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1987 (Sixty-Second) Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred and eighty-eight species are listed in this report, from 19 locations, compared to 304 from 22 locations in 1986, 296 from 22 in 1985, and 293 from 13 in 1984.

“Book Reviews” From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1987) 55(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

Life Histories of North American Diving Birds. A. C. Bent. xiv + 240 + 55 pp. ot photographs. 5.375 x 8.5, Dover Publications, Inc. New York, paper, $6.95. Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns. A. C. Bent. x + 338 + 93 pages of photographs, 5.375 x 8.5, Dover Publications, Inc. New York, paper $8.95. Dover has reprinted their original reprints of these books in the Bent series with no changes.

Wild Animals I Have Known. Ernest Thompson Seaton. xxvi + 356, 5 x 7.75, Penguin Books, New York, paper, $7.95. If this sounds familiar, …

“Notes” From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1987) 55(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

FUNK LAGOON. We were at the Funk Lagoon 2 July 1987, toward dusk. We saw two Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, five American Bitterns, two Great Egrets, thirty Great Blue Herons, five Double-crested Cormorants, numerous Coots, Blue-winged Teal, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, Killdeer, a flock of Short-billed Dowitchers, and several unidentified shore birds.—George W. Brown, Kearney

WOOD DUCK CARRYING EGG. On 24 April 1987, Gail Roebuck was hiking along the north Stream Trail in Fontenelle Forest and heard Wood Duck calls. She looked up to see the female carrying something in her bill. The Duck dropped the object along the edge of the …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1987) 55(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.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only): Students, $3.00; Active $7.00; Sustaining $15.00; Family Active $10.00; Family Sustaining $20.00; Life $100.00.

All dues and subscriptions …

A Nebraska Specimen Record Of Clark’S Grebe, Aechmophorus Clarkii (Lawrence), Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

Clark’s Grebe, formerly known as light-phase Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis clarkii), was elevated to full species status (A. clarkii) in 1985 (American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) 1983, 1985). This paper presents the first recorded occurrence in Nebraska of Clark’s Grebe and is documented with a specimen. Identification of Clark’s Grebe in the field is discussed, and a comparison is made of the Nebraska specimen with specimen s reported in recent literature.

Nebraska Bird Review (September 1987) 55(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

1987 (Sixty-second) Spring Occurrence·Report … 50

Red Knot and Red Phalarope photographs … 64

Book Reviews … 65

A Nebraska Specimen Record of Clark’s Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii (Lawrence) … 68

Notes … 72

1986 Nebraska Nesting Survey, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1986 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 20 observers and one organization, reporting on 67 species from 49 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; B represents building nest; C represents copulating; E represents eggs; F represents feeding; M represents carrying nesting material; N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; P represents brood patch; and Y represents young observed. Underlined numbers represent nests reported …

A Red-Naped Sapsucker In Sioux County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie, Ellen L. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) has recently been recognized as a valid species (American Ornithologists' Union, 1985). Its inclusion in the avifauna of Nebraska is based on three birds, all taken in September in the northwestern corner of the state during the years 1919 and 1920 (Bray et al. 1986). Bray et al. (1985) give detailed accounts of these specimens and present an over-view of the species in Nebraska. The following, along with being the first spring record of the species in Nebraska, represents the first verified occurrence of this species in the state since 1920.

On the …

Black Rail In Knox County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie, Ellen L. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

BLACK RAIL IN KNOX COUNTY. NEBRASKA

The Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) is apparently an extremely rare spring and fall migrant in Nebraska (Johnsgard, 1980). No breeding evidence for this species exists for the state. although several field guides show Nebraska at the northern edge of this rail's breeding range. A description of a Black Rail seen 22 April 1980 in Lancaster Co. (NBR 48: 88 is the only accepted record (Class III) of this species in the state (Bray et al., 1986). Whitney et al., 1978) makes no mention of this species for South Dakota. although Iowa …

Insects In Some Nebraska Crops As Food For Pheasant Chicks, R. W. Whitmore, K. P. Pruess, R.E. Gold

Nebraska Bird Review

Insect biomass was estimated for crops grown on an organic, a dryland, and an irrigated farm from 1 June to 15 July, the time period assumed important for Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) nesting and chick dependence on insect food. Differences due to farming system were not detected. Total insect biomass production during the season was 2,555, 2,173, and 338 mg per square m for oats-sweetclover, oats, and sweetclover, respectively. Leafhoppers were the most abundant insects in oats and oats-sweetclover, with plant bugs the most abundant in sweetclover. Mean standing crop biomass (mg per square m) of only those …

Macgillivray's Warbler In Cedar County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie, David A. Stage

Nebraska Bird Review

MacGillivray's Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei) is considered by Johnsgard (1980) to be a rare spring and fall migrant in western Nebraska. with most records from the Panhandle. but reported from as far east as Platte Co. Bray et al (1986) consider it regular and cite a specimen taken in Boone Co.. Whatever the status. this warbler is infrequently encountered in Nebraska. and separating this species from Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia) can often be difficult. Some authorities believe the two to be conspecific, although Hall (1979) found very few hybrid specimens and Salt (1973) found that they did …

Notes- Nebraska Bird Review June 1987

Nebraska Bird Review

PELICAN WITH SANDHILLS CRANES. On 17 October 1986, about 1:30 PM, I took a call from Mrs. Darrol Sukraw from Stapleton, who reported a flock of Sandhill Cranes (approximately 100 birds) that contained a single Whooping Crane. After questioning her about the description of the white bird, I felt her observation might be valid and asked her which direction the birds were traveling.

She informed me that the flock had just passed over Stapleton and was flying directly South down highway 83, toward North Platte. This is a distance of about 30 miles. Hoping that I could verify the Whooping …

The Eighty-Sixth (1987) Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

The eighty-sixth Annual Meeting was held in Valentine 15, 16, and 17 May, 1987, in conjunction with the South Dakota Ornithologists' Union. A previous joint meeting was held in Yankton, S. D. in 1959. Total attendance at some part of this meeting was 116; 6 who were members of both societies, 57 members of NOU only, 39 members of SDOU only, and 14 nonmembers. Friday night George Vandel, of the SD Game, Fish, and Parks Commission, spoke on the program, sponsored by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, for the identification and preservation of shorebird habitat. At the …

Nebraska Bird Review June 1987 Volume 55 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1986 Nebraska Nesting Survey
The Eighty-sixth (1987) Annual Meeting
Insects in Some Nebraska Crops as Food for Pheasant Chicks
A Red-naped Sapsucker in Sioux County, Nebraska
Black Rail in Knox County. Nebraska
MacGillilvray's Warbler in Cedar County, Nebraska
Notes

1986 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

1986 TREASURERS REPORT

1986 (Twenty-Ninth) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred ninety-three species (plus the possibility that the Loon sp. was not one listed) were reported from 13 "full-time" locations and 4 "spot check" locations in this report; the comparable figures for 1985 are 283 a!ld the possibility that the Empidonax species was not one listed, from 11 "full-time" and 8 "spot check" locations, 278 from 12 locations in 1984, and 262 from 10 locations in 1983.

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

Book Reviews- Nebraska Bird Review March 1987

Nebraska Bird Review

Wildlife 2000 Modeling Habitat Relationships of Terestrial Vertebrates, edited by Jared Verner, Michael L. Morrison, and C. John Ralph, 496 pp., 9 x 11 1/2, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wis., bibliography, indexed, cloth, $17.50.

This book is based on the proceedings of a symposium at Stanford Sierra Camp, California, in 1984. Not all papers presented there are included; those that are were revised to reflect reactions to the presentations, and some additional papers were added to round out the presentation. The sixty papers are presented in several sections: Development, Testing, and Application of Wildlife-Habitat Models; Biometric Approaches to …

Correction To 1986 Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

The text for Column 8 (Saunders Co.) gives (NBR 54:51) m = My 31 and m = Je 14. The second entry should read u = Je 14.

Notes- Nebraska Bird Review March 1987

Nebraska Bird Review

ROCK COUNTY, A pair of Cinnamon Teal, two Great Egrets, and a newly hatched clutch of Canada Geese were seen near Bassett on 26 April 1986.

--- Eldon Marsh, Box 365, Brunswick, Neb. 68720

On 19 and 20 May 1986 Mrs. Ratzlaff and I saw three White-faced Ibis on the Niobrara River, north of Bassett. They were feeding in a marsh.

--- Neal Ratzlaff, 536 Brentwood Road, Omaha, Neb. 68114

SHORT-EARED OWLS IN LANCASTER CO. Five to seven Short-eared Owls were observed on 10 January 1986, during a controlled burn on the Jack Sinn Memorial WMA, Lancaster Co. Two to …

Nebraska Bird Review- Whole Issue March 1987 Volume 55 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1986 Treasurer's Report................... 2

1986 Christmas Count.....................3

1936 (Twenty-ninth) Fall Occurrence Report..................8

Notes...........................22

Book Reviews.............................26

Correction to 1986 Spring Occurrence Report......................28

1986 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

One hundred nine species are reported in this year's Christmas Count, eight more than last year. One species was reported present during the count week but not reported on any count, compared to two last year. Calmus-Loup made its first report this year, bringing to eleven the number of localities reporting. Fourteen species were reported on all counts; the comparable figure for. last year was also fourteen. The total individual count this year was 279,291, compared to 124,642 last year and 345,092 the year before. The Snow Goose count at DeSoto NWR and Red-winged Blackbirds and Starlings at Omaha account …

Index To Volume 54

Nebraska Bird Review

Accipiter sp. 4

Adcock, Dorothy 64

Albino 20

Alexander, George and Irene 6

Alfred, Norris 15, 17, 31, 43, 49, 64

Allen, Betty 3

Ani, Groove-billed 30

Ants 26

Avocet, American 9, 12, 30, 31, 50, 79

. . .

Yellowlegs, Greater 12, 50

Lesser 13, 30, 50

sp. 13, 15, 50

Yellowthroat, Common 21, 30, 31, 34, 60, 79

Ziewitz, Jerry W., Whooping Crane Roost Site Characteristics on the Platte River, Buffalo County, Nebraska 36

Zlonke, Jack 58

“On Our Nebraska Records," Revisited, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

At the second annual meeting of the NOU, Dr. Robert H. Wolcott, one of our founders, presented a paper titled “On Migration Records and On Our Nebraska Records” (Proc. NOU 2:69, 1901), which included a plea for better documentation. He said, in part, “These problems must be met and answered in a spirit of scientific accuracy, if our conclusions are to carry weight with those living outside our borders. We must know what we know and record only what we know we know. We must be open at all times to conviction, but at the same time we must …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 1986) 54(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Ivory Gull Reported … 70

“. . . On Our Nebraska Records,” Revisited … 71

By-laws of the NOU Records Committee … 72

Writing a Documentation … 74

California Gull in Keith County, Nebraska … 77

Avian Cholera in the Panhandle, 1985–1986 … 78

1986 Fall Field Day … 79

Book Reviews … 80

Cassin’s Sparrow in Garden County … 80

Notes … 81

Proximity Nesting: The Great Horned Owl and Red-tailed Hawk … 84

Index to Volume 54 … 86

Proximity Nesting: The Great Horned Owl And Red-Tailed Hawk, Steve Shupe

Nebraska Bird Review

Introduction: Forty-two nests of the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and 78 nests of the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaieensis) were surveyed during a three-year ecological study (1982–84). In 11 instances nests of the two species overlapped the hunting areas of the other. Home ranges, in which most hunting takes place, have been defined by various authors (Miller, 1930; Baumgartner, 1939; Hagar, 1967). For this study Hawks and Owls nesting within one-half mile of each other were compared. The proximity nesting of these two species seemed likely to increase the possibility of predation upon the young of …

Writing A Documentation, Barbara L. Wilson

Nebraska Bird Review

As the previous article makes clear, the written documentation helps birdwatchers communicate clearly about unusual sightings. Preparing the report can even add to the excitement of the event as one settles into a comfortable chair with the field notes and paper, chortling “Wait ‘til they read about this!” Then one relives the whole experience while organizing one’s thoughts for writing. Those field notes are an important part of the process, for they keep small but critical details accurate. Train yourself to take some kind of notebook or paper into the field, though in a pinch the margin of a field …

Cassin’S Sparrow In Garden County, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

On 21 May 1986, while searching for evidence of breeding birds in atlas block 2G04 near Lisco, Garden County, Nebraska, I discovered a Cassin’s Sparrow (Aimophila cassinii). This sighting was at 5:20 PM Mountain Daylight Time, along the county road in the northeast corner of Section 11. I was driving slowly down the road and stopped to observe an odd sparrow. I nearly drove past, thinking it was another Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), which I had heard and seen all day. The sparrow, which appeared larger than a Grasshopper Sparrow, was perched on the low wire …

Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper And Ivory Gull Reported, Sandy Kovanda, Jim Kovanda, Bill Otto, Eldon Marsh, Barbara Marsh

Nebraska Bird Review

SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER. On 12 October 1986 we saw an unusual sandpiper, in company of three dowitchers, on the east side of Nebraska Highway 15, about half the distance between the Platte River and Octavia, Butler County. We thought the bird to be a juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata).

IVORY GULL. On 12 October 1986 we were birding six miles east and half a mile south of Brunswick, Antelope County. . . . We were sitting in our vehicle at the edge of the road, facing south, when a white gull appeared. . . . [W]e identified this bird …

“Book Reviews” From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1986) 54(4)

Nebraska Bird Review

Bears and Men: A Gathering, William Mills, 108 pp., 9¼ x 9¼, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, cloth $24. 95. The author’s pictures, mostly of polar bears, but with a few of seals, arctic fox, men and their machine, and two of Ptarmigan, are probably more important than the text, which describes a trip out from Churchill in a tundra buggy towing a dormitory accommodation, both supposedly (but not too) bear-proof. The trip was organized for those who were interested in photographing polar bears under relatively natural conditions. In the course of the narrative the author …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1986) 54(4)

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 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.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only): Student, $3.00; Active, $7.00; Sustaining, $15.00; Family Active, $10.00; Family Sustaining, $20.00; Life, $100.00.

All dues and subscriptions should …