Population Biology Commons^™

A Preliminary Study On The Small Population Paradigm And Nesting Biology Of Rose-Ringed Parakeets (Psittacula Krameri) In Gujar Khan, Pakistan, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Huzaifa Zahid, Khalid Mahmood, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ali Hasnain Mosvi, Amir Naseer, Sadia Munir

Journal of Bioresource Management

Rose-ringed parakeet (P. krameri) is commonly found native psittacid in Pakistan. It is most popular companion bird in Pakistan. It is an unprotected species as per The Punjab Wildlife Act, 1974. The objectives of the present study were to study its population paradigm and basic nesting biology in the Gujar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. Previously, no studies were carried out to assess its live and vacant nest cavities, nesting site, nest height, cavity position on substrate, and potential roosts in the area. Moreover, this study also assesses the potential threats and factors in this area and conservation of the …

Modeling Migratory Nongame Birds: A Plea For Data, George M. Linz

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Bird Damage Management Conference held February 10–13, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA provided a forum for professionals from across the United States to discuss and share management approaches, research strategies, policy, and messaging regarding the management of blackbirds (Icteridae), starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), corvids (Corvidae), and vultures (Cathartidae). Mathematical models were presented at the conference and subsequently discussed in a special issue of Human–Wildlife Interactions. Rapidly changing landscape variables point to the need for detailed systematic population monitoring programs with specific objectives. Nationwide periodic monitoring would provide data about changes not only in bird populations …

Fall Field Report, August-November 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Two issues were of concern this fall, and both appeared to have consequences or at least similarities in Nebraska. A major die-off in New Mexico made national news: https://www.aba.org/the-data-behind-mysterious-bird-deaths-in-new-mexico/. On Sep 9, 2020, the temperature dropped from 96°F to 40°F in the Albuquerque area, a record low, winds reached 70 mph, and several inches of snow fell, killing large numbers of birds directly. Over the next few days, hundreds more dead birds were picked up. Some have linked this high mortality to birds displaced from the mountains due to fire and unfortunately being caught in the severe weather. While fire …

Index To Volume 88

Nebraska Bird Review

Index to The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 (2020)

From: Aden, Scott 95

to: Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii 158 leucophrys 70, 158 oriantha 70

History Of The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, Joseph A. Gubanyi

Nebraska Bird Review

The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count (Seward-BOL CBC) began in 1993 and has been conducted every year since then except for 2010 for a total of 27 counts. Weather conditions prevented the count on the selected date in 2010 and a backup date could not be set up. The count was started for several reasons. The area west of Lincoln has a diversity of habitats including all or part of four public lakes (Branched Oak, Pawnee, Twin Lakes, and Meadowlark) as well as a diversity of terrestrial habitats on both public and private land. The circle is close to …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 December 2020 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August - November 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …13.8

History of the Seward - Branched Oak Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020, by Joseph Gubanyi …162

Index to Volume 88 … 173

Subscription and Organization Information …187

Summer Field Report, June-July 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this was a fairly routine summer although birders in Nebraska know that “routine” still holds promise of a few happenings out of the ordinary. The summer season primarily examines new breeding records, range expansions, and changes in numbers, up or down. Mississippi Kites were conspicuous, a pair providing Scottsbluff’s first breeding record, but a repeating pair in Lincoln, Lancaster lost its nest in a windstorm. The first nesting record for Violet-Green Swallow for Sheridan, 7th nesting for White-winged Dove, and 9th for Short-eared Owl were all encouraging, as was an apparent family group of Northern Saw-whet Owls in Sioux. …

Robert Wolcott And The Art Of Nest Records, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

The autumn of 1894 was fortuitous for Nebraska ornithology because it is when Robert Henry Wolcott accepted an assistantship at the University of Nebraska, moving to Lincoln from the University of Michigan (Swenk 1935). Wolcott, from that point onward, made significant contributions to our knowledge of Nebraska birds (Bruner et al. 1903, Wolcott 1909, 1919), was a founding member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (NOU), and was editor for the first three Proceedings of the NOU from 1899-1902. His work expanded beyond local focus and he eventually authored a text on animal biology (Wolcott 1933). The topic of this paper, …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 September 2020, Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …94.

Robert Wolcott and the Art of Nest Records, by Thomas E. Labedz …112

2019 (31st) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie …124

Subscription and Organization Information …135

2019 (31st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). 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. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

Autonomous Recording Units As An Alternative Method For Monitoring Songbirds, Lindsay Clough

Masters Theses

There is an increasing interest in the use of autonomous recording units as an alternative survey method to point count surveys conducted by human observers; however, questions remain about whether or not these recording units perform similarly to point count surveys and produce valid, comparable results. The use of individual listeners to transcribe the acoustic data collected by autonomous recording units is a common method for the analysis of recorded acoustic data, but potential variability among transcribers raises questions about the standardization of listening protocols to decrease inconsistencies in transcription results.

Autonomous recording units have been used to monitor birds …

Window Strike Bird Mortality On The University Of Nebraska – Lincoln City Campus, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 25, 1915, in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, a Gray-cheeked Thrush was “killed by flying against the library building on city campus” and was found by Robert H. Wolcott and prepared as a scientific study skin by Leroy M. Gates. This thrush is now ZM-6674 in the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) Zoology collections. Birds are typically killed at low level buildings by flying into windows. This thrush is the first documented window strike death for what is now the University of Nebraska – Lincoln city campus. Based upon the UNSM bird collections I report on the last …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 June 2020 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …46

Window Strike Bird Mortality on the University of Nebraska - Lincoln City Campus, by Thomas E. Labedz …75

Subscription and Organization Information…91

Prey Selection By Birds Of Prey, Anisha Pokharel

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prey selection is key to determine predator prey interaction and understanding the complexity of food web structure. In this thesis, we used two different approaches to understanding prey selection by North American birds of prey. Using a conventional method, in Chapter 1 we compared pellet analysis and trapping data to assess patterns of prey selection of barn owls in western Nebraska. Microtus spp. comprised 55.8% of the prey items in the barn owl’s diet. The proportion of several prey types in the diet were significantly different from the expected proportion based on trapping. This pattern may indicate barn owls actively …

2019-2020 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Mergansers reached a new high of 104 counted in nine circles, which topped the count of 97 from 2017. A single Surf Scoter was found in the Lower Platte circle, which was only the fourth time that this species has been found on a Nebraska CBC. Lone birds were also found at Lake McConaughy in 1999, 2010 and 2015. A good North Platte find were two Barrow’s Goldeneye. Several species, however, were counted in numbers much below the norm. The lone Wood Duck found at Branched Oak was the lowest count for that species since 2004, when they were missed …

Winter Field Report, December 2019-February 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As with any of these Seasonal Reports, there was plenty to entertain us and to contemplate this winter. The most obvious feature of this winter’s reports was the taxonomically widespread incidence of midwinter occurrences of species normally absent at that time. Snow, Ross’s, and Greater White-fronted Geese occurred in good numbers, and Jan to early Feb reports of dabbling and diving ducks often far from expected winter occurrence locations were notable. Among passerines, notable midwinter reports were of Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and Northern Mockingbird, Nebraska’s first record for Feb of American Pipit, and 6th winter record of Lesser Goldfinch. …

The Nebraska Bird Review, 2020 Annual Color Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Our theme this year is Odd Couples: two or more different species captured in the same photo frame. Examples appear on the first three pages of photos.

Blue Jay with Great Horned Owl in Plum Creek SRA, Dawson Co., 23 Dec. 2019. Photo by Elizabeth Winter.

Green Heron with Baltimore Oriole on Dark Island Trail, Merrick Co., June 2020. Photo by Colleen Childers.

Wilson’s Phalarope surrounded by Longbilled Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers along highway 30 east of North Platte, Lincoln Co., 12 May 2020. Photo by Boni Edwards.

Downy Woodpecker with Carolina Wren on suet feeder in photographer’s yard, La …

Assessing Population Genetic Structure Of Eastern Phoebes At A Migratory Stopover Site, Daniel Jones

Biology Theses

Migration is an energetically costly and stressful event and migratory stopover sites are important areas along the migratory route that birds stop at to rest and refuel. Migration timing and routes vary across and even within species, including differences between sexes, ages and populations. Most genetic studies of migratory birds occur on breeding grounds, but when breeding locations are not known, it is likely that genetic patterns can be assessed accurately at migratory stopover sites if certain conditions exist. First, if a species is philopatric – where individuals return to the same sites every year, gene flow across geographically separated …

Proceedings Of The Fifteenth North American Crane Workshop, Jane E. Austin, Richard P. Urbanek, Megan E. Brown

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

No abstract provided.

Spring Field Report, March-May 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Although there were numerous early arrival dates, most were in the range of historically earliest expected dates; notable, however, was a lone record-early Whiterumped Sandpiper, nicely photographed. Record late by a month was a juvenile Redtailed (Harlan’s) Hawk, also confirmed by photo. Perhaps most prominent this spring were the large numbers of several species. Most eye-popping were record spring totals of 22 Glossy Ibises, 11 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, 14 Veeries, including five in the Panhandle, 48 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, 20 Bay-breasted Warblers, not long ago a rare bird in spring, 45 Golden-winged Warblers and 27 Canada Warblers, both of which were about …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 March 2020 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2019 - Feb. 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …2

2019-2020 Christmas Bird Counts …18, 27-41

Annual Color Photo Section …19-26

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2019, by Jan Johnson …42

Subscription and Organization Information …43

Golden Eagle Resource Selection And Environmental Drivers Of Reproduction In The Northern Range Of Yellowstone National Park, David Brown Haines

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the United States (US), National Parks are considered the “crown jewels” of protected lands. However, the importance of National Parks to wildlife populations and the species that inhabit them is not often quantified, thus, requiring a better understanding of National Parks as a conservation tool. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a North American species of conservation concern and territories in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) are relatively dense. However, average reproductive rates over the past ten years (2011-2020) have been low (productivity = 0.34, nest success = 28%). The contrast of high density and …