Ornithology Commons^™

125 Species Seen During Annual Spring Meeting, May 15-17, 1992, Scott Purdy

Nebraska Bird Review

Total: 125 species. County abbreviations: C=Chase, D=Dundy, F=Frontier, H=Hayes, HI=Hitchcock, R=Red willow, AII=seen in all 5 counties.

Common Loon (HI), Eared Grebe (F), Western Grebe (HI), American White Pelican (F, R), Double-crested Cormorant (F, H, HI, R), Great Blue Heron (F, H, HI, R), Green-backed Heron (D, H, R), Black-crowned Night-Heron (F, R), White-faced Ibis (H, R), Canada Goose (F, R), Wood Duck (F, H, R), Green-winged Teal (F), Mallard (D, F, HI, R), Blue-winged Teal (D, F, HI, R), Gadwall (HI), Redhead (F), Hooded Merganser (HI), Ruddy Duck (F), Turkey Vulture (All), Northern Harrier (F, HI, R), Cooper's Hawk …

Notes On Bird Sightings

Nebraska Bird Review

Brown Pelican in Nebraska. A BROWN PELICAN arrived at DeSoto Wildlife Refuge sometime during the last week of April 1992 and was still there on May 8 with a flock of WHITE PELICANS.

Longspurs, Black Scoters, and Cormorants. Just after the snowstorm on April 20-21, 1992, I saw LAPLAND LONGSPURS south of Bellevue, feeding on a windswept patch of ground. In their midst were two CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS, which rarely migrate through eastern Nebraska. On April 28, 1992, I saw two BLACK SCOTERS swimming on the Missouri River by Child's Hollow in Fontenelle Forest. I also saw DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS swimming on …

Fall 1991 And Spring 1992 Whooping Crane Reports

Nebraska Bird Review

Information on whooping crane sightings along the migration routes was summarized and distributed by the Fish and wildlife Service Nebraska/Kansas Field Office in Grand Island. Many organizations and individuals participated in this important project. A few general comments will be made before giving details of the Nebraska sightings.

The first dates for confirmed sightings of whooping cranes on the fall 1991 migration were August 12 in Canada (Saskatchewan) and October 8 in the United States (Nebraska); the last date was November 19 in Oklahoma. A total of 132 whooping cranes (82 adults, 42 subadults, and 8 juveniles) spent the winter …

Bald And Golden Eagle Sightings In Nebraska

Nebraska Bird Review

Big Bend Audubon Society and others, Kearney: Bald Eagles

Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District: Bald Eagles

National Wildlife Federation: Bald and Golden Eagles

Bald Eagles Hatched in Nebraska

Book Announcements, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye. 1992. Birds in Jeopardy. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 94305. 272 pages; $17.95 paper, $45 cloth.

This book provides an overview of the extent of declines, as well as current conditions, of each bird that is federally protected, or is recognized by the National Audubon Society to be undergoing cyclic declines, in Canada and the United States, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The text for each bird includes topics such as requirements for successful nesting and feeding, worldwide and North American breeding ranges, and current status of imperilment. According to …

Reaction Of Starlings To A Dark-Phase Red-Tailed Hawk, Barbara L. Wilson

Nebraska Bird Review

The role of polymorphism in bird plumage has been debated. One theory is that prey species become familiar with the common plumages of raptors and avoid them, but are unlikely to recognize unusual plumages as indicating dangerous birds (Clarke 1969). In other words, the rare plumage acts as a sort of disguise. This theory assumes that prey learn the appearance of their predators, but since prey that encounter hawks often end up dead, the opportunity for learning may be limited (Arnason 1978). An incident at Bellevue, Nebraska supports the hypothesis that an unusual color phase can act as a disguise.

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Success In Omaha, Nebraska, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

During May and June 1992, there were several articles in the Omaha World-Herald on a pair of Peregrine Falcons, which chose the top of the 28-story Woodmen Tower for a nest site. The male was one of a group of chicks brought from the University of Minnesota and raised on the top of Woodmen Tower. He was released from the Tower in 1989 and has returned each year since then. In 1992 he came with a mate, who had been released from a building in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1991.

Three eggs were laid in the hack box on consecutive …

1990 Nebraska Nesting Reports, Norma Johnson-Mueller, Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

The number of counties covered and the number of observers decreased in 1990 when compared with the previous three years. In 1990, only least tern and piping plover nests were recorded in 9 of the 36 counties by 4 of the 23 observers. The information on these two species is presented in Table 1. Observers included Mark Brohman, John Dinan, and Greg Wingfield ( Nebraska Game and Parks commission), John Sidle (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Eileen Kirsch, and Jeanine Lackey.

Nesting records of other species are given in Table 2 (pages 66-69).

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Winter Meeting, Kearney, Nebraska, Scott Purdy

Nebraska Bird Review

About 30 people attended the meeting at the Ramada Inn on February 28-29 and March 1, 1992. On Friday evening, hors d'oeuvres were enjoyed while watching videos on the snowy owl, golden eagle, and identification of waterfowl.

The weather was unusually mild through the weekend, with temperatures in the 70-to-80-degree range. An early morning field trip to Rowe Sanctuary provided a fantastic show of Sandhill Cranes, geese, ducks, and Bald Eagles. Field trips were made to other birding spots on Saturday and Sunday mornings. A total of 63 species was seen in eight counties. The list of species is given …

Review Of 'My Way To Ornithology' By Olin Pettingill, Jr., Paul A, Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Most Nebraskans who recognize this author's name probably will remember him as a cinematographer and lecturer in the Audubon Screen Tour series. The series was a regular part of live entertainment in Lincoln and Omaha until the early 1960s.

Other bird-oriented people will know that Pettingill wrote two of the first and still best regional bird-finding books (detailed guidebooks to bird-finding localities in the states east and west of the Mississippi, respectively). Perhaps still others will remember him as a one-time teacher of ornithology at Carleton College and the University of Michigan Biological Station, or as a director of the …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1992)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official Journal, and sent to members not in arrears for dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar year basis only) are $12.50 in the United States, $15.00 in Canada and Mexico, and $17.50 for all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States; $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues of the NBR to Thomas E. Labedz, NOU Librarian, W-436 Nebraska Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514. Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue (June 1992) 60(2)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Bald and Golden Eagle Sightings in Nebraska … 52

Bald Eagles Hatched in Nebraska … 59

Fall 1991 and Spring 1992 Whooping Crane Reports … 61

1990 Nebraska Nesting Reports … 64

Notes on Bird Sightings … 69

Reaction of Starlings to a Dark-phase Red-tailed Hawk … 70

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Success in Omaha, Nebraska … 71

NOU Winter Meeting, Kearney, Nebraska … 71

Book Review … 72

Book Announcements … 73

1991 (Fourth) Report Of The Nou Records Committee

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the NOU Records Committee (hereinafter, "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 accession numbers 247-94. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln.

STATE LIST

Errors made in this section of the third report of the committee should be corrected as follows:

• the genus of Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is Nyctanassa

• the specific epithet of American Pipit is rubescens.

With this …

Addition To Fall 1991 Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

ADDITION TO FALL 1991 OCCURRENCE REPORT

The following rows were inadvertently omitted from the table on page 77 of the September NBR.

Eastern Phoebe:
Holt- Mr 28 Je 16
Knox- Ap 14 Je 9
York
Polk- Mr 31 S
Cuming
Saunders Mr 30 Je 29
Lancaster Mr 24 S
Dakota Ap 19 My 11
Washington
Douglas/Sarpy My 29 Je 6
Cass Mr 20 Je 30

Say's Phoebe:
Holt
Knox
York
Polk
Cuming
Saunders
Lancaster Ap 13
Dakota
Washington
Douglas/Sarpy My 23
Cass

Book Reviews From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1991), Lysbeth Benkert

Nebraska Bird Review

BOOK REVIEWS

John Terborgh. Where Have All The Birds Gone? Princeton: Princeton U P, 1989. 186 pp. + bibliography + index.

John Terborgh's 1989 book Where Have All the Birds Gone? attempts to explore why the population of migratory birds in the United States has dropped so drastically during this past century and what can be done to better monitor and document possible causes of their disappearance. Over the course of his study, Terborgh covers three major areas of the United States. Beginning with the Chesapeake Bay area, he takes a close look at the declining populations of waterfowl; …

Notes From The Editor From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1991), Rosalind Morris

Nebraska Bird Review

Index and Notes. An index for Volume 59 of The Nebraska Bird Review will be forthcoming in a later issues as will some notes submitted by NOU members which were not included here. I thank all for their contributions.

The 1991 Census Of Least Terns And Piping Plovers In Nebraska, John G. Sidle, Erika C. Wilson, John Dinan, Jeanine Lackey, Greg Wingfield, Barbara K. Good

Nebraska Bird Review

We counted least terns (Sterna antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) in Nebraska during June and July, 1991. This undertaking was part of an international effort to census the threatened piping plover throughout Canada and the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) (1988) has called for the censusing of piping plovers every five years to monitor the status of the species and to gage the effectiveness of recovery efforts. This first international census of the piping plover has been organized by the USFWS's Great Lakes/Northern Great Plains Piping Plover recovery team. The census …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1991 #2)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologist’s Union, Inc. as its official journal and sent to all members who are not arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on a calendar year basis only) are $12.50 per year in the United States, $15.00 per year in Canada and Mexico, and handled on a case-by-case basis for all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5.00 elsewhere. Orders for back issues of the Review should be sent to Thomas E. Labedz, NOU Librarian, W 436 Nebraska Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue (September 1991) 59(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

Editor's Message 54

Dues and Subscription Information 54

Some Birds of the Pony Lake Area of the Eastern Sandhills, Nebraska 55

CNPPD Winter Eagle Survey 58

A Nesting Report of a Wilson's Phalarope in Lancaster County 59

Spring 1991 Whooping Crane Report 61

Grants for Nongame Wildlife Research in Minnesota 62

Spring 1991 Occurrence Report 63

Notes 98

Book Reviews 100

Black-Bellied Plover In Buffalo County

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 9, 1991, while doing a weekly least tern and piping plover survey, we observed two Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis equatarola). The birds were observed foraging along the shoreline of a sandpit near Elm Creek, Nebraska.

Editor's Note, Ray Korpi

Nebraska Bird Review

I am pleased to announce that Rosalind Morris of Lincoln will serve as the editor of The Nebraska Bird Review for 1992. Dr. Morris brings many years of birding experience to the Review and will do a fine job. Dr. Morris officially takes over the editorship on January 1, 1992.

Until that time, I will continue to serve as editor of the NBR. I will consider submissions for the December issue up until November 27, 1991 (the day before Thanksgiving). After that date, those wishing to contribute articles and notes to the NBR should mail them to Rosalind Morris, 3018 …

Eagles

Nebraska Bird Review

For the past three years, the Central Nebraska Public Power District has operated an Eagle Viewing Center at our J-2 Hydropower plant south of Lexington, and this past year below Kingsley Dam on Lake Ogallala.

The following are some results recorded at the sites:

At J-2 Hydroplant:

January 1990-0bservations were recorded on 23 days. 263 birds were sighted for a daily average of 11.4 per day. The highest count was 20 birds on January 2.

February 1990-0bservations were recorded on 15 days. 28 birds were sighted for a daily average of 1.9 per day. The highest count was 16 birds …

A Nesting Report Of A Wilson's Phalarope In Lancaster County, Larry Einemann

Nebraska Bird Review

Only once before has a nesting record of Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) been reported in Lancaster County. This report is in The Nebraska Bird Review, December 1985. Employees of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission discovered two fledglings at a site in the northeast part of the county at 98th and Ashland Road. The two fledglings were found in a wet meadow. They were accompanied by two male and one female phalaropes. The sighting was made on 13 June 1985.

On 7 June 1991 I visited Arbor Lake, a recently purchased salt marsh about one mile north …

Some Birds Of The Pony Lake Area Of The Eastern Sandhills, Nebraska, James E. Ducey, Jerry Schoenenberger

Nebraska Bird Review

A partial survey was made of the bird life in the vicinity of Pony Lake, located about 15 miles south of Newport, in portions of sections 17-20, T28N, RI7W, Rock County.

Pony Lake was reportedly named according to a legend from "early days" when a native American was thrown and killed on its banks by a wild pony (Perkey, 1982). Originally Pony Lake was reported to be 20 feet deep (lake history based on conversations and observations of Jerry Schoenenberger). In the late 1800s, possibly 1900-1910, a town site was platted on the southwest corner of the lake. Construction included …

Spring 1991 Whooping Crane Report

Nebraska Bird Review

The following is a synopsis of the report from the U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service with regard to Whooping Crane sightings from Spring 1991. The report consists of confirmed, probable, and unconfirmed sightings during the season. These terms are defined in NBR 56:79.

The USFWS states that 135 Whooping Cranes began the spring migration, compared to 142 in 1990. This drop of seven birds represents the first population decrease since 1981. Most confirmed sightings en route to Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, were made between April 14 and April 23. Overcast skies and low visibility delayed the usual early April …

Announcements And Corrections In Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

GRANTS FOR NONGAME WILDLIFE RESEARCH IN MINNESOTA

Corrections

Sighting Information And Analysis

Nebraska Bird Review

Rather than do a county-by-county analysis as has been done in the past, since this count starts a new year, I thought I would comment on the sightings presented using both information provided by the observers and appropriate reference materials. This current report only documents those species which are listed by the Records Committee as needing documentation, or those which merit comment due to significant out-of-range or out-of-season status. A more thorough study, including nesting information provided by the reporters, will appear in the next NBR.

Pileated Woodpecker Responds To Owl Tape [Notes], Rick Wright

Nebraska Bird Review

Suspecting the Pileated Woodpecker (Drycopos pileatus) first reported in fall 1990 might still be present, I spent much of a late March visit to Nebraska in Fontenelle Forest, Sarpy County, looking and listening for the bird without success. Late on the morning of March 26, 1991, Tanya Bray, Babs Padelford, and I wele at the mouth of Handsome Hollow in Fontenelle Forest, the site of the most recent observations. Seeing and hearing nothing we played the recorded song of Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio), hoping to attract passerines. Within seconds, a female Pileated Woodpecker flew silently from …

Spring 1991 Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

For the first six months of 1991, 301 species were reported from 34 counties. This compares with 290 species from 13 occurrence report and 17 "spot check" locations covering 30 counties in 1990; 289 from 20 report locations in 36 counties in 1989; and 306 from 28 report locations involving 34 counties. The tables which follow represent 22 of these counties in 21 columns (Douglas and Sarpy listed together as has become the custom), and additional species lists from 11 counties are also provided.

Cuming County Banding Records, Mabel Ott

Nebraska Bird Review

For the past 14 out of 16 years I have banded at a farm northeast of Beemer, Cuming County, for 2 to 4 days in late May. Last year (1990), Memorial Day weekend, 222 birds of 43 species were banded.