Zoology Commons^™

Nebraska's Sandhill Crane Population, Past, Present, And Future, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Although the spring concentrations of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska's Platte Valley are now an avian phenomenon known nationwide, a general appreciation and inventory of this unique concentration of birds has only been attempted in the last few decades. I am often asked how long this largest of all crane concentrations has been occurring in the Platte Valley, and why it has developed only there. Here I will try to summarize the little-known history of this marvelous assemblage, but not dwell on the ecological reasons for it. The latter are now generally well understood to revolve around abundant spring food supplies …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

Nou Fall Field Days

Nebraska Bird Review

Nou Fall Field Pays

The annual NOU Fall Field Pays were held the weekend of September 6-8 at the 4-H Camp at Halsey. The count included Logan, Blain, Brown, Cherry, and Thomas Counties as well as the Nebraska National Forest. The count included 11 9 species.

Fall Field Report, August-November 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

A few words on documentation of sightings reported is in order. I receive many reports each season of rare or hard-to-identify birds. If they fit a pattern that has developed over the years (see "Birds of Nebraska"), I tend to accept them as correct. However, if they fall outside the range of prior reports, I usually email the observer and ask for some details about the identification and circumstances of the sighting. Everyone has been very nice about this process; observers sometimes take these requests as a questioning of their ability, but I haven't run into this problem with Nebraska …

Nebraska Bird Review- Whole Issue December 2002 Volume 70 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Fall Field Report, August-November 2002
Compiled by W. Ross Silcock................130

Species Accounts...............134

Nou Fall Field Days......................168

Nebraska's Sandhill Crane Populations, Past, Present,
and Future by Paul A. Johnsgard.......................175

Index for Volume 70.1-4......................178

Individual, Temporal, And Seasonal Variation In Sperm Concentration In Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Armetris N. Forman, Matthew R. Czarnowski, Patrick A. Thorpe

Peer Reviewed Publications

We determined sperm concentrations in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) by manually expressing semen samples from males during prelaying, egg-laying, incubation, and nestling periods. Sperm concentrations varied by orders of magnitude (0-10⁹ sperm mL^-1) among males. Sperm concentrations were highest during the incubation period and lowest during the prelaying period. None of the samples collected during the prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods were devoid of sperm. In contrast, 45% of samples collected during the nestling period lacked sperm. Sperm concentrations (1) did not vary over the course of the morning during prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods …

Sequencing The Genome Of The Domestic Cat Felis Catus, Stephen J. O'Brien, Eric S. Lander, M. E. Haskins, Urs Giger, Niels C. Pederson, David E. Wildt, William J. Murphy, Naoya Yuhki, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Contributions To The Mammalogy Of Mongolia, With A Checklist Of The Species Of The Country, David S. Tinnin, Jon L. Dunnum, Jorge A. Salazar-Bravo, Nyamsuren Batsaikhan, M. Scott Burt, Scott Lyell Gardner, Terry L. Yates

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We present accounts for 40 species of mammals collected from 15 localities in the Mongolian People's Republic. Accounts include taxonomic, morphometric, reproductive and ecological information, as well as trap effort and success. In addition, we include a brief history of mammalogical work within Mongolia, a taxonomically updated species list for the country, and a list of institutions with holdings of Mongolian mammals.

The Effect Of A Predator Gradient On Female Oviposition Site Selection And Larval Performance, Josef F. Rieger

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Patterns of larval amphibian distribution and abundance have historically been ascribed to direct predation. However, adult oviposition site selection is an alternative mechanism that can produce identical patterns and significantly influence community assembly. Although such behavioral habitat selection has been documented in several amphibian species whose larvae lack particular anti-predator defenses, the sensitivity of adult amphibians in detecting predator cues and avoiding these habitats has not yet been determined. If larval survivorship is greatly reduced in sites containing predatory fish, selection to detect and avoid habitats with low fish densities should be strong. I conducted three experiments which, (1) evaluated …

Hermit Warbler In Knox County: First Accepted Record For Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2002 Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Record Committee has reviewed the following record and accepted it as a Class III. This Knox County sighting constitutes the first confirmed record of Hermit Warbler in Nebraska.

On 15 May, 2002, while birding with Ben Brogie, we stopped at an isolated planting of mixed hardwoods and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) on a high hill 5.5 miles north (Road 530) of Creighton. We noticed several birds moving among the branches along the roadside and upon "spishing" for just a few seconds we attracted a female Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina) and …

The Changing Status Of Sandhill Crane Breeding In The Eastern Rainwater Basin, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

Prior to extirpation as a breeder before 1 900, the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) formerly bred throughout Nebraska (Bruner et al. 1 904; Ducey 1988; Sharpe et al. 2001). During the 1990s, several summer observations of Sandhill Crane in the Eastern Rainwater Basin region of south-central Nebraska suggested the probability of breeding. In 1999, I discovered direct breeding evidence at Harvard Waterfowl Production Area, Clay County. This breeding record, along with another by different observers in the same county during the same season are the first modern breeding records for Nebraska. In this note, I describe my observations, …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $ 15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $ 10.00; Family Active, $20.00; …

Summer Field Report Last Page September 2002

Nebraska Bird Review

White-winged Crossbill: The remarkable winter influx persisted into the summer period, with one seen in Omaha- the last at the observer's feeders- on 1 June (NR), and a female identified as late as 20 June at a Bassett feeder where none had showed since 9 June (CH). These sightings signify record late spring dates (although there are a few isolated summer records); both locations had hosted significant wintering flocks.

Pine Siskin: Routine reports

American Goldfinch: Routine reports

House Sparrow: Routine reports

Summer Field Report, June-July 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

The big news this summer was the drought which affected most of southern and western Nebraska. Conditions were particularly severe in the southern Panhandle and in the southwest. As one observer (DP) wryly noted: "The cool, cloudy weather in the sixties this morning was a welcome contrast to the stinkin' hot dirt blowing blast furnace in the low one hundreds that was in south central Nebraska Sunday afternoon [June 3]." Some comments from western Kansas by birder-rancher Scott Seltman are pertinent: "I think there's no question that because of the ongoing drought most farmers delayed their fieldwork this spring" perhaps …

Nebraska Bird Review September 2002 Volume 70 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Summer Field Report, June-July 2002
compiled by W. Ross Silcock .................................94

Species Accounts.................................99

Hermit Warbler In Knox County: First Accepted Record
For Nebraska by Mark A. Brogie................................. 119

The Changing Status of the Sandhill Crane in the Eastem
Rainwater Basin by Joel G. Jorgensen.................................122

Nebraska Bird Review Cover And Contents June 2002 Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review

A Magazine of Ornithology of the Nebraska Region

Volume 70 June 2002 Number 2 Published by

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc.

Founded 1899

SSSN 0028-1816

Table of Contents

2002 (12th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Joel G. Jorgensen

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 has been appended eleven times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, Grenon 1991, Gubanyi 1996a, Gubanyi 1996b, Gubanyi 1996c, Brogie 1997, Brogie 1998, Brogie 1999). An update of the OFFICIAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA was first published in 1997 (NOU …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review June 2002 Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

"Unnamed", David Wyatt

Nebraska Bird Review

"Unnamed"

A yellow and black bird came to the apricot tree
/="/"> this morning. I'd not seen it
/="/"> before, in any of the yards here. I expect
/="/"> to see such birds in the eastern woods,
/="/"> not in these relatively arid tracts.

I couldn't identify it. Grosbeak? I had
/="/">no Guide, only gloomy thoughts
/="/"> of no specific origin.

The bird stayed for no more than seconds.
/="/">It had a chunk of black on its throat,
/="/"> like a thumbprint. Its wings never
/="/"> were quiet.

Then it flew off, shrieking,
/="/"> and the branch …

Spring Field Report, March-May 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

A significant feature of this report is the fact that 94 observers provided data! E-mail has certainly provided a simple way to report sightings with ease, obviating for many the tedium of compiling a magnum opus four times a year (although the ultra-dedicated Harding and Randolph still filed their standard 40-pager!).

Interesting banding information was, provided for Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, and Pine Siskin by Ruth Green. The characteristics of the subspecies of Pine Siskin are not well-known anywhere, let alone in Nebraska.

Waterfowl and raptors had few significant sightings, although harriers were noted nesting at a couple of locations …

Nebraska Bird Review Whole Issue Volume 70 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Spring Field Report, March-May 2002
compiled by W. Ross Silcock..........................46

Species Accounts..........................50

2002 (12th) Report of the NOU Records Committee
compiled by Joel G. Jorgensen ..........................84

"Unnamed" by poem by David Wyatt..........................91

Research Protocol For The Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus): Mirage Click Collection Study, Adrienne M. Cardwell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Past research on dolphin echolocation has shown that dolphins can adaptively control the frequency and amplitude of echolocation clicks. The degree to which click production is controlled and the relationship between click variation and echolocation task remains uncertain. This thesis describes a research protocol for studying the adaptive control of dolphin echolocation. The protocol builds on past studies to investigate the manner in which the spectral characteristics of clicks and the overall number of clicks produce for a given task vary in relation to the type of task being performed.

Habitat Use And Partitioning Between The Evening Bat, Nycticeius Humeralis, And The Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus Fuscus, In Indiana, Joseph E. Duchamp

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to look at possible methods of prey-resource partitioning between two sympatric species of bat that have similar diets: the evening bal, Nycticeius humeralis, and the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. Thirty-four adult female bats were radio tracked during this study: 11 evening bats and 11 big brown bats near a suburb oflndianapolis, IN in 2001, and 11 evening bats and l big brown bat in the bottomland forest of Prairie Creek, IN in 1999 and 2000. Habitat use and foraging patterns were evaluated using radio-telemetry and a geographic information system (GIS). Habitat selection was …

Ecology Of The Missouri River. Progress Report, Dingell-Johnson Project F-75-R-19, Supplement 1- Missouri River Creel Survey, Camp Creek To Kansas State Line, 31 March Through 12 October 2001, Gerald Mestl

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This report describes Missouri River activities and results related to a channelized Missouri River creel survey conducted from 31 March through 12 October 2001. This is the second of a planned annual creel survey to be conducted on alternating sections of the channelized Missouri River to measure changes in recreational fishing activity, especially those changes due to large scale habitat restoration efforts. Future reports will contain additional analyses of these data. Anglers spent over 22,000 hours fishing the Missouri River from Camp Creek (rkm 883.5) to the Kansas state line (rkm 790.2) during the survey period. Effort peaked during the …

Anting Behavior In Birds: Ant Selection And Effect Of Ant Chemistry On Feather Ectoparasites, Hannah Carrington Revis

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Active anting behavior occurs when songbirds apply ants to their feathers. During anting displays, a bird draws its wings forward in front of the head and swings its tail around to the far right or left. Both wing and tail feathers are then rubbed with ants held in the bird's beak. The potential associations among ants, feather ectoparasites and birds make anting behavior an important community-level interaction. Although this behavior is cosmopolitan in distribution and occurs in a wide variety of passerine birds, it remains poorly understood. This dissertation tested hypotheses about anting behavior through controlled experiments with captive songbirds …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review March 2002 Volume 70 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird ReYiew (http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/) 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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, …

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts

Nebraska Bird Review

A total of 12 counts are recorded on Tables Two and Three, three more than last year's effort. The Beaver Valley and Grand Island counts are run most years, but we sometimes miss receiving data from them. DeSotoBoyer is run every year but does not always get published here, perhaps because the tally is listed as an Iowa count according to the Audubon Society; however, the area covered is partially in Nebraska, and the participants are mostly Nebraska birders.

The counts reported a total of 138 species this year, up from 133 in 1999 and from 117 in 2000. Nearly …

Winter Field Report, December 2001 To February 2002, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This winter was generally mild with most parts of the state at least somewhat dry. The most interesting avian phenomena were a major incursion of White-winged Crossbills and a warm-up in late January which resulted in several waterfowl species putting in very early appearances. Because of the latter, it was difficult to assess the status (wintering or migrant) of birds reported in late January to early February from major reservoirs and waterfowl concentration spots without some information on ice conditions. Thanks to Larry Einemann, I had detailed information about ice conditions at Branched Oak L, but I would appreciate a …

Nebraska Bird Review March 2002 Volume 70 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Winter Field Report, compiled by W. Ross Silcock..................2

Species Accounts..................4

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts Introduced
and Compiled by Janis Paseka..................22

2001-2002 Christmas Bird Counts for Twelve
Locations..................26

Genomic Microsatellites As Evolutionary Chronometers: A Test In Wild Cats, Carlos A. Driscoll, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, George Nelson, David Goldstein, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Nuclear microsatellite loci (2- to 5-bp tandem repeats) would seem to be ideal markers for population genetic monitoring because of their abundant polymorphism, wide dispersal in vertebrate genomes, near selective neutrality, and ease of assessment; however, questions about their mode of generation, mutation rates and ascertainment bias have limited interpretation considerably. We have assessed the patterns of genomic diversity for ninety feline microsatellite loci among previously characterized populations of cheetahs, lions and pumas in recapitulating demographic history. The results imply that the microsatellite diversity measures (heterozygosity, allele reconstitution and microsatellite allele variance) offer proportionate indicators, albeit with large variance, of …