Poultry or Avian Science Commons^™

Summer Field Report Last Page September 2002

Nebraska Bird Review

White-winged Crossbill: The remarkable winter influx persisted into the summer period, with one seen in Omaha- the last at the observer's feeders- on 1 June (NR), and a female identified as late as 20 June at a Bassett feeder where none had showed since 9 June (CH). These sightings signify record late spring dates (although there are a few isolated summer records); both locations had hosted significant wintering flocks.

Pine Siskin: Routine reports

American Goldfinch: Routine reports

House Sparrow: Routine reports

Summer Field Report, June-July 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

The big news this summer was the drought which affected most of southern and western Nebraska. Conditions were particularly severe in the southern Panhandle and in the southwest. As one observer (DP) wryly noted: "The cool, cloudy weather in the sixties this morning was a welcome contrast to the stinkin' hot dirt blowing blast furnace in the low one hundreds that was in south central Nebraska Sunday afternoon [June 3]." Some comments from western Kansas by birder-rancher Scott Seltman are pertinent: "I think there's no question that because of the ongoing drought most farmers delayed their fieldwork this spring" perhaps …

Nebraska Bird Review September 2002 Volume 70 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Summer Field Report, June-July 2002
compiled by W. Ross Silcock .................................94

Species Accounts.................................99

Hermit Warbler In Knox County: First Accepted Record
For Nebraska by Mark A. Brogie................................. 119

The Changing Status of the Sandhill Crane in the Eastem
Rainwater Basin by Joel G. Jorgensen.................................122

Hermit Warbler In Knox County: First Accepted Record For Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2002 Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Record Committee has reviewed the following record and accepted it as a Class III. This Knox County sighting constitutes the first confirmed record of Hermit Warbler in Nebraska.

On 15 May, 2002, while birding with Ben Brogie, we stopped at an isolated planting of mixed hardwoods and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) on a high hill 5.5 miles north (Road 530) of Creighton. We noticed several birds moving among the branches along the roadside and upon "spishing" for just a few seconds we attracted a female Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina) and …

"Unnamed", David Wyatt

Nebraska Bird Review

"Unnamed"

A yellow and black bird came to the apricot tree
/="/"> this morning. I'd not seen it
/="/"> before, in any of the yards here. I expect
/="/"> to see such birds in the eastern woods,
/="/"> not in these relatively arid tracts.

I couldn't identify it. Grosbeak? I had
/="/">no Guide, only gloomy thoughts
/="/"> of no specific origin.

The bird stayed for no more than seconds.
/="/">It had a chunk of black on its throat,
/="/"> like a thumbprint. Its wings never
/="/"> were quiet.

Then it flew off, shrieking,
/="/"> and the branch …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Spring Field Report, March-May 2002
compiled by W. Ross Silcock..........................46

Species Accounts..........................50

2002 (12th) Report of the NOU Records Committee
compiled by Joel G. Jorgensen ..........................84

"Unnamed" by poem by David Wyatt..........................91

Nebraska Bird Review Cover And Contents June 2002 Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review

A Magazine of Ornithology of the Nebraska Region

Volume 70 June 2002 Number 2 Published by

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc.

Founded 1899

SSSN 0028-1816

Table of Contents

2002 (12th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the NOU Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). 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. THE OFFICIAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA was first published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been appended eleven times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, Grenon 1991, Gubanyi 1996a, Gubanyi 1996b, Gubanyi 1996c, Brogie 1997, Brogie 1998, Brogie 1999). An update of the OFFICIAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA was first published in 1997 (NOU …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review June 2002 Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

Spring Field Report, March-May 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

A significant feature of this report is the fact that 94 observers provided data! E-mail has certainly provided a simple way to report sightings with ease, obviating for many the tedium of compiling a magnum opus four times a year (although the ultra-dedicated Harding and Randolph still filed their standard 40-pager!).

Interesting banding information was, provided for Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, and Pine Siskin by Ruth Green. The characteristics of the subspecies of Pine Siskin are not well-known anywhere, let alone in Nebraska.

Waterfowl and raptors had few significant sightings, although harriers were noted nesting at a couple of locations …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review March 2002 Volume 70 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird ReYiew (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts

Nebraska Bird Review

A total of 12 counts are recorded on Tables Two and Three, three more than last year's effort. The Beaver Valley and Grand Island counts are run most years, but we sometimes miss receiving data from them. DeSotoBoyer is run every year but does not always get published here, perhaps because the tally is listed as an Iowa count according to the Audubon Society; however, the area covered is partially in Nebraska, and the participants are mostly Nebraska birders.

The counts reported a total of 138 species this year, up from 133 in 1999 and from 117 in 2000. Nearly …

Winter Field Report, December 2001 To February 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This winter was generally mild with most parts of the state at least somewhat dry. The most interesting avian phenomena were a major incursion of White-winged Crossbills and a warm-up in late January which resulted in several waterfowl species putting in very early appearances. Because of the latter, it was difficult to assess the status (wintering or migrant) of birds reported in late January to early February from major reservoirs and waterfowl concentration spots without some information on ice conditions. Thanks to Larry Einemann, I had detailed information about ice conditions at Branched Oak L, but I would appreciate a …

Nebraska Bird Review March 2002 Volume 70 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Winter Field Report, compiled by W. Ross Silcock..................2

Species Accounts..................4

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts Introduced
and Compiled by Janis Paseka..................22

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts for Twelve
Locations..................26

Index To Volume 70

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to Volume 70

Fall Field Report, August-November 2001, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This Fall Report offers something for everybody. Leading off are significant breeding reports of Ruddy Duck in the Rainwater Basin and Snowy Plover at Lake McConaughy. As observers bird more regularly in late July to early August we are finding that many species begin to move earlier than often realized. There were many reports of birds such as failed breeders, molt migrants, and early-fledged juveniles wandering about. Some of these prove tough identification challenges, too. Early birds were mostly water-related; Eared Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, and Osprey, but also Prairie Falcon in the east, and Rusty Blackbird too. Some …

Nebraska Bird Review- Whole Issue December 2001 Volume 69 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Fall Field Report, August-November 2001 Compiled
by W. Ross Silcock ..........................158

Species Accounts.......................... 160

Bird Records of Sporting Editor Sandy Griswold on Fowl
Hunting Trips in the Sand Hills from 1887 to 1928
by J. E. Ducey ..........................190

Index for Volume 69, 1-4 ..........................212

Index From Nebraska Bird Review December 2001 Volume 69 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

INDEX (12 pages) A-Z

Adams, Betty 23

Alexander, Irene 23

Allen, Elizabeth 3, 47,159

Allison, Mary 22

American, Redstart 184

Amiotte, Sue 48

Andrews, Ron 5

Anhinga 161

Arizona 96

Avocet, American 37, 57, 94, 116, 140, 169, 204

Babbitt, Charles E. 133

Bachel, Elaine 47

Badura, Laurel 47, 160

Barth, Roland 48

Bedows, Elliott 23, 107, 159

Beede, Dillon 22

Benson, Joan 18

Bielenburg, Warren 23

Yellowlegs
Greater 37, 46, 57, 116, 142, 146,148,169
Lesser 38,46, 57, 116, 133, 136-137,140,142,147,169
sp. 204

Yellowthroat, Common 40, 73, 128, 151,158,185

Young, Kay 23

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review December 2001 Volume 69 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.eduINOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

A Bird On The Shoreline, Shelly Clark

Nebraska Bird Review

A Bird on the Shoreline

My daughter tells me she doesn't believe in God.

Her words pour onto the supper table like milk spilling.

In measured silence

she waits for what I will say.

The evening news mumbles in the background,

dog scratching at the door.

I look out the window to September sky opening

its dark blue skirt of night. I tell her

the Piping plovers will be leaving soon, if they haven't already.

Asking her, do you remember the first time we saw them through binoculars,

on the broad sandbar new McConaughy?

You were eight or nine.

How …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review September 2001

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Reyiew (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

Nou Spring Meeting Bird Count, 18 To 20 May, Camp Calvin Crest (Fremont)

Nebraska Bird Review

NOU Spring Meeting Bird Count

18 to 20 May, Camp Calvin Crest (Fremont)

Summer Field Report, June And July 2001, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Jaeger at Lake McConaughy; the continuing advance of the Eurasian Collared-Dove; possible breeding or hybridization with Eurasian Collared-Dove of White-winged Dove at Kearney; a resurgence of Black-billed Cuckoos; breeding of Long-eared Owl in Knox County; hummingbirds (including Calliope) in the Panhandle; and interesting information on the Red Crossbills on the Pine Ridge.

Analaysis Of Long-Eared Owl (Asio Otus) Pellets From Eastern Nebraska, Rachel D. Mahan, Emily C. Mahan, Brandon D. Sachtleben

Nebraska Bird Review

A common way to determine the food habits of an owl is to analyze prey remains found within regurgitated pellets, called "owl pellets." We collected and analyzed owl pellets found under a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) roost in eastern Nebraska as part of two grade school science fair projects. The results are presented here to add to the knowledge about the food habits of this species in Nebraska.

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue September 2001 Volume 69 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Summer Field Report, compiled by W. Ross Silcock................................. 106

Species Accounts................................. 108

Bird Hunts of Omaha Sportsmen's Clubs, 1858-1887
by J. E. Ducey .................................133

NOU Spring Meeting Bird Count .................................148

Analysis Of long-eared Owl (Asio Otus) Pellets From
Eastern Nebraska by Mahan, Mahan, and Sachtleben .................................152

A Poem by Shelly Clark .................................155

Comments On Nebraska's Falconiform And Stringiform Bird Fauna, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Owing to a lack of long-term survey data, determining whether Nebraska's raptor numbers are stable, increasing, or decreasing is difficult. Unlike our relatively well-monitored gamebirds, no regular surveys have been performed, and raptors barely register on the state's Breeding Bird Surveys or Christmas Bird Counts, owing to their relative rarity. However, a few data-points of interest do exist, which might be worth summarizing.

In one of the first multi-year surveys of Sandhills avifauna, H. Elliott McClure (1966) summarized raptor abundance data based on three years of study in the Nebraska Sandhills (1 941-1 944). During that period, he typically drove …

1999 (Eleventh) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the NOU Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). 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. THE OFFICIAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA was first published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been appended nine times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, Grenon 1991, Gubanyi 1996a, Gubanyi 1996b, Gubanyi 1996c, Brogie 1997, Brogie 1998, Brogie 1999). An update of the OFFICIAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA was first published in 1997 (NOU …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review June 2001

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOUI) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $ 10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family …

1999-2000 Nebraska Nesting Report, Wayne Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

In the interest of expediency, the nesting reports for the 1999 and 2000 seasons are combined. In addition to records from those two years, several other previously unreported records are also included. Full dates are included with each record to minimize confusion.

Observations by the following individuals (identified in the report by their initials) are included in the nesting report: John Brenneman (J.B.), John Dinan (J.D.), Dale Dvorak (D.D.), Jon Farrar (J.F.), Michael Forsberg (M.F.), Joe Gabig (J.G.), Chris Helzer (C.H.), Jan Johnson (J.J.), Alice Kenitz (A.K), Joanne Luebbert (J.L.), Nick Limon (N.L), Leonard McDaniel (L.M.), Wayne Mollhoff (W.M.), Gregory …

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Treasurer's Report, Calendar Year 2000, Betty Grenon

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc.

Treasurer's Ripor

Calendar Year 2000