Poultry or Avian Science Commons^™

Spring Field Report, March-May 2004, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was a fairly typical spring with wide variations in temperature, although severe storms May 22 and 24 caused considerable damage to property and presumably nesting birds; dead robins and their blown-down nests were ubiquitous.

There continues to be an accumulation of observations indicative of earlier arrival of some species as well as possibly related range expansion northward of others (see species accounts for details). Notably early were most of the swallow species, Long-billed Curlew, and Bobolink. Northward range expansion seems to be occurring with Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Hooded Warbler, and Summer Tanager. Numbers of Piping Plovers and Snowy Plovers at …

Annual Meeting At Ogallala [June 2004]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Ornithologists' Union 2004 Annual Meeting took place at Ogallala on May 14-16, with field trips centering around Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala. A total of 190 species was counted over the weekend. The low water level in Lake McConaughy provided excellent habitat for 21 species of waterfowl, 27 species of shorebirds, including nesting Snowy and Piping Plovers, and a Great Black-backed Gull. More surprising were the 17 warbler species, including Blue-winged, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green, Palm, Bay-breasted, and Kentucky. The meeting also offered participants the chance to study many eastern and western species pairs, including Rose-breasted and Black-headed …

The Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue June 2004 Volume 72 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Spring Field Report, March-May 2004 by W. Ross Silcock ... 38

2003 (15th) Report of the NOU Records Committee compiled by Mark A. Brogie ... 59

NOU Records Committee Bylaws Change ... 65

Correction to the 2001 (13th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 65

Species for Which the NOU Records Committee Seeks Documentation ... 66

NOU Annual Meeting at Ogallala, May 14-16, 2004 ... 69

In Memory of George W. Brown by Neal Ratzlaff ... 74

Subscription and Organization Information ... 75

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia Decaocto) Expnasion In Nebraska: 1997-2003, Mark A. Brogie, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Following the recognition of its presence in Florida in the mid-1980s (Smith and Kale 1986), the Eurasian Collared-Dove has spread in spectacular fashion northward and mostly westward in the interior of the United States, arriving in Nebraska only about 15 years after its discovery in Florida. Prior to its establishment in the United States, the Eurasian Collared-Dove had undergone a similarly spectacular expansion westward across Europe beginning in the area of Albania and the former Yugoslavia in the 1930s and finally colonizing Great Britain in the late 1950s. Available evidence regarding the source population for its establishment in Florida points …

In Memory Of Olin Sewall Pettingill

Nebraska Bird Review

In Memory of Olin Sewall Pettingill

Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., Ph.D., renowned ornithologist and teacher, passed away December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas. He was 94.

Dr. Pettingill was born in Belgrade, Maine, on October 30, 1907. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1930 and received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1933. Honorary doctor of science degrees were awarded by Bowdoin College in 1956, Colby College in 1979, and the University of Maine in 1982.

Dr. Pettingill taught ornithology at Carleton College for 17 years and at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 summers. He was director …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review March 2004

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) as its official journal and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Lou Pritchard, NOU Librarian, c/o University of Nebraska State Museum, W-436 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis …

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Treasurer's Report, 2003, Betty Grenon

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Treasurer's Report 2003

General Fund

Breeding Bird Atlas

Scholarship Fund

Endowment Fund

Total

2003 Christmas Bird Counts In Nebraska

Nebraska Bird Review

There were 11 Christmas Bird Counts conducted in Nebraska in December of 2003. One (the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge count) is partly in Iowa. The total of 132 species recorded is 5 fewer than last year's total of 137. This year 222,405 individuals were counted, as compared to the unusually high individual count of 303,619 in 2002, largely because of Snow Goose numbers. In 2002, 129,415 Snow Geese were reported, compared to this year's report of 10,940. There were 16 species which were seen on every count: Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Ring-necked Pheasant, Rock Pigeon, Downy Woodpecker, Northern …

New Editor For The Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

On behalf of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, I would like to take this opportunity to announce a change in The Nebraska Bird Review. Dr. Bill Clemente, Professor of English at Peru State College, has resigned as Editor, due to increasing demands on his time from his teaching and research and his family in Wisconsin. His resignation is accepted with regrets, for he has served the publication ably since he took over the job from Rosalind Morris at the beginning of 1998. We thank Dr. Clemente for his years of service and wish him well in the future.

Many of …

The Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue March 2004 Volume 74 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

NOU Treasurer's Annual Report for 2003 ..........................2

Introduction of New Editor by Janis Paseka ..........................3

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2003 - Feb. 2004 by W. Ross Silcock ..........................4

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) Expansion in Nebraska: 1997-2003 by Mark A. Brogie and W. Ross Silcock ..........................18

In Memory of Olin Sewall Pettingill ..........................23

Nebraska Christmas Bird Counts 2003 compiled by Janis Paseka ..........................24

Winter Field Report, December 2003 To February 2004, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Last year, I wrote: "Overall, this was a pretty quiet winter season. There were no major weather events, no major invasions (just one minor incursion), and, with one big exception, no real rarities." This is pretty much true of this winter too, except that there weren't even any minor incursions, unless Common Redpoll and Purple Finch qualify, and no drop-dead rarities, although Black-headed Gull comes close! In fact, we returned to a fairly normal type of winter with some cold weather and accumulating snow cover. This caused birds to leave in fall in normal fashion, and, in general, to arrive …

Renesting Decisions And Annual Fecundity Of Female Dickcissels (Spiza Americana) In Illinois, Jeffery W. Walk, Kevin Wentworth, Eric L. Kershner, Eric K. Bollinger, Richard E. Warner

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

T.-Renesting decisions and annual fecundity are crucial for interpreting other demographic information, yet are infrequently reported. We used radiotelemetry to monitor female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) throughout the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in south- eastern Illinois. Overall fecundity (regardless of whether females remained in the study area throughout the breeding season) was 0.61 ? 0.13 female fledglings per year. Of females that re- mained within the study area, 94% fledged young (1.25 ? 0.15 female fledglings per year). Most females (62%) that experienced nest failure emigrated from the study area (moved >10 km) in 2.8 ? 0.6 days; others (36%) …

Renesting Decisions And Annual Fecundity Of Female Dickcissels (Spiza Americana) In Illinois, Jeffery Walk, Kevin Wentworth, Eric Kershner, Eric Bollinger, Richard Warner

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

T.-Renesting decisions and annual fecundity are crucial for interpreting other demographic information, yet are infrequently reported. We used radiotelemetry to monitor female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) throughout the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in south- eastern Illinois. Overall fecundity (regardless of whether females remained in the study area throughout the breeding season) was 0.61 ? 0.13 female fledglings per year. Of females that re- mained within the study area, 94% fledged young (1.25 ? 0.15 female fledglings per year). Most females (62%) that experienced nest failure emigrated from the study area (moved >10 km) in 2.8 ? 0.6 days; others (36%) …

A Survey Into The Prevalence Of Parasitic Helminths In Boiler Breeders, Anita Sarathi

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of helminth infections in spent broiler breeders. Intestinal tracts from 10 birds from each of five farms were obtained and examined for parasite identification and quantification. Heterakis gallinarum infections were the most common, followed in order of decreasing incidence by Capillaria obsignata, Ascaridia galli and Raillietina cesticillus. Peak worm burdens for individual birds were 121 (A. galli), 535 (H. gallinarum), 2I5 (C. obsignata) and 125 ( R. cesticillus). Significant farm-to-farm variation in worm burdens was observed.

The Impact Of Social Interactions On Torpor Use In Hummingbirds, Donald R. Powers

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Measurements of metabolic rate and fat deposition were made on a three-species hummingbird guild in southeastern Arizona to determine if the energetic advantage gained by a dominant territorial species (Lampornis clemenciae) over subordinate competitors (Archilochus alexandri and Eugenes fulgens) resulted in less frequent use of torpor. Results showed that L. clemenciae was able to store enough fat during the day to avoid nocturnal torpor. Restricted access to food limited fat storage in both competitors, resulting in frequent torpor use. Avoidance of torpor by L. clemenciae supports the notion that use of nocturnal torpor by hummingbirds comes with a cost, and …

Impact Of Dietary Changes On Hepatic Homocysteine Metabolism In Young Broilers, Fauna M. Ganson, Padmakumar Pillai, Jason L. Emmert

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Information regarding the impact of sulfur amino acids (SAA) on hepatic homocysteine (Hcy) flux through the various metabolic pathways competing for Hcy in young broilers is lacking. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of varying levels of dietary methionine (Met), choline, and betaine on hepatic Hcy flux in young broiler chickens. A standard starter basal diet was fed to chicks until 8 d of age; 12 experimental diets were given from 8-22 d. The experimental basal diet contained deficient levels of Met and cysteine (Cys); supplemental Met (0, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.24%) was added to the basal diet …

Laboratory-Scale Evaluation Of Incandescent And Compact Florescent Lamps For Poultry House Lighting, Leanne Gabriel, Donald M. Johnson

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

This laboratory-scale study compared 1000- and 2000-h rated 60W incandescent lamps and 6000-h rated 60W-equivalent compact florescent lamps over 6000 h of simulated broiler-house operation. The four original 1000-h incandescent lamps were replaced 22 times and the four 2000-h incandescent lamps were replaced 14 times. None of the four compact florescent lamps failed during the 6000-h experiment, although one was broken due to human error. Both types of incandescent lamps had significantly higher (p < .0001) mean illuminance (lx) than did the compact florescent lamps. The compact florescent lamps used significantly less (p < .0001) power (W) and had significantly higher (p < .0001) efficiency (lx/W) than the incandescent lamps. Despite a higher initial purchase price, the total cost (purchase + replacement + electrical) of operating compact florescent lamps was approximately 36% lower than the total cost of operating either type of incandescent lamp over the 6000 h period. The results of this study indicate that even at a least-cost price for electricity ($0.04/kW/h), growers can reduce total broiler-house lighting costs by replacing incandescent lamps with compact florescent lamps.

Acaricidal Efficacy Of Various Agents In The Treatment Of Naturally Occurring Ornithonyssus Sylviarum (Acari: Macronyssidae) Infestations Of Chickens, Maggie Phillips, T. A. Yazwinski, C. A. Tucker, Jennifer Robins, Jeremy Powell, Linda Stamps

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The northern fowl mite (NFM), Ornithonyssus sylviarum, is a commonly occurring external parasite of chickens. Primarily, caged layers have the greatest incidence of this mite, with bird unrest, unthriftiness and lowered production as some of the adverse effects of the infestation. In the current study, birds with natural NFM infestations were randomized into five treatment groups, placed in individual cages in treatment-specific batteries (all in one room), and evaluated for 28 d for infestation quantification by way of index scoring and feather digest. No treatments were 100% effective in eliminating all life stages of the mite. Tetrachlorvinphos in combination with …

A Survey Into The Prevalence Of Parasitic Helminths In Broiler Breeders, Anita Sarathi, Tom Yazwinski, Chris Tucker, Jennifer Robins

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of helminth infections in spent broiler breeders. Intestinal tracts from 10 birds from each of five farms were obtained and examined for parasite identification and quantification. Heterakis gallinarum infections were the most common, followed in order of decreasing incidence by Capillaria obsignata, Ascaridia galli, and Raillietina cesticillus. Peak worm burdens for individual birds were 121 (A. galli), 535 (H. gallinarum), 215 (C. obsignata) and 125 (R. cesticillus). Significant farm-to-farm variation in worm burdens was observed.