Animal Sciences Commons^™

Diminishing Returns: Results Of Black Rail Surveys In Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, Lauren Greenwalt, Nancy E. Drilling, Caleb Strand, Stephen J. Brenner

Nebraska Bird Review

The uncertain status of the Black Rail in Nebraska is problematic. Different authors have interpreted existing reports differently resulting in varying conclusions about the species’ status. The exercise of deciphering the limited details of existing reports and litigating their credibility is of little value. The Black Rail is now a threatened species and there is almost no published information on whether it occurs regularly in Nebraska. Furthermore, the species has not been searched for in any consistent form or systematic manner. Without information and understanding about the species’ occurrence, taking actions to benefit and protect this species will undoubtedly be …

2020 (32nd) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

ebraska: 2017” (NOURC 2017).

Nebraska State List: The following includes all revisions made by the American Ornithological Society (Chesser et al. 2020) in 2020 including scientific name changes and taxonomic realignment that affect the current published “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska: 2017” (NOURC 2017, wwwNOUbirds.org). This report includes all accounts submitted during the 2020 calendar year covering 29 records with accession numbers 2258 – 2286.

2020 Additions/Deletions to the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”: Two new species were added in 2020.: Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 1. A single bird was photographed (Class 1-P, TL) 26 April …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 89 September 2021 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2021 by W. Ross Silcock 106

Diminishing Returns: Results of Black Rail Surveys in Nebraska by Joel G. Jorgensen, Lauren Greenwalt, Nancy E. Drilling, Caleb Strand and Stephen J. Brenner 128

A Brown-capped Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) in Sarpy County, Nebraska by W. Ross Silcock and Phil Swanson 136

2020 (32nd) Report of the NOU Records Committee by Mark A. Brogie 139

Black-throated Gray Warbler in Knox County, Nebraska by Mark A. Brogie 146

Subscription and Organization Information 147

Black-Throated Gray Warbler In Knox County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) considers Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) to be Accidental in Nebraska (NOURC 2017). Silcock and Jorgensen (2020) list a total of seven accepted records with only two occurring in fall: an adult male at the Hyannis Cemetery, Grant Co., 01 Sep 2002 (Brogie 2003) and a female at Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co., 07 Sep 2001 (Silcock 2001). The following documents the third Nebraska fall record for Black-throated Gray Warbler, the third record east of the Nebraska Panhandle, the first for northeast Nebraska, and the only NOURC accepted record (#2338) in the last decade.

Paul Austin Johnsgard: Memories Of An Exceptional Naturalist, Allison E. Johnson, Charles R. Brown

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 28, 2021 the world lost one of its most dogged advocates, and we lost an amazing teacher, naturalist, and friend. Paul has told you in his own words in the previous pages where he was from, where he was educated, about the immense number of scholarly articles and books he published, and about his beautiful art that brought the wild to all of us (https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/30/), but we wanted to share the person we knew Paul to be, and to relive some of our memories of him. While Paul’s body of work will continue to impact the ornithological and …

Remembering Elaine Bachel 1946-2021, Ruthie Stearns

Nebraska Bird Review

Elaine Bachel was born June 6, 1946, in Itasca County, Minnesota, and passed away May 22, 2021, in Lincoln. She lived in Minnesota until she was ten, and it was there that she developed her love of the outdoors, especially birds. When her father passed away, Elaine, her sister and her mother moved to Omaha to live with her grandmother. She graduated from Omaha South High School and then attended college in Omaha, graduating as a registered nurse in 1968. She worked for many years for Lincoln ENT physician Dr. Charles Barton. It was in working for him and traveling …

Spring Field Report, March - May 2021, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

A total of 163 observers contributed to this report. This spring several observers were quite active statewide, resulting in interesting discoveries among waterfowl hybrids, subspecies distributions, breeding and spatial range expansions, and more than usual early and late dates and high counts, not to mention a couple of extreme rarities. Speaking of BONO, readers will note a new section under “Species Accounts” that deals with hybrids reported in Nebraska. A surprising 47 are listed, 26 of these waterfowl. If you like waterfowl hybrids, read on! This report deals with 14 such hybrids, four newly documented for the state. Several non-waterfowl …

Paul A. Johnsgard 1931-2021, Paul Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Dr Johnsgard's self-penned obituary & a photo

Incorrectly Aged, Identified And Classified: Revisiting Nebraska’S 1968 ‘Barnacle Goose’ Record, Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

On 2 November 1968 in northeastern Otoe County, Nebraska, Milton Muncie harvested a bird (herein referred to as the 1968 specimen), subsequently identified as an immature Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis), from a flock of about 40 Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii; Cortelyou 1969). The occurrence was reported not only as the first record of a Barnacle Goose for Nebraska, but also the first record for the North American Interior and West (Cortelyou 1969). Cortelyou’s (1969) brief article also included a photograph of the mounted specimen. At the time and when subsequently reviewed by various authors, the identity of the 1968 specimen …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 89 June 2021 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2021, by W. Ross Silcock … 50

Incorrectly Aged, Identified and Classified: Revisiting Nebraska’s 1968 ‘Barnacle Goose’ Record, by Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, and W. Ross Silcock …80

Paul A. Johnsgard by Paul A. Johnsgard … 92

Paul Austin Johnsgard: Memories of an Exceptional Naturalist by Allison E. Johnson and Charles R. Brown …94

Breeding Status of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) in the Niobrara River Valley, North-central Nebraska by W. Ross Silcock … 97

Remembering Elaine Bachel 1946-2021, by Ruthie Stearns …101

Subscription and Organization Information …103

Breeding Status Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla) In The Niobrara River Valley, North-Central Nebraska, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

An unexpected Louisiana Waterthrush breeding range extension of some 200 miles westward into the Niobrara River Valley was documented in 2021 when Renee Tressler photographed and recorded adults and two fledged young, as well as an adult carrying food, on Fort Falls Trail, Fort Niobrara NWR, Cherry County, 31 May-14 Jun 2021 (Tressler 2021a, 2021b). Around the same time, “at least two singing individual” Louisiana Waterthrushes were found by Paul Dougherty some eight miles to the east at Smith Falls State Park, Cherry County, 7 June 2021, one of which was recorded; no breeding evidence was reported, although the presence …

2020-2021 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen counts were run during the 2020-2021 CBC season, ten of which were run in the period December 14 through December 22. The other four were done December 28 or later. The weather was generally cooperative with little snow cover and some open water. While there were no weather issues that resulted in cancellation or postponement, four counts, Crawford, Harrison, Harlan County, and Omaha, were cancelled over concerns for the Covid situation. It would be expected that running fewer counts would have a noticeable negative impact on this year’s species count and overall numbers. The Harrison and Crawford counts usually …

Winter Field Report, December 2020-February 2021, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Thanks to the increasing numbers of observers taking time to report to eBird, social media, and NEBIRDS, this season, as is true of recent seasons, turned up some fascinating trends. The 96 cited observers, as well as several not cited, all contributed to the firmness of the database that allows better-supported conclusions to be drawn than from our past reliance all too often on anecdotal supposition.

Overwhelmingly clear this winter was the large number of taxonomically diverse species found north and west of expected winter ranges, and a surprising number of passerines reported for the first time in mid-winter. It …

Apparent Townsend’S X Black-Throated Green Warbler (Setophaga Townsendi X Virens) Hybrids In Kansas And Nebraska, Jon C. King, Terry Swope, Kevin Groeneweg, Pete Janzen, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga townsendi), Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis), Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), and Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) are similar in appearance and vocalizations. Evaluation of mtDNA suggests that these four species diverged about 1 million years ago during the mid-Pleistocene (Lovette et al. 2010), at which time glaciation separated ancestral forms thus allowing for speciation (Morse and Poole 2020). Under the environmental conditions prevalent today, however, the breeding distribution of Townsend’s Warbler now overlaps to a limited extent with those of the Hermit and Black-throated Green Warblers, and hybridization occurs …

2021 Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Our photo theme this year is species with the word “red” in their common names. For this "Red Challenge", "red" must be used to mean the color red, but the birds don't actually have to display any red to qualify. Examples appear on the next five pages of photos.

Redheaded Woodpecker in Knox Co., 28 July 2020. Photo by Mark Brogie.

Rednaped Sapsucker male at Plum Creek Valley WMA, Brown Co., 16 Sept. 2018. Photo by Mary Clausen.

Redbellied Woodpecker female, photographer's yard, Wahoo, Saunders Co., 14 Feb. 2021. Photo by Joe Freeborn.

Northern Flicker male, western "redshafted" subspecies, Seward …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 89 March 2021 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2020 - Feb. 2021, by W. Ross Silcock …2-17

2020-2021 Christmas Bird Counts …18, 29-40

Annual Color Photo Section …21-28

Apparent Townsend’s x Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga townsendi x virens) hybrids in Kansas and Nebraska, by Jon C. King, Terry Swope, Kevin Groeneweg, Pete Janzen, & Mark A. Brogie … 41

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2020, by Jan Johnson …46.

Subscription and Organization Information …47

History Of The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, Joseph A. Gubanyi

Nebraska Bird Review

The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count (Seward-BOL CBC) began in 1993 and has been conducted every year since then except for 2010 for a total of 27 counts. Weather conditions prevented the count on the selected date in 2010 and a backup date could not be set up. The count was started for several reasons. The area west of Lincoln has a diversity of habitats including all or part of four public lakes (Branched Oak, Pawnee, Twin Lakes, and Meadowlark) as well as a diversity of terrestrial habitats on both public and private land. The circle is close to …

Index To Volume 88

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 (2020)

From: Aden, Scott 95

to: Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii 158 leucophrys 70, 158 oriantha 70

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 December 2020 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August - November 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …13.8

History of the Seward - Branched Oak Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, by Joseph Gubanyi …162

Index to Volume 88 … 173

Subscription and Organization Information …187

Fall Field Report, August-November 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Two issues were of concern this fall, and both appeared to have consequences or at least similarities in Nebraska. A major die-off in New Mexico made national news: https://www.aba.org/the-data-behind-mysterious-bird-deaths-in-new-mexico/. On Sep 9, 2020, the temperature dropped from 96°F to 40°F in the Albuquerque area, a record low, winds reached 70 mph, and several inches of snow fell, killing large numbers of birds directly. Over the next few days, hundreds more dead birds were picked up. Some have linked this high mortality to birds displaced from the mountains due to fire and unfortunately being caught in the severe weather. While fire …

Summer Field Report, June-July 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this was a fairly routine summer although birders in Nebraska know that “routine” still holds promise of a few happenings out of the ordinary. The summer season primarily examines new breeding records, range expansions, and changes in numbers, up or down. Mississippi Kites were conspicuous, a pair providing Scottsbluff’s first breeding record, but a repeating pair in Lincoln, Lancaster lost its nest in a windstorm. The first nesting record for Violet-Green Swallow for Sheridan, 7th nesting for White-winged Dove, and 9th for Short-eared Owl were all encouraging, as was an apparent family group of Northern Saw-whet Owls in Sioux. …

Robert Wolcott And The Art Of Nest Records, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

The autumn of 1894 was fortuitous for Nebraska ornithology because it is when Robert Henry Wolcott accepted an assistantship at the University of Nebraska, moving to Lincoln from the University of Michigan (Swenk 1935). Wolcott, from that point onward, made significant contributions to our knowledge of Nebraska birds (Bruner et al. 1903, Wolcott 1909, 1919), was a founding member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (NOU), and was editor for the first three Proceedings of the NOU from 1899-1902. His work expanded beyond local focus and he eventually authored a text on animal biology (Wolcott 1933). The topic of this paper, …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 September 2020, Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …94.

Robert Wolcott and the Art of Nest Records, by Thomas E. Labedz …112

2019 (31st) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie …124

Subscription and Organization Information …135

2019 (31st) 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. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 June 2020 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …46

Window Strike Bird Mortality on the University of Nebraska - Lincoln City Campus, by Thomas E. Labedz …75

Subscription and Organization Information…91

Window Strike Bird Mortality On The University Of Nebraska – Lincoln City Campus, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 25, 1915, in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, a Gray-cheeked Thrush was “killed by flying against the library building on city campus” and was found by Robert H. Wolcott and prepared as a scientific study skin by Leroy M. Gates. This thrush is now ZM-6674 in the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) Zoology collections. Birds are typically killed at low level buildings by flying into windows. This thrush is the first documented window strike death for what is now the University of Nebraska – Lincoln city campus. Based upon the UNSM bird collections I report on the last …

The Nebraska Bird Review, 2020 Annual Color Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Our theme this year is Odd Couples: two or more different species captured in the same photo frame. Examples appear on the first three pages of photos.

Blue Jay with Great Horned Owl in Plum Creek SRA, Dawson Co., 23 Dec. 2019. Photo by Elizabeth Winter.

Green Heron with Baltimore Oriole on Dark Island Trail, Merrick Co., June 2020. Photo by Colleen Childers.

Wilson’s Phalarope surrounded by Longbilled Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers along highway 30 east of North Platte, Lincoln Co., 12 May 2020. Photo by Boni Edwards.

Downy Woodpecker with Carolina Wren on suet feeder in photographer’s yard, La …

2019-2020 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Mergansers reached a new high of 104 counted in nine circles, which topped the count of 97 from 2017. A single Surf Scoter was found in the Lower Platte circle, which was only the fourth time that this species has been found on a Nebraska CBC. Lone birds were also found at Lake McConaughy in 1999, 2010 and 2015. A good North Platte find were two Barrow’s Goldeneye. Several species, however, were counted in numbers much below the norm. The lone Wood Duck found at Branched Oak was the lowest count for that species since 2004, when they were missed …

Winter Field Report, December 2019-February 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As with any of these Seasonal Reports, there was plenty to entertain us and to contemplate this winter. The most obvious feature of this winter’s reports was the taxonomically widespread incidence of midwinter occurrences of species normally absent at that time. Snow, Ross’s, and Greater White-fronted Geese occurred in good numbers, and Jan to early Feb reports of dabbling and diving ducks often far from expected winter occurrence locations were notable. Among passerines, notable midwinter reports were of Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and Northern Mockingbird, Nebraska’s first record for Feb of American Pipit, and 6th winter record of Lesser Goldfinch. …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 March 2020 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2019 - Feb. 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …2

2019-2020 Christmas Bird Counts …18, 27-41

Annual Color Photo Section …19-26

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2019, by Jan Johnson …42

Subscription and Organization Information …43