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First Documented Record Of Hooded Oriole (Icterus Cucullatus) In Nebraska, Joseph Gubanyi

Nebraska Bird Review

During May 2013 a very cooperative Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) provided lots of excitement for Nebraska birders, becoming the first documented record for the species in Nebraska. The bird was first observed 25 May 2013 by Susie and Bill Daro at their residence in Garrison (Butler County). The Daros have several oriole feeders, and Baltimore and Orchard Orioles are common visitors. On the morning of May 25 they noted an unusual oriole visiting their feeders and, after checking the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, concluded it was a Hooded Oriole. They found …

Correction [December 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The first Nebraska record of an Acorn Woodpecker was from Holt Co., 19–22 May 1996, not Cherry Co., as was reported on page 112 of the September 2013 issue of The Nebraska Bird Review.

Index To Volume 81

Nebraska Bird Review

Akers, D. J. 164
Albano, D. J. 164
Alberts, Byron 103, 113
Allen: Edward 4, 52, 103, 136; Jan 136
Arctos 168
Arnold, K. A. 31
Aubushon, Kathy 34
Austin, O. L. 92
Avocet, American 59, 94, 95, 109, 142, 171

. . .

Yantachka, Jen 52
Yellowlegs: Greater 10, 59, 94, 96, 109, 142, 171; Lesser 60, 94, 96, 110, 142, 171
Yellowthroat, Common 71, 97, 117, 156, 173
Young, Matt 53
Zimmerman: Jerald 34; Roy 53
Ziolkowski, D., Jr. 80
Zonotrichia leucophrys: leucophrys 158; oriantha 158

Bridgeport Fall Field Days, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2013 NOU Fall Field Days took place at the Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport on Sept. 20–22. The meeting, organized by Kathy DeLara, drew a total of 50 attendees. On Friday evening Luke Hamilton led a group owling to the Bridgeport SRA and to Courthouse Rock. Field trip destinations on Saturday and on Sunday morning included Bridgeport SRA, Fleisbach WMA (aka Facus Springs), Crescent Lake NWR, Hackberry Road in Banner Co., the I-80 Exit I area in Kimball Co, Oliver Reservoir, Wildcat Hills SRA and Wind Springs Ranch. Trips were led by Kathy DeLara, Ann Duey, Cheryl Hamilton, …

Hayden, Tristram, And A Pigeon From “Nebraska”, Rick Wright

Nebraska Bird Review

A passenger pigeon skin in the World Museum in Liverpool, England, was collected during an expedition to Nebraska and Dakota led by Gouverneur K. Warren between 1855 and 1857 and later cataloged by geologist and naturalist Ferdinand V. Hayden. For a time it was in the collection of Henry Baker Tristram, a famous naturalist and a founder of the British Ornithologists’ Union. Passenger pigeons were once “quite abundant” along the Missouri River.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

Fall Field Report, August–November 2013, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

In most ways, this was a routine fall season. Most interesting from an ongoing point of view were quite a large number of sightings of passerines at rather late dates, notably Empidonax flycatchers, wood warblers, native sparrows, tanagers, towhees, grosbeaks, and buntings. A similar phenomenon was noted among a few cold-sensitive non-passerines, such as Black and Common Terns.

One of the more significant ongoing trends is the proliferation of western and southern hummingbirds and the alteration of traditional migration and summer ranges; no fewer than 6 species were found. Calliope and Rufous Hummingbirds were seemingly more numerous in the east …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2013) 81(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2013 … 134

First Documented Record of Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) in Nebraska … 161

Hayden, Tristram, and a Pigeon from “Nebraska” … 165

Bridgeport Fall Field Days, September 20–22, 2013 ... 169

Index to Volume 81 ... 175

Subscription and Organization Information ... 187

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2013) 81(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2013 ... 102

2012 (24th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 120

Subscription and Organization Information ... 131

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

2012 (24th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee's purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Accidental and casual species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website (www.NOUbirds.org).

All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), Lincoln, Nebraska. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found …

Summer Field Report, June–July 2013, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

In many ways this summer was a rerun of last; the drought persisted over most of the state after some welcome spring rains, but it was not as severe as it was in 2012. Water conditions were generally poor, with Harvard Marsh the only bright spot; it hosted nesting White-faced Ibises, and Little Bitterns were present. Beneficiaries of the generally low water levels were Least Terns and Piping Plovers, which nested in good numbers at Lake McConaughy, where the increased habitat even attracted Snowy Plovers again. Few Black-necked Stilts were reported statewide. Ducks, shorebirds, and passerines in general were unremarkable. …

Photo Documentation By Ron And Anne Kruse Of Black-Billed Magpie Nest Cycle In Hall County, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

Every once in a while a fortunate birder has a chance to witness the sequence of events that make up a breeding season. In May of 2004, NOU members Ron and Anne Kruse of Grand Island had that opportunity and made the most of it. While checking Eastern Bluebird nest boxes on the south side of the northernmost channel of the Platte River east of Locust Street in the City of Grand Island Wellfield property, they found a Black-billed Magpie nest. They returned with a camera and ladder and photographed the nest at two-day intervals for the next three weeks. …

Status Of Black-Billed Magpie In Nebraska, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

Black-billed Magpie is currently listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); however, it has been in abrupt decline in Nebraska with no evidence that it is beginning to recover. There appear to be at least two causes for this decline. The initial decline began at the end of the first atlas project and went unnoticed at the time. It began after the introduction of famphur (also known by its trade name Warbex), an insecticide introduced to control parasitic warble flies (Hypoderma sp.) in cattle. Die-offs of both magpies and hawks …

Spring Field Report, March 2013 To May 2013, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This spring season was notable for unusual migration patterns. Western birds are showing up in the east in greater numbers each year, with Lazuli Bunting the prime example. There were 17 Lazulis reported east of Grand Island. Black-headed Grosbeak has been a rare find east of Grand Island, with only 5 previous sightings; now there have been 9, including 3 in the extreme east. There were more Black-headeds east than Rose-breasteds west, the reverse of the usual situation. Western Grebes and Sandhill Cranes also came east in greater numbers, as did Cinnamon Teal. On the other hand, there was a …

Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting At Central City

Nebraska Bird Review

The 114th Annual Meeting was held at the Covenant Cedars Bible Camp in Merrick County east of Central City on May 17–19, 2013. The 45+ members and friends in attendance found 163 species, including Eared Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Black-bellied and American Golden Plovers, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Ruddy Turnstone, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, White-winged Dove, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, 16 warbler species, and 12 sparrow species.

Field trips went to Lakes North and Babcock, Wilkinson WMA, Don Dworak WMA, Headworks Park, Palmer sewage lagoon, Loup River north of Palmer, Loup Junction WMA, North Loup SRA, Kirkpatrick Basin South WMA, Farmer's …

The Junco Called Cassiar, Rick Wright

Nebraska Bird Review

A well-marked male Cassiar Junco is subtly distinctive. In its overall grayness, the bird closely recalls a Slate-colored Junco, but the darkness of the head, breast, and nape approaches that of a male Oregon Junco, creating a more striking contrast between the "hood" and the rest of the upperparts than is visible in any but the very blackest of male Slate-coloreds. More significant than the colors themselves is their distribution: the blackish nape is sharply set off from the grayer or brownish back, and the dark of the breast meets the paler gray of the flank and the white of …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2013) 81(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March–May 2013 ... 50

Status of Black-billed Magpie in Nebraska ... 79

Photo Documentation by Ron and Anne Kruse of Black-billed Magpie Nest Cycle in Hall County … 81

The Junco Called Cassiar … 87

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting at Central City, May 17–19, 2013 ... 94

Subscription and Organization Information ... 99

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE .68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

An Unexpected Sandhill Crane Experience, Clem Klaphake

Nebraska Bird Review

On April 24, 2012, I spent some time birding in Saunders County at Memphis SRA, Lake Wanahoo, and various other lakes in the Malmo, Nebraska, area. . . . I headed over to Redtail WMA in Butler County. While watching . . . activity, I was facing north on a north-facing hillside. I briefly stopped to turn around and look behind me to the south, and I saw a large bird . . . and realized it was a Sandhill Crane. It came in on quite a high flight, and I quickly put my spotting scope on it. I realized …

Color Photo Section [March 2013, Pp. 21–28]

Nebraska Bird Review

Photographs of Hoary Redpolls, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Sage Thrashers (p. 21); Red Crossbills, Hooded Oriole, Golden-winged Warbler (p. 21); Double-crested Cormorant, Burrowing Owl, American Kestrel, Grasshopper Sparrow, Eared Grebes (p. 23); Western Kingbird, Pileated Woodpecker, Cliff Swallows, Say’s Phoebe (p. 24); Northern Flicker (nest scenes), Eastern Screech Owl, House Wren (p. 25); Wilson’s Snipe, White-rumped Sandpiper, Willet, Piping Plover, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper (p. 26); Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Glaucous-winged Gull, Laughing Gull, Sabine’s Gull (p. 27); Canada Geese (one leucistic), hybrid Canada/domestic Greylag Goose, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Eastern-Screech Owl (p. 28).

Winter Field Report, December 2012 To February 2013, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This winter was notable for its lack of snow cover and above-normal temperatures, which allowed a large variety of species to remain in the state for at least the first half of the period. Notable among these species were waterfowl and native sparrows, but additional observations tended to confirm the mildness of the winter: Blue-winged Teal lingering into Dec, Sandhill Cranes wintering again in central Nebraska, a record early egg date for Great Horned Owl, a Sandhills midwinter Loggerhead Shrike, and wintering Green-tailed Towhee and Dickcissel.

The most significant event was the Common Redpoll invasion; these birds were reported statewide …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’S Report, December 31, 2012

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2012. The grand total is $56,779.43.

2012–2013 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fifteen counts were held during the 2012–2013 season. The weather was seasonable and mostly dry with some open water. The total species count of 139 was the same as last year, but less than the record total of 149 counted in 2010–2011. In all, 23 species set new or tied previous high counts, including a new species for Nebraska counts, a single Bewick's Wren at Scottsbluff. The incredible number of European Starlings (250,444) found in the North Platte circle was largely responsible for the new high count (268,232) of that species and pushed the overall number of individuals for all …

First Documented Nebraska Record Of Black-Chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus Alexandri), Kathy Delara, Marie Smith

Nebraska Bird Review

On the morning of May 7, 2012, I . . . saw a post on Jane's Greenhouse [Facebook] wall about a hummingbird that was in one of their greenhouses. . . . Jane's Greenhouse is a small retail greenhouse located on the west edge of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Fully expecting to see a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, I went inside to see if it was still there. . . . and saw the hummingbird flitting around the flowers in the hanging baskets that were for sale. . . . I watched it for a minute or so and saw that it was a …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2013) 81(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, December 2012–February 2013 ... 2

An Unexpected Sandhill Crane Experience … 29

First Documented Nebraska Record of Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) … 30

2012–2013 Christmas Bird Counts in Nebraska ... 32

NOU Annual Treasurer’s Report for 2012 ... 46

Subscription and Organization Information ... 47

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household …