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Survey For Least Terns And Other Birds On The North And South Platte Rivers, Eastern Keith County

Nebraska Bird Review

SURVEY FOR LEAST TERNS ANO OTHER BIROS ON THE NORTH ANO SOUTH PLATTE RIVERS, EASTERN KEITH COUNTY

The Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos) is considered a nationally endangered subspecies, and except for a sighting of this form on Lake McConaughy during the summer of 1977 by Fretwell (Rosche and Johnsgard, 1984) and a more recent sighting of a pair with an unfledged chick between Arthur and Martin bays of Lake McConaughy in 1989 (Czaplewski, 1989), there have been no other published records of this species in Keith County.

Because of a chance sighting on 20 May 1990, …

Whooping Crane Report (Sept 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

WHOOPING CRANE REPORT The Grand Island office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service reported three confirmed sightings of Whooping Cranes in Nebraska in the spring of 1990, seven probable and 14 unconfirmed sightings. Confirmed sightings are:

Three adults, Buffalo Co., 14-15 April,.5 mi. e. of N 10 bridge, Platte River. TSN, R14W, S1S.

Four adults, Clay Co., 15 April, 3 mi. nw of Harvard Marsh, TSN, RSW, S22. Flying.

One adult, Cherry Co., 9-10 May, 26 mi. s. and 16 w. of Valentine, Lone Tree Lake. T29N, R30W, SS, S ½.

Nebraska Bird Review, Whole Issue (September 1990) 58(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1990 (Sixty-fifth) Spring Occurrence Report .................58

Corrections to 1989 Fall Occurrence Report .................73

First Nebraska Kittiwake Specimen .................75

NOU Participation in Academy of Science Meeting .................75

Book Reviews .................83

Survey for Least Terns and Other Birds on the North and South Platte Rivers, Eastern Keith County .................84

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

More On The Whistling Duck Article

Nebraska Bird Review

MORE ON THE WHISTLING DUCK ARTICLE In the report on the Whistling-Duck, Mr. Labedz mentioned a sighting in Minnesota (NBR 58:51.) He now adds that a more recent issue of The Loon (62: 109) reports this was an escapee. Some skeptics noted that the site was near a game farm and called the farm. The farm owner reported that the bird escaped while its pen was being constructed, but was recaptured a couple of days later. There are approximately 1,100 game farms in Minnesota.

A Black-Bellied Whistling Duck Specimen From Nebraska, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

On 29 October 1989 John Andersen of Ong, Nebraska, shot and killed an adult male Black-bellied Whistling-Duck while duck hunting at Hansen Waterfowl Production Area, 3 miles north and 1 mile west of Ong, Clay Co., Nebraska (T6N R5W Section 35). Andersen's brother-in-law, Stewart Porterfield of Lincoln, was present at the time and tentatively identified the specimen but returned to their vehicle to get a bird book for reference (Porterfield, pers. comm. 2 November 1989). Mr. Porterfield took the frozen, intact duck specimen to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission office in Lincoln where it was recommended that the specimen …

Additional Observations On The Birds Of The Lake Mcconaughy Region, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Since the publication more than five years ago (NBR, 52:26-35, 1984) of an earlier list of the birds of the North Platte Valley between Oshkosh and Keystone, many new records have been obtained. Additionally, since 1982 Dr. Charles Brown of Yale University has spent every summer doing ornithological fieldwork in the area, and has kindly contributed many of his observations. This abundance of new information appears to warrant some additions and modifications to the original list, most of which simply involve changes in occurrence or status information for previously recorded species. However, three previously unreported species have also …

1989 Nebraska Nesting Report, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1989 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 25 observers and two agencies, reporting on 105 species from 53 counties. Counties on the tabulation are listed in a west to east order, with the northernmost of the approximately equal locations given first. Numbers in normal type represent Nest Record Cards; numbers in italics represent nests reported by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; B represents nest building; C represents carrying food; E represents eggs; F represents feeding; M represents carrying nesting materials; N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; P represents brood patch; …

Book Reviews From Nebraska Bird Review June 1990

Nebraska Bird Review

Collins Guide to Tropical Plants, Wilhelm Lotschert and Gerhard Beese, 256 pp., including 274 color photographs (grouped on 96 pp. in the center of the book), 5 x 7¾ , index, Steptlen Greene Press, Lexington, Mass. $24.95.

The subtitle says "A descriptive guide to 323 ornamental and economic plants," so obviously it can cover only the most prominent and common plants. (There are about 3,500 varieties of palms.) A one-page map of the world shows the climate and vegetation zones of the tropics, which, with a two-page description, gives some guidance as to the plants to be expected in …

Notes Nebraska Bird Review (June 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

Notes

EAGLE SURVEY NOTE. This part of the Eagle Survey report was lost between the bottom of page 29 and the top of page 31 of the March issue (NBR 58:29-31):

*The unknown eagle under Niobrara was not identified as either Bald or Golden; all others were Bald Eagles.

--- Greg Wingfield, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Rt. 4, North Platte, NE 69101

PAINTED BUNTING On 21 May 1988 I spotted a Painted Bunting in the cemetery (nearest to the road leading to the Monument) on the western edge of Gering, Scotts Bluff Co. I saw the bird at …

The Eighty-Ninth (1990) Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

THE EIGHTY-NINTH (1990) ANNUAL MEETING

Good weather and good birding, and "Welcome" flags on the main street, greeted the 103 who registered for the 1990 Annual Meeting at Falls City. A check of the last 10 previous meetings shows that the 1987 meeting at Valentine had 116 participants registered, but that was a joint meeting with South Dakota, and 39 of the participants were members of SDOU only, so that 77 (or less, there were 14 unaffiliated participants, some of whom may have attended only because of the South Dakota participation) would be the comparable figure for a Nebraska meeting. …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 1990) 58(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1989 Nebraska Nesting Survey..............38

The Eighty-ninth (1990) Annual Meeting ..............46

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

A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Specimen from Nebraska:
A First State Record ..............49

Additional Observations on the Birds
of the Lake McConaughy Region ..............52

Notes ..............54

1989 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

One hundred three species and one hybrid were reported on the Christmas counts for 1989, and two were seen within the count circles during the count week, but not reported on the count, and there is the possibility that some of the "species" reported were ones not individually listed. The figures for last year, with one less reporting site, were 110, no hybrids, and two seen during the count week but not on the count day. The total individual count this year was 102,212, compared to 505,823 last year and 408,096 the year before. A drop of 264,575 Snow Geese …

1989 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1989 TREASURER'S REPORT

Balance

Memberships

Subscriptions

Misc.

Publications

Officer's expenses

Misc.

Balance

1989 (Thirty-Second) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred ninety-one species, and the probability that the Snowy Owl on the DeSoto NWR Christmas Count would qualify as a Nebraska bird and the possibility that some of the Empidonax sp. reported were not otherwise reported, were reported from 13 "full-time" locations plus 9 "spot-check" locations, which included 27 counties. The figures for 1988 were 282 species from 14 "full-time" locations plus 14 "spot-check" locations, which included 49 counties. The figures for 1987 were 296, plus 2 possibilities, from 14 "full-time" and 4 "spot-check" locations; 1986, 293 and 1 possibility from 13 "full-time" and 4 "spot-check" locations.

The information …

"Book Reviews," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

The Outermost House, Henry Beston, introduction by Robert Finch, xxiv + 222 pp. Penguin Books, New York, soft cover $6.95.

This book is part of the Penguin Nature Library. In 1925, Henry Beston bought a small acreage on Cape Cod and built a two room home there, in which he lived for a year. The book is a record of that period: his observations on the sea, the land and its creatures and features, and anything else that attracted his attention. His observations are interesting to read just for themselves, but some items invite comparison of those times with the …

Corrections To 1989 Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTIONS TO 1989 SPRING OCCURRENCE REPORT

The final date for Merlin for Lancaster Co. should be Mr 11 (NBR 57:63), the last date for Semipalmated Sandpiper for Dakota Co. is My 6 (p. 67), the last date for Western Sandpiper for Cedar Co. is My 20 (p. 66) and the first date for Lancaster Co. is My 11 (p. 67), the last date for Least Sandpiper for Lincoln Co. is Je 30 (p. 66), the first date White-rumped Sandpiper for Lancaster Co. should be My 6 (p. 67), the last date for Baird's Sandpiper for Lancaster Co. is My 11 …

"Notes," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1990)

Nebraska Bird Review

Notes

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION EAGLE SURVEY In the 1990 Eagle Survey a total of 857 Bald Eagles were observed in Nebraska, 211 along the Missouri River, and 646 in the rest of the state. This count is 259 less than the record high of 1,116 observed in 1989, and 103 less than the average of 960 birds for 1987-1989. The Missouri River count is nearly identical to the 1989 figure and to the three year average. Possibly the cold snap in late December prompted some Eagles to overfly Nebraska in search of less hostile wintering conditions. The Harlan Co. Reservoir …

Sage Sparrow In Sioux County, Dave Stage, Lois Stage

Nebraska Bird Review

On 6 August 1989, we observed a Sage Sparrow approximately one mile east of Coffee Park in Sow Belly Canyon in Sioux Co. The Sparrow flew from an area of sagebrush along the road and perched in the top of some brush about three to four meters high. The bird appeared to be an adult. Its bill was bluish-gray, breast was white with brownish streaks and a central dark spot. It had two faint pale wingbars, whitish eye-ring, a white stripe above the eye, whitish whisker stripe, grayish brown face patch, and light brown streaks on its sides. The head …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 1990) 58(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1989 Treasurer's Report .....................2

1989 Christmas Count.....................3

1989 (Thirty-Second) Fall Occurrence Report..................... 13

Corrections to 1989 Spring Occurrence Report .....................27

Sage Sparrow in Sioux County .....................27

Notes.....................29

Book Reviews..................... 35

Recent Sedge Wren Observations In Nebraska, Mary Clausen

Nebraska Bird Review

The Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) in Nebraska was considered by Rapp (1958) an uncommon migrant in the eastern third of the state, and a rare breeder in suitable marshes in the eastern quarter, and by Johnsgard (1986) as an uncommon spring and fall migrant in the east and a rare summer resident in the eastern third of the state, mostly east of a line from Knox to Gage counties. Recent articles have prompted questions concerning the rarity of Sedge Wrens nesting in Nebraska (Bedell 1987, Lingle and Bedell 1989) and the possibility that may be nesting late in …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 1989) 57(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1988 Fall Field Day ..................86

Have the Northern Cardinal and the Red-bellied Woodpecker Expanded Their
Ranges in Nebraska Recently, 1968-19871 ..................87

Recent Sedge Wren Observations in Nebraska..................92

Notes..................93

Index to Volume 57..................95

Index To Volume 57

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to Volume 57

8 pages

A-Z

1988 Fall Field Day

Nebraska Bird Review

Some innovations greeted the 60 registrants at the 1989 Field Day, 6 October, at the 4-H camp at Halsey National Forest: there was a canoe float down the Middle Loup River and a lesson on bird calls Saturday morning, in additl0 to the usual self-guided birding trips and demonstration of bird banding. Blow ups of the field card were posted, so that sightings could be posted currently and locations of special sightings could be written on a chalkboard. Saturday morning was overcast and chilly (otherwise the weather was sunny and mild), but 7 did make the float trip down to …

Have The Northern Cardinal And The Red-Bellied Woodpecker Expanded Their Ranges In Nebraska Recently, 1968-1987?, E.H. Maddux

Nebraska Bird Review

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) are both common permanent residents of Nebraska (Johnsgard 1980: Bray, Padelford, and Silcock i986). Over at least the last four decades there have been published reports that the two species have been expanding their respective ranges to the west and to the north. In the case of the Northern Cardinal the range expansion has been extensive in distance and has occurred over a long period of time. "Originally a bird of the south, the Kentucky Cardinal, or Virginia Redbird, has pushed its way northward until …

"Notes," From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1989) 57(4)

Nebraska Bird Review

MINK AND OTTER. On a trip to West Point on 2 June 1989 I took N 79 north to Snyder. As I was travelling north near the town of Prague I noticed a large river otter loping through a field in broad daylight, paralleling a a wooded stream. It probably was an itinerant, recently released, and was going about the business of looking for a better home. Later that day, near West Point, I saw a mink quickly cross the road from one stream to another, in the area of a wet prairie surrounding both sides of the road.' I …

1986: A Nebraska Big Year, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

In January of 1986 my brother, Ed M. Brogie, and I were tallying our lists for Nebraska when the question arose: "How many species of birds do you think one could see in Nebraska in one year?" The previous year (1985) had been the first year we had made a serious attempt at seeing western Nebraska species and chasing rarities in the state. Our efforts had yielded such birds as Bean Goose, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-necked Stilt, Red Phalarope, Lewis' Woodpecker, Sprague's Pipit, Cassin's Finch, Cassin's Kingbird, and King Eider. When 1985 ended, my Nebraska life list stood at 290 and …

Book Reviews [September 1989]

Nebraska Bird Review

Reviews of several books and calendars: The Collins Field Guide to the Birds of the Galapagos; A Birdsong Tutor for Visually Handicapped Individuals; The Bird Identification Calendar (1990); The Flyfisher's 1990 Calendar; Birds, a 1990 Equinox Nature Calendar; and Eric Hosking's Birds of Prey of the World.

1989 (Sixty-Fourth) Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred and eighty-nine species (plus the possibility that the Empidonax sp. was one not listed) are listed in this report, from 13 locations, plus 36 counties reported in 7 "spot check" columns or as notes in regular columns. In 1988 there were 306 species from 15 locations plus 13 "spot check" columns involving 34 counties; in 1987 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; and 1985 296 from 13 locations and 9 "spot check" columns (plus additions on NBR 53:70) …

Changes In The A.O.U. Check-List

Nebraska Bird Review

CHANGES IN THE A.O.U. CHECK-LIST

The Thirty-seventh Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds (Auk, 106:532-538) made these changes in species which may be found in Nebraska:

Common Barn-Owl (Tyto alba) to Barn Owl; Barn-Owl is no longer used for another species, so the hyphen is no longer needed, nor is a modifier.

Northern Hawk-Owl (Surnia ulula) to Northern Hawk Owl; this species does not belong in the Hawk-Owl group and so the hyphen is removed.

Western Flycatcher (Empidonax diffieilis) is replaced by Pacific-slope Flycatcher (E. diffieilis) …

Cassin’S Sparrow In Dundy And Chase Counties, Nebraska, W. Ross Silcock, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

On 3 and 4 June 1989 Tanya Bray, Doug Rose, and I [W. Ross Silcock] traveled to Dundy Co. to look for two species: Chihuahuan Raven and Cassin's Sparrow. While we found no Ravens, we did find several Cassin's Sparrows.

All of the Cassin's Sparrows were found in sandy sage prairie habitat. At least six were found, in four different locations. The birds were located most easily by their skylarking behavior, although the song, once heard, is also useful for locating birds. Indeed, Doug Rose found the first Cassin's Sparrow by song. Once located, we were able to study individuals …