Animal Sciences Commons^™

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

Distribution Of The Fishes Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Damien J. Simbeck

Masters Theses

Over 200 collections of fishes have been made within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, revealing a Park ichthyofauna of 74 native and 5 introduced fish species. Abrams Creek, containing the most diverse ichthyofauna in the park, currently contains only 35 of its historical 67 fish species. This loss of species resulted from intentional poisoning of eh creek to improve habitat for rainbow trout and impoundment of the lowest 2.6 miles by Chilhowee Reservoir.

Abrams Creek also contains a very unusual ichthyofauna in its upper portion. Several species found above its 25-foot waterfall have not been found …

Degree Of Call Synchrony During Interactions Between Male Snowy Tree Crickets, James W. Popp

Field Station Bulletins

Call synchrony has been reported for the snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni), but the degree to which it occurs in natural interactions has not been previously investigated. I recorded acoustic interactions among ten pairs of male snowy tree crickets to determine the degree to which call synchrony occurs. High levels of call synchrony (percent of calls that temporally overlapped another call) were found in all pairs, but in only half of the pairs was synchrony greater than expected by chance. Males differed considerably in their tendency to temporally overlap the calls of their neighbors. There was minimal frequency overlap of …

Alien Plant Species In Eastern Wisconsin Natural Areas, Lawrence A. Leitner

Field Station Bulletins

An expanded study of non-native plant species in eastern Wisconsin Natural Areas resulted in a total of 64 exotics being found. The most abundant were Rhamnus cathartica, Taraxacum officinale, and Berberis thunbergii. Sites suffering the greatest degrees of invasion were the oak openings, while the more mesic areas appeared relatively resistant.

Development Of Vegetation In Wetlands Restored On Ozaukee County Conservation Reserve Program Lands, James A. Reinartz, Elizabeth L. Warne

Field Station Bulletins

We studied the natural revegetation of six wetlands created in 1988 and six wetlands created in 1989 in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. By describing the flora and vegetation of these two sets of wetlands we could compare the development of plant communities in one- and two-year old wetlands. Of the 119 species found in the 12 wetlands, 64% were native, 62% were wetland plants, and 65% were perennials. More species were found in two-year old than in one-year old wetlands. There was also a strong correlation between wetland size and the number of species present during the first year after construction. …

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 …

Dna Recombination And Natural Selection Pressure Sustain Genetic Sequence Diversity Of The Feline Mhc Class I Genes, Naoya Yuhki, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Sequence comparisons of seven distinct MHC class I cDNA clones revealed that feline class I molecules have a remarkable similarity to human HLA genes in their organization of functional domains as well as in the nonrandom partitioning of genetic variability according to the functional constraints ascribed to different regions of the MHC molecule. The distribution of the pattern of sequence polymorphism in the cat as compared with genetic diversity of human and mouse class I genes provides evidence for four coordinate factors that contribute to the origin and sustenance of abundant allele diversity that characterizes the MHC in the species. …

Small Mammals In The Great Dismal Swamp Of Virginia And North Carolina, Robert K. Rose, Roger K. Everton, Jean F. Stankavich

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Small" mammals were surveyed in a range of habitats in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina. The survey is based on three chronologically overlapping studies, each lasting 15-18 months and for which the results have been reported separately. A different trapping method was used in each of the three studies: nest boxes, Fitch live traps, or pitfall traps. Only two species of mammals, both arboreal, were taken in nest boxes, compared with 10 and 9 species in Fitch live traps and pitfall traps, respectively. The Fitch live traps had a much higher catch rate per 1,000 trap-nights …

Reproduction In The Hispid Cotton Rat, Sigmodon-Hispidus Say And Ord (Rodentia: Muridae), In Southeastern Virginia, Robert K. Rose, Michael H. Mitchell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord, a species of the southwestern United States that has been moving northward and eastward in this century, was first observed in Virginia in 1940. In this study of the cotton rat in southeastern Virginia, most males were reproductively competent from February through November, embryos were recorded from March through October, and litter sizes were comparable to those from other locations except Kansas. Also unlike the cotton rat in Kansas, animals grew at substantial rates during the winter in Virginia. The hispid cotton rat seems to have adjusted its breeding season in …

Description Of The Tadpoles Of Gastrophryne Pictiventris And Nelsonophryne Aterrima (Anura: Microhylidae), With A Review Of Morphological Variation In Free-Swimming Microhylid Larvae, Maureen A. Donnelly, Rafael O. De Sá, Craig Guyer

Biology Faculty Publications

The tadpoles of Gastrophryne pictiventris and Nelsonophryne aterrima are described based on material collected in Costa Rica and Panama, respectively. The tadpole of G. pictiventris resembles those of the other species of Gastrophryne. The tadpole of N. aterrima differs from other New World microhylid tadpoles in location of the vent tube (medial), the spiracular opening (ventral to the gut), and eyes (dorsolateral). The unique configuration of mouthparts in N. aterrima is described. Morphological variation in microhylid tadpoles is reviewed and six larval characters are analyzed cladistically for IO New World microhylid genera.

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 …