Ornithology Commons^™

Swans: Their Biology And Natural History, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

The seven species of swans of the world are an easily and universally recognized group of waterfowl, which have historically played important roles in the folklore, myths and legends in many of the world’s cultures. Among the largest of all flying birds, they have also almost universally been used as symbols of royalty, grace and beauty, and largely for these reasons swans have only rarely been considered acceptable as targets for sport hunting. Swans occur on all the continents except Africa, although most species are associated with the temperate and arctic zones of North America and Eurasia. Among birds, swans …

Overview Of The Endangered Species Program, Glen Smart

United States Geological Survey: Publications

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, we became increasingly aware, as a Nation, of declining populations of birds and mammals. Rates of extinction appeared to be skyrocketing and the situation was becoming critical. The country needed to take action to reverse this trend. The Federal government began to show interest in the problem and acknowledged that it needed to intervene on a hands-on basis. The Washington, D.C., office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began to promote a program, championed by Dr. Ray Erickson, senior scientist at headquarters, to initiate captive research and propagation of birds and …

Migratory Bird Program At The U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center/U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Patuxent Research Refuge: Transformations In Management And Research, R. Michael Erwin, Robert Blohm

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent), first known as the Patuxent Research Refuge, has a long and rich history of participation in the Department of Interior’s (DOI) cooperative efforts to protect and conserve migratory birds in North America. This chapter describes many of the events and the people involved that constitute this important timeline for international conservation of a shared wildlife resource. The Patuxent Research Refuge, renowned worldwide, is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that has, at different times and under a variety of organizational iterations, provided the physical location …

2015 Fall Migration Bird Banding At Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, Holly Garrod

Nebraska Bird Review

It was a different season of bird banding this year at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Due to construction at the nature center, the banding station was moved farther down the road to one of the picnic shelters. The habitat remained mostly the same, with Ponderosa Pine and multispecies-shrub understory dominating the unique ridge landscape characteristic of Wildcat Hills. The new site provided more shrub understory but lacked the running water of Turkey Creek and the bird feeders at the nature center. Bird Conservatory of the Rockies (formerly Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory) has been banding …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2015) 83(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2015 ... 154

2015 Fall Migration Bird Banding at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area … 183

South Sioux City Fall Field Days ... 186

Index to Volume 83 … 192

Subscription and Organization Information ... 207

Fall Field Report, August–November 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

To start, a housekeeping item: in the species accounts that follow, whenever I use the term "migrant" I am referring to fall migration only. Many species, of course, have differing migration strategies and timing in spring and fall.

Much of the data used in this report relating to western and Pine Ridge passerines comes from the outstanding banding efforts by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (formerly Rocky Mountains Bird Observatory) at Chadron State Park (CSP) and Wildcat Hills Nature Center (WHNC) in Scotts Bluff Co. This year’s operators were Josh Lefever and Holly Garrod. Related to the Chadron State Park …

Index To Volume 83

Nebraska Bird Review

Aird, Bruce 156
Akers, Danny 135
Allen, Edward 5, 49, 56, 144, 157
Anderbery, DeAnna 49
Anderson: Branden 50; Kapri 50
Armknecht, Henry 5
Arp, Dennis 56
Arthur, Noah 5, 49, 57, 135, 158
Arterburn, S. W. 148
Aubushon: Cathy 49; Dorothy 49
Avocet, American 65, 88, 112, 164
Azar, Adrian 104

. . .

Yellowlegs: Greater 11, 65, 88, 112, 165, 186, 188; Lesser 11, 24, 66, 88, 112, 165, 186, 188
Yellowthroat, Common 79, 91, 121, 177, 190

Zambon, Teri 6
Zonotrichia/eucophrys: gambelii 180; leucophrys 82, 180; oriantha 82: leucophrys × oriantha 82
Zwartjes, William 106

South Sioux City Fall Field Days, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2015 NOU Fall Field Days took place in South Sioux City at the Americas Best Value Inn on Sept. 25–27. There were about 50 in attendance at the meeting, which was organized by Dave Heidt, Robin Harding, Jan Johnson, and Betty Grenon.

On Friday evening Ponca State Park Superintendent Jeff Fields told the group about the changes that have happened in Ponca State Park since its beginning in 1934 as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. It is the third oldest state park in Nebraska and now encompasses 2,400 acres. It boasts one of the oldest bur oaks in the …

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2015]

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 …

Failure Of A Heterologous Recombinant Sca5/Ompb Protein-Based Vaccine To Elicit Effective Protective Immunity Against Rickettsia Rickettsii Infections In C3h/Hen Mice, Sean P. Riley, Marissa M. Cardwell, Yvonne G. Chan, Ludovic Pruneau, Fabio Del Piero, Juan J. Martinez

Faculty Publications

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial species are obligate intracellular tick-borne pathogens that are responsible for important human diseases. Previous reports have demonstrated the feasibility of using recombinant surface cell antigen Sca5/OmpB to elicit protective immunity against homologous challenges using murine models of Mediterranean spotted fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In addition, the feasibility of generating cross-protective immunity against related rickettsial species has also been established, but the molecular basis for these phenomena was not explored. Here, we demonstrate that vaccination of C3H/HeN mice with a recombinant OmpB domain derived from Rickettsia conorii induced high titer humoral immune responses that …

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2015]

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 …

In Memory Of Roland E. Barth, Neal Ratzlaff

Nebraska Bird Review

On September 21, 2015, the NOU and the conservation community lost a good friend with the passing of Roland Barth. Barth served 30 years as a meteorologist in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of Colonel. Retirement allowed Roland to pursue his interest in nature and use his considerable leadership and organizational skills for the benefit of a number of conservation groups. He was a member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union for over 20 years and served a term as Director from 2008 to 2011.

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2015) 83(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2015 ... 102

2014 (26th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 125

First Nesting Record and Status Review of the Glossy Ibis in Nebraska … 139

In Memory of Roland E. Barth … 149

Subscription and Organization Information ... 151

First Nesting Record And Status Review Of The Glossy Ibis In Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is believed to be a recent colonist from the Old World whose numbers have increased and range has expanded in North America over the past two centuries (Patten and Lasley 2000). Glossy Ibis range expansion has been described as involving periods of relative stability followed by periods of rapid increase (Patten and Lasley 2000). Prior to the 1980s, Glossy Ibis were primarily found in the southeastern United States and along the Atlantic Coast (Patten and Lasley 2000). In the mid to late 1980s, Glossy Ibis began to rapidly increase and expand into Texas. By …

2014 (26th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The "Official List of the Birds of Nebraska" was first published in 1988 (NOU 1988) and has been updated three times (NOURC 1997, 2004, 2009). The "Official List" has been appended twenty-four times: (Mollhoff 1989; Grenon 1990, 1991; Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1996c; Brogie 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009a, 2009b; 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; Jorgensen 2001, 2002, 2003).

The American Ornithologists' Union Checklist of North American Birds, Seventh Edition (1998) and its following supplements: (AOU: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), contain many taxonomic changes affecting North American …

Summer Field Report, June–July 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This summer was very wet over most of the state. Breeding Bird Survey operators noted impassible roads, especially in the western Sandhills. The benefits to water birds in the Rainwater Basin were obvious, however, with notable breeding records for Ruddy Duck and White-faced Ibis, as well as the first documented breeding in the state of Glossy Ibis, and the first Rainwater Basin breeding for Double-crested Cormorant and third for Eared Grebe.

Additional notable breeding records were led by Osprey; after 7 years of trying at various locations, success came with a bang, as at least 3 nests successfully fledged young, …

At Home And At Large In The Great Plains: Essays And Memories, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This volume presents fourteen essays (some updated) that originally appeared in Prairie Fire, a monthly free newspaper that for seven years (as of 2015) has carried important messages of social, environmental, and economic issues in a mature and nonpartisan manner to tens of thousands of residents of Nebraska, western Iowa, eastern Colorado, and southern South Dakota, and by mail to subscribers in the rest of the world. These essays discuss the North American east-west ecological boundaries, spring migration events, birds at the bird feeder, feathered survivors of a glacial past, the threatened sharp-tailed grouse of Nebraska and South Dakota, and …

Nou Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting, Valentine, May 15–17, 2015, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The annual meeting of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union was held in Valentine May 15–17, 2015, and ably organized by Dave Heidt and Betty Grenon. Although muddy roads from a Friday night storm prevented travel to several planned field trip destinations on Saturday and rain cut short field trips on Sunday morning, the 58 attendees were able to locate and identify 180 species. Most of the birding took place in Cherry County, and many birders commented happily on the good number of species they were able to add to their Cherry Co. lists.

On Friday evening Wayne Mollhoff told the group …

Oriole Consumption Of Grape Jelly, Gary Lingle

Nebraska Bird Review

It is well known that several species of orioles are attracted to grape (Vitis sp.) jelly. A few years ago I began “feeding” grape jelly to orioles in my yard in Buffalo County. Both Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) and, to a lesser extent, Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius) frequented my feeder upon their arrival in early May and fed daily until the red mulberries (Morus rubra) ripened and nesting had commenced prior to mid-June. At that time visitation to my feeder plummeted from a high of 1.5 birds per minute to 0 .1 birds …

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2015]

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 …

Spring Field Report, March 2015 To May 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was a largely uneventful spring in terms of major events, as most species stayed within their ranges and movement timing parameters. There are always a few stochastic exceptions, but no clear pattern of, for example, early arrival dates was discernible. However, several interesting situations came to light, and there were a few rarities detected. A Couch’s Kingbird in Sarpy Co was well described but awaits a determination by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Records Committee as to whether the evidence is strong enough to add this species to the Official State Bird List. Other exciting finds were a wintering Brown …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2015) 83(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March 2015 to May 2015 ... 54

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting, Valentine, May 5–17, 2015 … 86

Oriole Consumption of Grape Jelly ... 93

Book Review of At Home and at Large in the Great Plains: Essays and Memories by Paul A. Johnsgard ... 98

Subscription and Organization Information ... 99

Book Review [Of At Home And At Large In The Great Plains: Essays And Memories], Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska birders may remember reading some of the 14 essays published in this book, since they appeared previously in Prairie Fire, the monthly Great Plains public policy newspaper. Topics of the short and engaging essays range from changing bird life to outstanding birding areas to conservation in the Great Plains. We read about sediment deposits, the “gifts of glaciers past,” which were left by retreating rivers of ice thousands of years ago and resulted in the creation of the prairie potholes so important now to our waterfowl and wading birds. One essay marvels at the variety of animal skeletons, including …

Distribution Of The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen Aegyptiacus) In Northwestern Arkansas And In The United States Of America, Cameron Chesbro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) is an exotic member of the Anatidae that has been residing in northwestern Arkansas since the 1980s (Smith and James 2012). Following the discovery of Egyptian Geese in the area, not much attention has been given to the consequences of population increase. The Egyptian Goose has shown many diverse population growth patterns in areas where it has been introduced and started feral populations. The purpose of this study was to assess the current population size of the Egyptian Goose in northwestern Arkansas,and confirm successful breeding. The methods used in this study included conducting road surveys …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2015) 83(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’s Report, December 31, 2014 … 2

Winter Field Report, December 2014 to February 2015 … 3

In Memory of William F. Rapp, Jr. … 21

Color Photo Section (Birds in flight) … 23

A Hybrid Cliff × Barn Swallow from Western Nebraska … 31

2014–2015 Christmas Bird Counts … 36

Subscription and Organization Information ... 51

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2015]

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 …

In Memory Of William F. Rapp, Jr.

Nebraska Bird Review

Former NOU president and Nebraska Bird Review editor William F. Rapp, Jr., passed away on March 13, 2013, in Rochester, New York. Rapp was born in 1918 in Newark, New Jersey, and his interest in birds began during his junior high years. He attended Rutgers University and graduated in 1944 with a degree in entomology and geology. He was on the faculty of Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, where he taught various biology courses and ornithology for nonscience students. He attended his first Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union meeting in 1947. By the next year, he was the editor of the Nebraska …

2014–2015 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen counts were held during the 2014–15 Christmas Bird Count season, which is one less than last season. Although the Beaver Valley and Harrison counts were not done this season, the Harlan County count was resumed after a twelve-year hiatus and produced several noteworthy species counts. It also should be noted that the Grand Island count was held on December 13, which is one day before the official Audubon sanctioned count period begins, but its results are included in this discussion.

Following a very mild first week of November, the second week started with a sudden cold snap which persisted …

Winter Field Report, December 2014 To February 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As with last winter, this was a rather ordinary winter ornithologically speaking, if indeed there is such a thing. There were a couple of genuine rarities to spice it up, but most of the interest was in unusual phenomena shown by a range of species. Ducks and swans and native sparrows seem to be more in evidence in mid-winter than in previous years, but it is difficult to relate winter occurrence to weather in any given year, except for isolated extreme events. There are, however, some trends showing up, as suggested by the ducks, swans, native sparrows, and a few …

A Hybrid Cliff × Barn Swallow From Western Nebraska, Charles R. Brown, Catherine E. Page

Nebraska Bird Review

The Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) occupy sympatric breeding ranges across much of North America, often nesting at colony sites that contain both species. Mixed-species nesting aggregations typically occur in box-shaped concrete culverts underneath roads or railways. Cliff Swallows’ enclosed mud nests can be as close as 1 m to Barn Swallows’ open mud nests, and at such sites Cliff Swallows regularly usurp both inactive and active Barn Swallow nests. The close proximity of these two ecologically similar species leads to at least occasional social interaction among them, such as during …