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1990 Fall Field Days (December 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

1990 FALL FIELD DAYS

The registration for the1990 Fall Field Days, held 7 to 9 September at the 4-H Camp in the National Forest near Halsey, was 57. The weather was clear, in the 80's during the day, but cool nights, and even during the day the Lodge was pleasant because of the ventilation and the fans. Friday night there was a slide show, Saturday night Gerry Toll told about the Peregrine Falcon project in Omaha, with slides. Mrs. Green banded birds, as usual, showing interesting specimens to those who were near. On Saturday some took a canoe trip down …

Index To Volume 58 (December 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

Index

A-Z

9 pages

Laughing Gull In Cedar County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

Laughing Gull in Cedar County, Nebraska

Johnsgard's (1986) A Revised List of the Birds of Nebraska and Adjacent States considers the Laughing Gull (Larus atricilia) an extremely rare vagrant in Nebraska. Bray, Padelford, and Silcock (1986), in The Birds of Nebraska: a Critically Evaluated List, consider this species as accidental, with only one of 13 records accepted - the description of a specimen of one taken 2 April 1915 at Inland, Clay Co. This specimen was once in the Hastings Municipal Museum, but was sold and its current location is unknown.

A Laughing Gull documentation by Steve …

Significant (?) Modifications In Bird Sightings At Wolff Lake (Fall 1979 To Spring 1990), Thomas A. Hoffman

Nebraska Bird Review

One of the problems of having a computer handy is that you begin to start organizing your notes. Recently I began to organize the notes I had taken since 1979 for the Nebraska Bird Review's semi- annual occurrence reports. Partly I wanted to verify my suspicions about variation in the occurrence of several species during that period of time. I try to visit the area called Wolff Lake (a sand-arid-gravel operation on the south side of the Platte River in northwestern Saunders Co. each weekend. But there are many variations, and there are periods of prolonged absences. I average about …

"Notes," From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

THE TABLES FOR THE 1990 SPRING OCCURRENCE REPORT were poorly printed, for unexplained reasons. The tables did not match across the "gutter"; it will help to draw a line from the first line on one page to the first line on the facing page, and then draw a line across for every third line. That way, the line for each species will either have a line across, or be just above or just below one. The headings for the left-hand pages after page 60 were omitted. The headings for pages 58 and 60 are correct for the rest of the …

Third Report Of The N.O.U. Records Committee, Alan G. Grenon

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the N.O. U. Records Committee (henceforth, "the committee") have been described previously (NBR 54:72-4).

This report includes accounts of records evaluated by the committee in the last year, covering mostly records with accessions numbers 151-245. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the N.O.U. archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln.

State List

With this report, the following changes are made in the official list of the birds of Nebraska. These include changes in common and scientific names (American Ornithologists Union (AOU), 1989, NBR 57:58), additions to the state …

Mountain Plover Sighted In Kimball County, Mary Clausen

Nebraska Bird Review

In late April of 1990 I went to Kimball Co. to search for Mountain Plovers. Over a period of a week I walked several sections where Mountain Plovers have been sighted in the past. No Plovers were found at that time.

After I returned to my office in Lincoln, Fritz Knopf (Avian Studies Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado) contacted me to discuss Mountain Plover nesting habitat and behavior. Fritz offered to make a quick drive around Kimball Co. to see how the habitat in Nebraska compared to that used by nesting Mountain Plovers in Colorado.

On 3 May …

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (December 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Third Report of the N.O.U. Records Committee.................... 90

1990 Fall Field Days.................... 97

Mountain Plover Sighted in Kimball County ....................98

Laughing Gull in Cedar County, Nebraska ....................99

A Comparison of Historic and Modern Birdlife at an Eastern Sand Hills Lake In Nebraska ....................100

Significant (?) Modifications in Bird Sightings at Wolff Lake (fall 1979 to spring 1990) ....................104

Notes ....................106

Index to volume 58 ....................108

1990 (Sixty-Fifth) Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1990 (SIXTY-FIFTH) SPRING OCCURRENCE REPORT

Two hundred and ninety species are listed on this report from 13 locations plus 17 counties reported in five "spot check" counties. The 1989 figures were 289 species from 13 locations, plus 7 "spot check" columns involving 36 counties; in 1988, 306 from 15 locations, plus 13 "spot check" columns involving 34 counties; in 1987, 288 from 13 locations and 6 "spot check" columns involving 9 counties; and 1986, 304 from 13 locations and 9 "spot check" columns involving 24 counties.

The "spot check" columns are for infrequent visits to an area and the la …

"Book Reviews" From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

BOOK REVIEWS

A Parrot without a Name The Search for the Last Unknown Birds on Earth

Don Stap, 240 pp. index, 6 x 9, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, $19.95

This is an account of a 1987 collecting expedition to Peru for Louisiana State University, led by John O'Neill. He had already described 11 new species of birds and was still looking. Peru has 1700 known species of birds and still counting. It took them two days by outboard-powered dugouts to get to the camp site from the last settlement. Later, with higher water, two natives made it in a …

First Nebraska Kittiwake Specimen, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

FIRST NEBRASKA KITTIWAKE SPECIMEN

The Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) has previously been known from Nebraska only from a few sight records. Dr. George Hudson observed one at Oak Creek Park, Lincoln, in March, 1939 (NBR 5:57). Another individual was seen at Branched Oak Lake, Lancaster County, during April of 1976. Thirdly, an immature was seen and photographed at Oak LakePark, Lincoln, on April 20-21, 1981 (NBR 49:41). Lastly, during the fall occurrence report for 1988 (NBR 57: 16, 53) Kittiwakes were reported from Cedar and Douglas-northern Sarpy counties, the Cedar County sightings involving up to …

Indigo Bunting

Nebraska Bird Review

INDIGO BUNTING John Lueshen reported that a male Indigo Bunting was found dead in the front yard of his place (Route 2, Wisner - Ed.) It had band number 81-44804, put on by Willetta Lueshen on July 2, 1985. It was at least a year old when banded, making it at least six years old. Another male Indigo Bunting was attacking the dead bird when John first saw it.

---Lueshen's Birders Newsletter, June 1990

More On The Whistling Duck Article

Nebraska Bird Review

MORE ON THE WHISTLING DUCK ARTICLE In the report on the Whistling-Duck, Mr. Labedz mentioned a sighting in Minnesota (NBR 58:51.) He now adds that a more recent issue of The Loon (62: 109) reports this was an escapee. Some skeptics noted that the site was near a game farm and called the farm. The farm owner reported that the bird escaped while its pen was being constructed, but was recaptured a couple of days later. There are approximately 1,100 game farms in Minnesota.

Survey For Least Terns And Other Birds On The North And South Platte Rivers, Eastern Keith County

Nebraska Bird Review

SURVEY FOR LEAST TERNS ANO OTHER BIROS ON THE NORTH ANO SOUTH PLATTE RIVERS, EASTERN KEITH COUNTY

The Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos) is considered a nationally endangered subspecies, and except for a sighting of this form on Lake McConaughy during the summer of 1977 by Fretwell (Rosche and Johnsgard, 1984) and a more recent sighting of a pair with an unfledged chick between Arthur and Martin bays of Lake McConaughy in 1989 (Czaplewski, 1989), there have been no other published records of this species in Keith County.

Because of a chance sighting on 20 May 1990, …

Nebraska Bird Review, Whole Issue (September 1990) 58(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1990 (Sixty-fifth) Spring Occurrence Report .................58

Corrections to 1989 Fall Occurrence Report .................73

First Nebraska Kittiwake Specimen .................75

NOU Participation in Academy of Science Meeting .................75

Book Reviews .................83

Survey for Least Terns and Other Birds on the North and South Platte Rivers, Eastern Keith County .................84

Notes .................88

Whooping Crane Report (Sept 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

WHOOPING CRANE REPORT The Grand Island office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service reported three confirmed sightings of Whooping Cranes in Nebraska in the spring of 1990, seven probable and 14 unconfirmed sightings. Confirmed sightings are:

Three adults, Buffalo Co., 14-15 April,.5 mi. e. of N 10 bridge, Platte River. TSN, R14W, S1S.

Four adults, Clay Co., 15 April, 3 mi. nw of Harvard Marsh, TSN, RSW, S22. Flying.

One adult, Cherry Co., 9-10 May, 26 mi. s. and 16 w. of Valentine, Lone Tree Lake. T29N, R30W, SS, S ½.

"Corrections To 1989 Fall Occurrence Report," From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTIONS TO 1989 FALL OCCURRENCE REPORT

On NBR 58:25, the final date of Au 12 for Bank Swallow in Lancaster Co. should be moved to Dakota Co. and the Sp 12 for Doug/Sarpy should be moved squarely under that column. The final date for Eastern Bluebird for Lancaster should be Ot 29.

Nou Participation In Academy Of Science Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

NOU PARTICIPATION IN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE MEETING

In 1990, NOU resumed active participation in the Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. Mr. Thomas E. Labedz, President of NOU, was chairman of the session, which was held in the afternoon of 20 April. The following papers were presented:

SOLlTARY VS. GREGARIOUS NESTING IN BURROWING OWLS. Martha Desmond and Julie Savidge, Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife, IANR, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0819.

In the Great Plains region, Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) will nest as isolated pairs in abandoned badger burrows, but are most commonly …

A Black-Bellied Whistling Duck Specimen From Nebraska, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

On 29 October 1989 John Andersen of Ong, Nebraska, shot and killed an adult male Black-bellied Whistling-Duck while duck hunting at Hansen Waterfowl Production Area, 3 miles north and 1 mile west of Ong, Clay Co., Nebraska (T6N R5W Section 35). Andersen's brother-in-law, Stewart Porterfield of Lincoln, was present at the time and tentatively identified the specimen but returned to their vehicle to get a bird book for reference (Porterfield, pers. comm. 2 November 1989). Mr. Porterfield took the frozen, intact duck specimen to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission office in Lincoln where it was recommended that the specimen …

Additional Observations On The Birds Of The Lake Mcconaughy Region, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Since the publication more than five years ago (NBR, 52:26-35, 1984) of an earlier list of the birds of the North Platte Valley between Oshkosh and Keystone, many new records have been obtained. Additionally, since 1982 Dr. Charles Brown of Yale University has spent every summer doing ornithological fieldwork in the area, and has kindly contributed many of his observations. This abundance of new information appears to warrant some additions and modifications to the original list, most of which simply involve changes in occurrence or status information for previously recorded species. However, three previously unreported species have also …

1989 Nebraska Nesting Report, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1989 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 25 observers and two agencies, reporting on 105 species from 53 counties. Counties on the tabulation are listed in a west to east order, with the northernmost of the approximately equal locations given first. Numbers in normal type represent Nest Record Cards; numbers in italics represent nests reported by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; B represents nest building; C represents carrying food; E represents eggs; F represents feeding; M represents carrying nesting materials; N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; P represents brood patch; …

Notes Nebraska Bird Review (June 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

Notes

EAGLE SURVEY NOTE. This part of the Eagle Survey report was lost between the bottom of page 29 and the top of page 31 of the March issue (NBR 58:29-31):

*The unknown eagle under Niobrara was not identified as either Bald or Golden; all others were Bald Eagles.

--- Greg Wingfield, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Rt. 4, North Platte, NE 69101

PAINTED BUNTING On 21 May 1988 I spotted a Painted Bunting in the cemetery (nearest to the road leading to the Monument) on the western edge of Gering, Scotts Bluff Co. I saw the bird at …

The Eighty-Ninth (1990) Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

THE EIGHTY-NINTH (1990) ANNUAL MEETING

Good weather and good birding, and "Welcome" flags on the main street, greeted the 103 who registered for the 1990 Annual Meeting at Falls City. A check of the last 10 previous meetings shows that the 1987 meeting at Valentine had 116 participants registered, but that was a joint meeting with South Dakota, and 39 of the participants were members of SDOU only, so that 77 (or less, there were 14 unaffiliated participants, some of whom may have attended only because of the South Dakota participation) would be the comparable figure for a Nebraska meeting. …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 1990) 58(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1989 Nebraska Nesting Survey..............38

The Eighty-ninth (1990) Annual Meeting ..............46

Book Reviews ..............48

A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Specimen from Nebraska:
A First State Record ..............49

Additional Observations on the Birds
of the Lake McConaughy Region ..............52

Notes ..............54

Book Reviews From Nebraska Bird Review June 1990

Nebraska Bird Review

Collins Guide to Tropical Plants, Wilhelm Lotschert and Gerhard Beese, 256 pp., including 274 color photographs (grouped on 96 pp. in the center of the book), 5 x 7¾ , index, Steptlen Greene Press, Lexington, Mass. $24.95.

The subtitle says "A descriptive guide to 323 ornamental and economic plants," so obviously it can cover only the most prominent and common plants. (There are about 3,500 varieties of palms.) A one-page map of the world shows the climate and vegetation zones of the tropics, which, with a two-page description, gives some guidance as to the plants to be expected in …

1989 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

One hundred three species and one hybrid were reported on the Christmas counts for 1989, and two were seen within the count circles during the count week, but not reported on the count, and there is the possibility that some of the "species" reported were ones not individually listed. The figures for last year, with one less reporting site, were 110, no hybrids, and two seen during the count week but not on the count day. The total individual count this year was 102,212, compared to 505,823 last year and 408,096 the year before. A drop of 264,575 Snow Geese …

1989 (Thirty-Second) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred ninety-one species, and the probability that the Snowy Owl on the DeSoto NWR Christmas Count would qualify as a Nebraska bird and the possibility that some of the Empidonax sp. reported were not otherwise reported, were reported from 13 "full-time" locations plus 9 "spot-check" locations, which included 27 counties. The figures for 1988 were 282 species from 14 "full-time" locations plus 14 "spot-check" locations, which included 49 counties. The figures for 1987 were 296, plus 2 possibilities, from 14 "full-time" and 4 "spot-check" locations; 1986, 293 and 1 possibility from 13 "full-time" and 4 "spot-check" locations.

The information …

1989 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1989 TREASURER'S REPORT

Balance

Memberships

Subscriptions

Misc.

Publications

Officer's expenses

Misc.

Balance

"Book Reviews," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

The Outermost House, Henry Beston, introduction by Robert Finch, xxiv + 222 pp. Penguin Books, New York, soft cover $6.95.

This book is part of the Penguin Nature Library. In 1925, Henry Beston bought a small acreage on Cape Cod and built a two room home there, in which he lived for a year. The book is a record of that period: his observations on the sea, the land and its creatures and features, and anything else that attracted his attention. His observations are interesting to read just for themselves, but some items invite comparison of those times with the …

Corrections To 1989 Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTIONS TO 1989 SPRING OCCURRENCE REPORT

The final date for Merlin for Lancaster Co. should be Mr 11 (NBR 57:63), the last date for Semipalmated Sandpiper for Dakota Co. is My 6 (p. 67), the last date for Western Sandpiper for Cedar Co. is My 20 (p. 66) and the first date for Lancaster Co. is My 11 (p. 67), the last date for Least Sandpiper for Lincoln Co. is Je 30 (p. 66), the first date White-rumped Sandpiper for Lancaster Co. should be My 6 (p. 67), the last date for Baird's Sandpiper for Lancaster Co. is My 11 …