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Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue September 2004 Volume 72 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Summer Field Report, June - July 2004
by W. Ross Silcock ...........................78

Birds of Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center - 1999-2004
by Kevin Poague ...........................94

In Memory of Clyde E. Johnson ...........................98

The 2001 Nebraska Nesting Report by Wayne J. Mollhoff ...........................99

The Greater Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens atlanticus)
in Nebraska by W. Ross Silcock ............................104

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska: 2003
by Mark A. Brogie ...........................108

Subscription and Organization Information ...........................127

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 …

2003 (15th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

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 an update was published in 1997 (NOU Records Committee 1997).

The "Official List" has been appended thirteen times: (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, 1991, Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1996c, Brogie 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, Jorgensen 2001, 2002, 2003). This report includes all …

Species For Which The Nou Records Committee Seeks Documentation, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The NOU Records Committee has revised the list of accidental or casual species for which the committee seeks documentation as of the end of 2003. This list was last published in 1995 (NBR 63:12-13). The committee seeks documentation on all species with less than regular occurrence in Nebraska, as well as any species occurring out of range or out of season. Changes in this list since 1995 include the addition of new species documented for the state, and the deletion of species upgraded to regular status. Below are listed the species of less than regular occurrence based on the …

Changes To The Bylaws Of The N.O.U. Records Committee

Nebraska Bird Review

Changes to the Bylaws of the N.O.U. Records Committee

The following changes were voted on and approved by the NOURC Board in February of 2004:

Under Section VII. VOTING

Amend Section F to read:

"Members of the committee may vote upon their own records."

Add Section G to read:

"Status of a species can be changed at any time by a two-thirds majority vote of the committee following a petition for change by any member of the committee, such petition to outline the case for the suggested change."'

Correction To The 2001 (13th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee

Nebraska Bird Review

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

Joel Jorgensen reports that the photo of the White Ibis mentioned in the 13th NOURC Report (NBR 71: 98) was taken at Johnson WPA 19 Aug, not Funk WPA. The bird was originally discovered at Funk WPA on 9 Aug, and then it presumably moved to Johnson WPA 12-19 Aug. See Silcock, W.R., "Fall Field' Report, August-November 2001". The Nebraska Bird Review 69: 158-189.

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review June 2004

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review 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): $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 only): …

In Memory Of George W. Brown, Neal Ratzlaff

Nebraska Bird Review

NOU member, supporter and friend George Brown passed away on February 9, 2002, at the age of 80 following a 10 year battle with leukemia.

His many contributions to this organization include service as President on two occasions, 1974-5 and 1992-4. Some of us remember smaller but equally memorable contributions, including the flower arrangements, gifts from George's garden, that appeared on the tables at our Halsey Fall Field Days; his wonderful stories and good humor; his personal thriftiness which he applied with equal vigor to the NOV budget; and his love of only the most brief and concise presentations. The …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2003]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review 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): $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 only): …

Another Sandhill Crane Breeding Record In The Eastern Rainwater Basin, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

Jorgensen (2002) recently summarized breeding-season occurrences of the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) in the Eastern Rainwater Basin (eRWB). Summering birds were first detected in 1992 (The Nebraska Bird Review 60: 145). Breeding first occurred in 1994 with four additional nesting or breeding records in subsequent years. The most recent breeding records were in 1999 when breeding activity was detected at both Kissinger Basin Wildlife Management Area (WMA) (Hoffman 1999) and Harvard Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) (Silcock and Jorgensen 1999), both in Clay County. Since late 1999 the eRWB has experienced persistent drought. This has affected wetland conditions …

Breeding Black-Necked Stilts At Funk Waterfowl Production Area, Jeff Drahota

Nebraska Bird Review

On 21 July 2003, I was mapping wetland vegetation on Funk Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), Phelps County, when I encountered two adult Black-necked Stilts and two young on the Teal Unit, NE 1/4 of Section 16, T-6-N, R-17-W. I was using an airboat to map pockets of open water throughout the WPA. When I launched the airboat on the Teal Unit, I immediately noticed an adult Black-necked Stilt flying above the small pool. While driving the perimeter of this pool, I noticed two adult Black-necked Stilts continually flying over a small point of cattails surrounded by shallow water. As I …

Halsey Fall Field Days, Alice Kenitz

Nebraska Bird Review

Forty-one NOU members and friends gathered at the 4-H Camp at Halsey in the Nebraska National Forest on September 26–28, 2003, for the annual Fall Field Days. Fall colors were beautiful and the weather was generally good except for a brisk wind on Friday and Saturday. The ongoing drought was evident in the low level of lakes and ponds, with some of the smaller bodies of water being completely dry.

Index To Volume 71

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to Volume 71

Fall Field Report, August-November 2003, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

New in this Seasonal Report, direct from the American Ornithologists' Union (along with Wilson's Snipe, Rock Pigeon, etc.), is the modified checklist order, featuring geese, swans, and ducks at the beginning, followed by gallinaceous birds, then resuming the familiar order with loons.

Perhaps the most important use for these reports, in addition to their incorporation into the Southern Great Plains Region summary in North American Birds, is the noting of significant avian events in Nebraska. Some are of obvious importance, but the meaning of others is obscure, perhaps only to be revealed as subsequent reports show a trend, or …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2003) 71(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2003 ... 146

Breeding Black-necked Stilts at Funk Waterfowl Production Area ... 166

Another Sandhill Crane Breeding Record in the Eastern Rainwater Basin ... 167

Halsey Fall Field Days ... 169

Index to Volume 71 ... 173

Subscription and Organization Information ... 183

Left-Sided Directional Bias Of Cloacal Contacts During House Sparrow Copulations, Karen B. Nyland, Michael P. Lombardo, Patrick A. Thorpe

Peer Reviewed Publications

Most female birds have only a left ovary and associated oviduct. The entry to the oviduct is on the left side of the urodeum of the cloaca. This arrangement may favor males that mount females from the left during copulation if it results in sperm being placed closer to the opening of the oviduct. Therefore, we predicted a left-sided directional bias of cloacal contacts during House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) copulations. Cloacal contacts from the left outnumbered those from the right 74 to 25 (3:1) during 25 bouts of copulation at 11 House Sparrow nests. While this pattern suggests …

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2003]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review 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): $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 only): …

Summer Field Report, June-July 2003, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

To begin on a sad note, I want to mention the passing of Roger Sharpe, senior author with Joel Jorgensen and me of Birds of Nebraska. Roger was great to work with, enthusiastic, and, of course, extremely knowledgeable in many areas. Joel and I both learned a lot from Roger, in different ways, not just ornithologically. We miss Roger.

This summer was, of course, hot and waterless. Any spot with water was a hotspot. Lake McConaughy, even more than usual, was worth a look, as were Sandhills ponds that generally fared well waterwise. Joel Jorgensen kept us posted on …

2002 (14th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

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 an update was published in 1997 (NOU Records Committee 1997).

The "Official List" has been appended twelve times: (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, 1991, Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1996c, Brogie 1997,1998,1999, Jorgensen 2001, 2002, 2003). This report includes all accounts submitted during …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2003) 71(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2003 ... 106

Autumn Roosting Habitat for Chimney Swifts in Eastern Omaha ... 127 [Article not included at the request of the author]

2002 (14th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 136

Subscription and Organization Information ... 143