrived at DeSoto Wildlife Refuge sometime during the last week of April 1992 and was still there on May 8 with a flock of WHITE PELICANS.

Longspurs, Black Scoters, and Cormorants. Just after the snowstorm on April 20-21, 1992, I saw LAPLAND LONGSPURS south of Bellevue, feeding on a windswept patch of ground. In their midst were two CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, which rarely migrate through eastern Nebraska. On April 28, 1992, I saw two BLACK SCOTERS swimming on the Missouri River by Child's Hollow in Fontenelle Forest. I also saw DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS swimming on …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1992)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official Journal, and sent to members not in arrears for dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar year basis only) are $12.50 in the United States, $15.00 in Canada and Mexico, and $17.50 for all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States; $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues of the NBR to Thomas E. Labedz, NOU Librarian, W-436 Nebraska Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514. Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue (June 1992) 60(2)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Bald and Golden Eagle Sightings in Nebraska … 52

Bald Eagles Hatched in Nebraska … 59

Fall 1991 and Spring 1992 Whooping Crane Reports … 61

1990 Nebraska Nesting Reports … 64

Notes on Bird Sightings … 69

Reaction of Starlings to a Dark-phase Red-tailed Hawk … 70

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Success in Omaha, Nebraska … 71

NOU Winter Meeting, Kearney, Nebraska … 71

Book Review … 72

Book Announcements … 73

Bald And Golden Eagle Sightings In Nebraska

Nebraska Bird Review

Big Bend Audubon Society and others, Kearney: Bald Eagles

Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District: Bald Eagles

National Wildlife Federation: Bald and Golden Eagles

Bald Eagles Hatched in Nebraska

Fall 1991 And Spring 1992 Whooping Crane Reports

Nebraska Bird Review

Information on whooping crane sightings along the migration routes was summarized and distributed by the Fish and wildlife Service Nebraska/Kansas Field Office in Grand Island. Many organizations and individuals participated in this important project. A few general comments will be made before giving details of the Nebraska sightings.

The first dates for confirmed sightings of whooping cranes on the fall 1991 migration were August 12 in Canada (Saskatchewan) and October 8 in the United States (Nebraska); the last date was November 19 in Oklahoma. A total of 132 whooping cranes (82 adults, 42 subadults, and 8 juveniles) spent the winter …

Book Announcements, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye. 1992. Birds in Jeopardy. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 94305. 272 pages; $17.95 paper, $45 cloth.

This book provides an overview of the extent of declines, as well as current conditions, of each bird that is federally protected, or is recognized by the National Audubon Society to be undergoing cyclic declines, in Canada and the United States, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The text for each bird includes topics such as requirements for successful nesting and feeding, worldwide and North American breeding ranges, and current status of imperilment. According to …

1990 Nebraska Nesting Reports, Norma Johnson-Mueller, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

The number of counties covered and the number of observers decreased in 1990 when compared with the previous three years. In 1990, only least tern and piping plover nests were recorded in 9 of the 36 counties by 4 of the 23 observers. The information on these two species is presented in Table 1. Observers included Mark Brohman, John Dinan, and Greg Wingfield ( Nebraska Game and Parks commission), John Sidle (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Eileen Kirsch, and Jeanine Lackey.

Nesting records of other species are given in Table 2 (pages 66-69).

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Success In Omaha, Nebraska, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

During May and June 1992, there were several articles in the Omaha World-Herald on a pair of Peregrine Falcons, which chose the top of the 28-story Woodmen Tower for a nest site. The male was one of a group of chicks brought from the University of Minnesota and raised on the top of Woodmen Tower. He was released from the Tower in 1989 and has returned each year since then. In 1992 he came with a mate, who had been released from a building in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1991.

Three eggs were laid in the hack box on consecutive …

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Winter Meeting, Kearney, Nebraska, Scott Purdy

Nebraska Bird Review

About 30 people attended the meeting at the Ramada Inn on February 28-29 and March 1, 1992. On Friday evening, hors d'oeuvres were enjoyed while watching videos on the snowy owl, golden eagle, and identification of waterfowl.

The weather was unusually mild through the weekend, with temperatures in the 70-to-80-degree range. An early morning field trip to Rowe Sanctuary provided a fantastic show of Sandhill Cranes, geese, ducks, and Bald Eagles. Field trips were made to other birding spots on Saturday and Sunday mornings. A total of 63 species was seen in eight counties. The list of species is given …

Review Of 'My Way To Ornithology' By Olin Pettingill, Jr., Paul A, Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Most Nebraskans who recognize this author's name probably will remember him as a cinematographer and lecturer in the Audubon Screen Tour series. The series was a regular part of live entertainment in Lincoln and Omaha until the early 1960s.

Other bird-oriented people will know that Pettingill wrote two of the first and still best regional bird-finding books (detailed guidebooks to bird-finding localities in the states east and west of the Mississippi, respectively). Perhaps still others will remember him as a one-time teacher of ornithology at Carleton College and the University of Michigan Biological Station, or as a director of the …

Reaction Of Starlings To A Dark-Phase Red-Tailed Hawk, Barbara L. Wilson

Nebraska Bird Review

The role of polymorphism in bird plumage has been debated. One theory is that prey species become familiar with the common plumages of raptors and avoid them, but are unlikely to recognize unusual plumages as indicating dangerous birds (Clarke 1969). In other words, the rare plumage acts as a sort of disguise. This theory assumes that prey learn the appearance of their predators, but since prey that encounter hawks often end up dead, the opportunity for learning may be limited (Arnason 1978). An incident at Bellevue, Nebraska supports the hypothesis that an unusual color phase can act as a disguise.