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Nebraska Bird Review (December 1988) 56(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska.................86

1988 Fall Field Day.................97

Book Reviews.................97

Notes.................99

Index to Volume 56 .................100

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1988) 56(3).

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December, by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Inc. as its official journal and sent to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on a calendar year basis only) are $10.00 per year in the United States, $12.00 per year in Canada and Mexico, and $12.50 per year in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $3.00 each, postpaid, in the United States; $3.50 elsewhere.

"Notes" From Nebraska Bird Review (Sept 1988) 56(3).

Nebraska Bird Review

BRANT AT FUNK LAGOON. Rick Peifer and I co-led a Bell Museum of Natural History (University of Minnesota) field trip to the Platte River ill March 1988. On 21 March about 25 of us went to Funk WPA (Phelps Co.) about 14:00, We found only a few thousand waterfowl, the remainder had apparently been driven off by USFWS personnel as a preventative measure against a further outbreak of fowl cholera. We were on the NI S road between sections 1 and 2, T6N, R17W, and saw only about 1,000 to 1,500 geese (mostly Canada’s, plus some White-fronted) plus a few …

1988 (Sixty-Third) Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Three hundred and six species (plus the possibilities that the Accipter and Empidonax species were ones that were not listed, and that a Louisiana Waterthrush was recorded in Nebraska) are listed in this report, from 15 locations, plus 13 "spot check" columns involving 34 counties. In 1987 there were 288 species from 13 locations and 6 "spot check" columns involving 9 counties; 1986 304 from 13 locations and 9 "spot check" columns involving 24 counties; 1985 296 from 13 locations and 9 "spot check" columns (plus additions on NBR 53: 70) involving 22 counties; and in 1984 293 from 12 …

"Book Review," In Nebraska Bird Review (September 1988) 56(3), Rick Wright

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Birds: Breeding Status and Distribution, by James E. Ducey, maps by Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Illustrated by Paul A. Johnsgard, xiii + 148 pp., 8½ x 11, Simmons-Boardman Books, Omaha, 1988, soft cover $19.95.

White-Winged Dove In Dawson County, Lloyd G. Kaufman, Paul Kaufman

Nebraska Bird Review

On 3 July 1988, my wile and I saw a dove south of Cozad, Nebraska. We were driving at road speed, and not really bird watching. I caught a glimpse of white on the dove's wings as it flew and by the time I got stopped the dove circled about 0.25 mile away. We never got our binoculars on the dove at all, but we both noted the white trailing edge of the wings and on the tail. We are not sure enough to claim anything. I have been by there 15 to 20 times since then and have not …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 1988) 56(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

White-winged Dove in Dawson County? .............54

1988 (Sixty-third) Spring Occurrence Report .............55

Notes .............77

Book Review .............83

A Second Bald Eagle Nest In Nebraska, Greg Wingfield

Nebraska Bird Review

The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in Nebraska is considered an uncommon migrant and locally common winter resident. Formerly, the species was a common breeder in eastern Nebraska (Johnsgard, 1986). The only previously known modern (1900s) nesting attempt took place in 1973 in Cedar Co., northeast of Crofton, Nebraska (Lock and Shuckman, 1973). This nest occurred along the Missouri River, downstream of Lewis and Clark Reservoir. Between the latter part of January and 25 March 1973, a pair of Eagles was observed while building a nest, copulating, perching near the nest, and sitting on the completed nest. Eventually, the …

1987 Nebraska Nesting Survey, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1987 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 32 observers and three organizations, reporting on 72 species from 46 counties. Counties on the tabulation are listed in a west to east order, with the northernmost of the approximately equal locations given first. Numbers represent Nest Record Cards; A (for aliment) represents carrying food; C represents colony for which no nest numbers were reported (but 15 individuals were reported); F represents feeding young; N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; P represents brood patch; X represents a nest built and occupied for a …

Book Reviews Of Bird Navigation: The Solution Of A Mystery?, The Last Of The Curlews, A Naturalist's Sketchbook, Bird Walk Through The Bible, Life Histories Of North American Petrels And Pelicans And Their Allies And Love Of Loons, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

Bird Navigation: The Solution of a Mystery?, R. Robin Baker, 1984, Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., New York. vi + 256 pp., ISBN 0-340-33416-9, softcover, no price given. Originally published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. in Great Britain but handled in the United States by Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., Import Division, IUB Building, 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003.

R. Robin Baker, Reader in Zoology at the University of Manchester, is a noted authority on avian navigation. The word "solution" in the title of this book is somewhat misleading because this book does not solve the mystery of …

Notes- Nebraska Bird Review June 1988

Nebraska Bird Review

YOUNG GREAT HORNED OWLS On 5 April 1988 we banded two young Great Horned Owls that were in a nest near Laurel, in Cedar Co., Neb. An adult Owl was first seen on this nest 3 March. The nest was approximately 31 feet above the ground in a dead Siberian elm tree. One adult Owl was in the nest as we approached it at about 7:00 PM. The adult bird flew of the nest and remained about 200 meters away, in a small grove of trees. It took us about 35 minutes to set up our ladder, retrieve and band …

Occurrence Of Ross Geese (Chen Rossii) Detected From Avian Cholera Losses, Randy G. Stutheit

Nebraska Bird Review

During the annual spring waterfowl migration, an estimated 5-7 million ducks and geese pass through the Nebraska Rainwater Basins area. The Rainwater Basins area covers all or parts of 17 counties in south-central Nebraska, encompassing some 4,200 square miles. Wetlands of various size, depth, and water permanency are scattered throughout this area. These wetlands are important resting and feeding areas for ducks and geese on their migration north to the breeding grounds. Avian cholera, a highly infectious bacterial disease of waterfowl, has also been an annual visitor to the Rainwater Basins since 1975, killing from as many as an estimated …

The Eighty-Seventh (1988) Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

The eighty-seventh Annual Meeting was held 20-22 May, at Camp Kiwanis in Scottsbluff, at the invitation of the Wildcat Audubon Society. There were about 85 effective registrations, including two from the state of Washington, one from New Jersey, and one from New Hampshire. There was the usual get-together and slide show on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday mornings were for birding, Saturday afternoon was the formal meeting, and Saturday night the banquet. In the afternoon R. George Corner spoke on Fossil Birds of Nebraska, II. (The II is in recognition of Myron H. Swenk's article. on fossil birds of Nebraska …

Tundra Swans In Lincoln County, Nebraska, Greg Windfield

Nebraska Bird Review

On 16 March 1988 Ron Hoffman and I observed nine Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) on a sandpit lake approximately 4 miles east of the I-80 interchange at North Platte. The lake's legal description is Tl3N, R29W, SW¼ of Section 8. The Swans were reported to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's North Platte office at 10:30 that morning by a former resident of Nebraska's Sandhills region. He thought the Swans looked identical to Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) he had observed while living on a ranch near Hyannis. While leading us to the lake he mentioned that …

Two Species Of Marsh Wren (Cistothorus Palustris) In Nebraska, Donald E. Kroodsma

Nebraska Bird Review

The consequences of a grand evolutionary experiment are evident throughout Nebraska. During the Pleistocene, many taxa were apparently separated into eastern and western populations. Today many of these eastern and western counterparts meet in the Great Plains, especially in Nebraska. Some pairs now hybridize freely (towhees. orioles. flickers), while others do not (buntings, grosbeaks, meadowlarks) (see Rising 1983).

The Marsh Wren is still another, previously unrecognized, taxon that consists of an eastern and western counterpart. Data from Nebraska and elsewhere in North America suggest that there are two forms of the Marsh Wren, perhaps as vocally different from each other …

The Nebraska Bird Review June 1988- Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

The Eighty-seventh (1988) Annual Meeting ....................34

1987 Nebraska Nesting Survey ....................35

Two Species of Maarsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) in Nebraska? ....................40

Nest Scrape Characteristics of Piping Plover and Least Tern in Nebraska ....................42

Occurrence of Ross' Geese (Chen rossii) detected from Avian Cholera Losses ....................44

Tundra Swans in Lincoln County, Nebraska ....................46

A Second Bald Eagle Nest in Nebraska ....................47

Book Reviews ....................48

Notes....................50

1987 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

1987 CHRISTMAS COUNT

There were two new reporting areas this year - Loup City, and the Nebraska portion of the Sioux City count. One hundred fourteen species are included in the report, but two of them were only from Loup City and one only from Sioux City, to leave III species from areas that reported 109 species last year. One species was reported present during the count period, but not included in any count last year. This year's report form did not include a tabulation of such species. The total individual count this year was 408,096, with 394,127 from the …

1987 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1987 TREASURER'S REPORT

1987 (Thirtieth) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred ninety-six species (plus the possibility that the Waterthrush species was a Louisiana, and the Empidonax sp, reported was not one listed) were reported from fourteen "full-time" locations. plus four "spot~check" locations. The figures for 1986 were 293 and one possibility from 13 "full-time" and 4 "spotcheck" locations; 1985 283 and one possibility from 11 "full-time" and 8 "spot-check" locations; 1984 278 from 12 locations.

The information is presented in a rough west (left) to east (right) order. with locations of about the same latitude listed with the northernmost first. Two dates indicate the first and last records for …

Inca Dove In Nebraska, In Winter, Eileen Paine

Nebraska Bird Review

On 28 October 1987 my uncle, Lee Johnson,and J saw a small dove on the bird bath at my home in Kearney. We did not use binoculars, and thought it was a small Mourning Dove. On 2 November my son Gary Paine. and I saw it and used binoculars on it, noting its small size and rufous wings. We thought it was a Common Ground-Dove. and reported it to Dr. C. W. Bliese. On 2 December it was seen again on the bird bath and in trees. This time Margaret Triplett identified it as an Inca Dove, and the identification …

Notes-Nebraska Bird Review March 1988

Nebraska Bird Review

RED PHALAROPE. On 29 September 1985 Mark A. and Ed M. Brogie reported the occurrence of a Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicaria) at Willow Creek Recreation Area, Pierce Co., Neb. This bird was the first recorded sighting for the county and the second documented record for Nebraska ( NEB 52:72-73). On 26 September 1987 the authors observed and photographed a Red Phalarope along the beach near the group camping area on the south side of Willow Creek Recreation Area. The bird was quite unwary, and at one instance we were able to approach it within two yards distance as …

Nebraska Bird Review- Whole Issue March 1988 Volume 56 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1987 Treasurer's Report..................2
An Inca Dove in Nebraska, in Winter..................3
I 987 Christmas Count ..................3
1987 (Thirtieth) Fall Occurrence Report ............10
Notes.........................22

1987 Fall Field Day

Nebraska Bird Review

The weather was bright and clear for the 75 people who attended some part of the 1987 Fall Field Day at the 4-H Camp at Halsey National Forest 3 and 4 October. It was nice to have Mrs. Gross, who broke her leg at the Valentine meeting, among those attending. Her leg was progressing according to schedule, although she still used a crutch, There was the usual slide show Saturday night, the rest of the time was for birding, including banding. The Executive Board decided to have the terms of members of the Records Committee start and expire with the …

Book Review- Nebraska Bird Review (December 1987)

Nebraska Bird Review

A Field Guide to Hawks of North America, William S. Clark. Illustrations by Brian K. Wheeler. 1987. Number 35 in The Peterson Field Guide Series. edited by Roger Tory Peterson. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. xii + 198 pp., 24 color plates. 2 black-and-white plates, 241 photographs. 6 figures. 32 maps. ISB N 0- 395-36001 - 3 (hardcover) $19.95, ISBN 0-395-44112-9 (softcover) $13.95.

The softcover is a mere 4.5 x 7.25 inches, and less than 0.75 inches thick, but the wealth of information concerning the field identification of diurnal raptors is enormous. William S. Clark, from Arlington, VA, (not William H. …

Early Fall Migration Of Sedge Wrens, Paul A. Bedell

Nebraska Bird Review

Johnsgard (1980) lists the Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) as an uncommon spring and fall migrant in eastern Nebraska, and a rare summer resident in eastern Nebraska, mostly east of a line from Knox to Gage counties. Half of the initial spring records occur between 1 and 12 May, with the latest 3 June. Half of the final fal1 records occur between 11 Sept. and 9 Oct., with the earliest 29 July. This paper presents observations of Sedge Wrens during 1987 in southcentral Nebraska, west of the line.

I found Sedge Wrens to be local1y common in grassy or …

Eskimo Curlew Sighted

Nebraska Bird Review

When Craig Faanes, Grand Island, went to the Mormon Island Crane Meadows 16 April 1987 to watch Sandhill Cranes at night he saw a bird that he first took for a Whimbrel. He was familiar with Whimbrels on both coasts, but the more he studied the bird the more he was convinced that the bird was an Eskimo Curlew. After he had gone to the natural history museum at UNL and studied a stuffed Eskimo Curlew be was convinced that that was what he had seen. After the date of this sighting Eskimo Curlews were reported from "the Sabine and …

First Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

Since this is the first report of the NOU Records Committee, perhaps a few words of background explanation are in order. I was named to establish a records committee at the annual meeting of the NOU in May 1985. At the fall field day in October 1985 I met with those people who had indicated a willingness to serve and was named chairman. I presented a draft set of by-laws, which we discussed, amended, and adopted. The committee membership and by-laws were approved by the NOU Board of Directors and ultimately published (NBR 54:72-74, ]986). Two of the main …

Index To Volume 55

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to Volume 55 (A-Z)

Accipiter sp. 4

Albino 7, 81, 88, 89

Alexander, George 7 Irene 7

Alfalfa 36

Alfred, Norris 15, 33(2), 59, 79 Wberry, Dwight 43

Allen, Betty 3

Andelt, Frank E. 33

Anderson, James 8

Anhinga 50

Ani, Groove-billed 82

Aphids 37

Avocet, American 14, 30, 35, 54, 59

...........

Yellowlegs, Greater 14, 54, 78
Lesser 14, 35, 43, 55
sp. 14, 55

Yellowthroat, Common 23, 34, 36, 48, 53, 63, 78

Zlonke, Jack 13, 57

Notes- Nebraska Bird Review (December 1987), Charles Lesick Sr., Graham Chisholm, Bill Garthright, John Row, R. G. Cortelyou

Nebraska Bird Review

YELLOW RAILS. On 21 September 1986, while conducting a waterfowl survey on the Jack Senn WMA, near Ceresco, Lancaster Co., I flushed a small rail-like bird, which flew a short distance before landing in heavy grass. Although its flight was very similar to the Virginia Rail and the Sora, which I was accustomed to seeing, the light color and white wing patches were very distinctive. Later I checked a field guide and found that the description most closely matching this bird was that of the very secretive Yellow Rail.

I had planned to do some rail and snipe hunting the …

The Nebraska Bird Review (December 1987)- Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Eskimo Curlew Sighted..............78

1987 Fall Field Day..............78

First Report of the NOU Records Committee..............79

Book Reviews..............85

Early Fall Migration of Sedge Wrens..............86

Notes..............88

Index to Volume 55..............89