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1. Least Bittern at La Platte Bottoms
lpdlfrd@juno.com (Loren J. Padelford)
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 13:52:54 -0500
2. Re: Chuck-Wills-Widow
"Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 18:17:44 -0500
3. Wilson's Phalaropes and Green-winged Teal
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 19:08:09 -0500
4. Administrivia
price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price)
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 23:54:11 +0100
5. Funk Lagoon fieldtrip
jwhall2@juno.com (John W. Hall)
Sat, 27 Jun 1998 10:14:04 -0500
6. Funk Lagoon June 28 waders, shorebirds, ducks, etc.
ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu>
Mon, 29 Jun 1998 10:04:46 -0500
7. Sioux Co. trip June 27
<AKENITZ@aol.com>
Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:55:05 EDT
8. eastern NE birds
Kevin Poague <kpoague@ngpsun.ngpc.state.ne.us>
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 08:03:42 -0500
9. new addition to the NOU website
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 20:39:43 -0500
10. Re: new addition to the NOU website
"Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 21:40:32 -0500
11. Re: new addition to the NOU website
price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price)
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 23:22:59 +0100
12. birds of NE
"Dave Rintoul" <drintoul@ksu.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 08:51:23 -0500
13. Re: new addition to the NOU website
Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:00:53 -0500 (CDT)
14. Re: birds of NE
Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:09:31 -0500 (CDT)
15. RE: birds of NE/tinamous and the top of the checklist
"Dave Rintoul" <drintoul@ksu.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:23:03 -0500
16. my oversight, NOU website address
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 10:55:37 -0500
17. Re: new addition to the NOU website
Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 12:52:38 -0500 (CDT)
18. RE: birds of NE/tinamous and the top of the checklist
Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 12:56:50 -0500 (CDT)
19. Website Birds of Ne. by Johnsgard
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 13:24:30 -0500
20. Re: new addition to the NOU website
price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price)
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 13:27:17 +0100
21. re: New addition to NOU page
jwhall2@juno.com (John W. Hall)
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 21:56:25 -0500
22. Birding in North Central Nebraska
Carolyn Hall <cjhall@huntel.net>
Thu, 02 Jul 1998 00:18:50 -0500
23. Bill Clemente's email address
"Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Fri, 3 Jul 1998 20:39:15 -0500
24. Re: Bill Clemente's email address
"Linda R. Brown" <lb14735@navix.net>
Fri, 03 Jul 1998 23:21:01 +0000
25. July 04 at Funk Lagoon
ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu>
Sun, 5 Jul 1998 21:18:26 -0500
26. Sharp-shinned Hawk in S. Franklin Co. in early July
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Mon, 6 Jul 1998 11:21:46 -0500
27. Re: Bill Clemente's email address
"Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Mon, 6 Jul 1998 23:53:45 -0500
28. Funk Lagoon 7/7/98
"murwille" <murwille@genie.esu10.k12.ne.us>
Tue, 7 Jul 1998 23:06:45 -0500
29. request for newsletter articles
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:27:25 -0500
30. NOU newsletter again
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Thu, 9 Jul 1998 14:01:49 -0500
31. a Fourth of July stroll
LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Thu, 9 Jul 1998 15:28:30 -0500
32. Virginia Rail babies at Funk
ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu>
Thu, 9 Jul 1998 18:12:09 -0500
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 13:52:54 -0500 Subject: Least Bittern at La Platte Bottoms From: lpdlfrd@juno.com (Loren J. Padelford) Hi Nebraska Birders, This morning, 6/26, about 9:10 am, we saw two Least Bitterns (and think we heard one or two additional) at La Platte Bottoms. We saw them about 1/8 mile east of the T intersection on the south side of the gravel road. Babs & Loren Padelford Bellevue, NE lpdlfrd@juno.com
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net> Subject: Re: Chuck-Wills-Widow Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 18:17:44 -0500 John: Awesome is right! I'd like to get directions to the spot when you get a chance. Doesn't look good for getting out this weekend, or next for that matter. Lot's of crop insurance stuff to do. Ross ---------- > From: John C Sulllivan <johnsllvn@juno.com> > To: NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu > Subject: Chuck-Wills-Widow > Date: Wednesday, June 24, 1998 11:31 PM > > NeBirders, > > Janis and Rachel Paseka and I went to the Jesuit Retreat near Morse > Bluffs tonight to listen for Chuck-Wills-Widows. It was about 9:15, > still very light when one started calling from some nearby Cottonwoods. > After the regular Chuck-wills-Widow call we could hear a kind of clucking > sound, just like on the NGS Bird Sounds tape. Does anyone know the > significance of this sound? After he quit calling, I played the tape and > to our amazement he flew out right at us. He circled around us at > eye-level within an arms-length, flashing the whites of his tail > feathers, then back up into the trees and started calling again. WOW!! > What an awesome bird! Thank-you Father Hoffman for reporting the Chucks. > > John Sullivan > Lincoln, Ne > > _____________________________________________________________________ > You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. > Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com > Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 19:08:09 -0500
From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
Subject: Wilson's Phalaropes and Green-winged Teal
Hi Nebraska birders,
The day before yesterday I posted this to Ross
Silcock. Following that is his reply (all the
Green-winged Teal we saw WERE males).
Lanny
Lanny Randolph
southcentral Nebraska
50370 24th rd
Gibbon Ne. 68840
RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu
MarshWren@nctc.net
308-468-5057
.................................................
From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu>
To: silcock@sidney.heartland.net
Cc: HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu
Subject: regarding last weekends sightings
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 1998 1:44 PM
Ross,
While we understand that the Franklin's Gulls at
Funk Lagoon last weekend were probably non
breeders and the godwits and yellowlegs were
probably early or late migrants, we witnessed
possible agreesive territorial defense by Wilson's
Phalaropes about six years ago that makes us
suspect that they may breed every once in a while
in the western Rain Water Basin. We were driving
through Prairie Dog WPA in late June or early
July and we parked along side the road and walked
ahead. After a little ways a Wilson's Phalarope
began circling over our heads while making a lot
of noise. We kept walking and the phalarope
disappeared. As we returned to our car, when we
got to where the phalarope had left us two
Wilson's Phalaropes flew away. What do you
think? And what do you think about the
Green-winged Teal?
Lanny
.................................................
24-JUN-1998 17:55:07.40
From: silcock@sidney.heartland.net
To: RANDOLPHL
CC:
Subj: Re: regarding last weekends sightings
Lanny:
I believe you're right about Wilson's Phalarope
nesting in RWB. Joel's pretty sure they nest at
Harvard each year. That strange sound they make
when they fly around you like "whonk" is weird.
It's a good indication that they're nesting. Re
Green-winged Teal, at this time of year
(mid-June) you could be seeing post-breeding
adults, males at first, beginning to congregate
in a favored spot (like Funk Lagoon) to molt
into eclipse plumage. Females follow a little
later as the young become independent. During
molt the birds are very inconspicuous and hide
out because they are briefly flightless. They
emerge in late summer in drab eclipse plumage
(that's when you see those flocks of brown ducks
that are hard to identify!) and gradually over
the late fall and winter molt into breeding
plumage again. Green-winged Teal is not a common
breeder even in the Sandhills, so you would need
to find a nest or see a brood to prove breeding.
Most dabbling ducks have a similar pattern of
molt as I outlined above. Some species undergo
lengthy "Molt migrations" to a favored molting
location each year where they hang out until
they can fly again, then resume their southward
fall migration.
Hope this helps!
Ross
----------
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 23:54:11 +0100 From: price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price) Subject: Administrivia The other day a gremlin generated a bit of a glitch at this server and a few _outgoing_ messages were lost. If you were following the threads: Carolina Parakeets Re: Carolina Parakeets Re:Monk Parakeets you may have missed a few lines of discussion. If you wish to retrieve those lines run a search of the archive. All is well here, now ... I think ... I hope. 8-) RIP
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 10:14:04 -0500 Subject: Funk Lagoon fieldtrip From: jwhall2@juno.com (John W. Hall) I got an opportunity to visit central Nebraska this week on a business trip. Took some time to visit Funk Lagoon. Birds seen include: 1 Baird's Sandpiper, 6 Greater Yellowlegs, 15 American White Pelicans, 3 Great Egrets, Franklin Gulls, 1 female Wilson's Phalarope. Also saw the Common Loon at the Union Pacific WRA. All these were seen on Wednesday June 24. John W. Hall Omaha, Nebraska jwhall2@juno.com _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 10:04:46 -0500 From: ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu> Subject: Funk Lagoon June 28 waders, shorebirds, ducks, etc. Hello Nebraska birders, Sunday, June 28, we heard a Sedge Wren singing in the grassland north of our home, which is along the Platte River near Gibbon. That wren sings seemingly all day and all night. When does he sleep? We also saw a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We are not seeing them as much as we were and he looks more faded now. In Phelps County, at Funk Lagoon, we saw about 20 American White Pelicans, 40 Great Blue Herons, 3 Great Egrets, 13 adult and 13 immature Black-crowned Night- Herons, an adult and an immature Yellow-crowned Night- Heron, 3 White-faced Ibis, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 30 Lesser Yellowlegs, a Willet, a Spotted Sandpiper, 25 Franklin's Gulls, 2 Forster's Terns, a Willow Flycatcher, 3 Marsh Wrens and 25 Great-tailed Grackles. We saw and heard most of these birds as we walked along the east end of the Peterson dike. You really do not have to walk very far to see some neat things that you can not see from the roads and they have recently mowed the top of the dike so it is easy to walk. At the Union Pacific State Recreation Area at the Odessa I-80 exit, we saw the immature Common Loon. It was fishing along the south edge of the lake. I hope all of you had a great weekend. Robin
From: <AKENITZ@aol.com> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:55:05 EDT Subject: Sioux Co. trip June 27 Hi birders, Wildcat Audubon members had a birding trip into Sioux County on Saturday. We had a great time in spite of a very strong wind that developed about mid- morning. On Pink School House Road we saw several Ferruginous Hawks, 4 Upland Sandpipers with young, at least 9 Long-billed Curlews with young, a Burrowing Owl, several Mountain Bluebirds, Grasshopper Sparrows, a Loggerhead Shrike with 3 fledglings, Vesper Sparrows, McCown's Longspurs, Chestnut-collared Longspur, 5 Brewer's Blackbirds and a few other common species. Along the White River we had a Golden Eagle, several Western Wood-Pewees, 1 Say's Phoebe, 2 Brown Thrashers,Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, a Lazuli Bunting, and a Black-headed Grosbeak in addition to other common species. Additional species seen in Sowbelly Canyon include a Plumbeous Vireo, Yellow Warblers, at least 4 American Redstarts, and Ovenbird and a Pine Siskin. The heronry just north of Mitchell appears to have quite a few Great Blue Herons in the nests. By late afternoon when we got near there it was really windy and hard to figure out what was there. Had a great time. Alice Kenitz
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 08:03:42 -0500
From: Kevin Poague <kpoague@ngpsun.ngpc.state.ne.us>
Subject: eastern NE birds
Birdies:
For the past few days I have been traveling the roads along
eastern Nebraska censusing piping plovers and least terns.
Their nesting on river sandbars is almost nil due to the
consistent rains we have had. But they are present in the
sandpits in the area. Other birds recently seen were:
- One American woodcock with 4 young walking across
the road at Fremont State Lakes (they made it safely across).
- Three American redstarts along the Platte south of
North Bend, NE.
- 2 American avocets at a sandpit at Valley, NE.
- Lots of great blue herons, green herons, spotted
snadpipers (no, check that, sandpipers), and killdeer along
the Loup River west of Columbus.
And the 5 peregrine falcon chicks at the Woodmen Tower in
Omaha are flying and doing fine.
See ya.
--
Kevin Poague
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
(402) 471-5412
kpoague@ngpsun.ngpc.state.ne.us
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 20:39:43 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: new addition to the NOU website Hi Nebraska birders, Rip now has pictures of the Eurasian Collared Doves that are nesting in Kearney on our website, along with a colored map to find the site with. The pictures are sharp as a tack on some computers, and not so sharp on others. Check it out. Let us know how they look on your computer. good birding and goodbye, Lanny
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net> Subject: Re: new addition to the NOU website Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 21:40:32 -0500 Lanny: Hate to admit it, but I misplaced the NE Website address! I thought I had it bookmarked, but don't. Could you send it to me? Thanks, Ross ---------- > From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> > To: NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu > Subject: new addition to the NOU website > Date: Tuesday, June 30, 1998 8:39 PM > > Hi Nebraska birders, > > Rip now has pictures of the Eurasian Collared > Doves that are nesting in Kearney on our website, > along with a colored map to find the site with. > The pictures are sharp as a tack on some > computers, and not so sharp on others. Check it > out. Let us know how they look on your computer. > > good birding and goodbye, > Lanny
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 23:22:59 +0100 From: price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price) Subject: Re: new addition to the NOU website You-all might be interested in checking out: THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA by Paul A. Johnsgard I have not yet put up the maps but the text has been html-set. To get there just follow the links through the NOU site from the web page listed in my sig below. RIP * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Standard Bicycle :: Bike E == Standard Computer :: Macintosh * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * Dr. Robert I. Price H: (308)234-5961 * * Department of Physics O: (308)865-8282 * * University of Nebraska at price_rip@hotmail.com * * Kearney, Nebraska 68849-1160 http://rip.physics.unk.edu * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: "Dave Rintoul" <drintoul@ksu.edu>
Subject: birds of NE
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 08:51:23 -0500
I took a peek at the NOU site, and noted that the checklist of the birds of
NE (from Paul Johnsgard's book) contained this line:
Family Tinamidae
(Crested Tinamou) -- Eudromia elegans
The details of an accepted sighting of a crested tinamou in NE would be of
interest to me, and perhaps others. What is the history of this record?
Dave
Dave Rintoul, Ph.D. Internet: drintoul@ksu.edu
Biology Division - KSU ICBM: 39.18N, 96.34W
Manhattan KS 66506-4901 VOX: 785-532-6663
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~drintoul/ FAX: 785-532-6653
"Listing is actually a ridiculous activity when you think about it, so
I just try not to think about it." Scott Seltman, 1998
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:00:53 -0500 (CDT)
From: Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Subject: Re: new addition to the NOU website
Dear Robt.
Thanks for adding the text. I hope it gets used by interested persons.
Paul
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:09:31 -0500 (CDT) From: Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu> Subject: Re: birds of NE Dave; this was an attempted introduction by Nebr. Game & Parks that was unsuccessful. Paul Johnsgard
From: "Dave Rintoul" <drintoul@ksu.edu> Subject: RE: birds of NE/tinamous and the top of the checklist Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 09:23:03 -0500 Paul, Thanks for the explanation. It's nice to know that the Kansas wildlife folks aren't the only ones fond of bizarre species introductions... On another note, it may be of interest to some NE birders that an alternate-plumaged Pacific Loon and a Common Loon are currently residing off the face of the dam for Milford Reservoir, just west of Junction City. Chuck Otte found the Pacific Loon, and Guy Smith found the Common Loon. Chuck's photo of the Pacific Loon can be found on the Prairie Falcon web site, under the "Rare Birds" link. The complete URL is http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/falcon.html#rba It's not a tinamou, but it is near the top of the checklist :-) Cheers Dave Dave Rintoul, Ph.D. Internet: drintoul@ksu.edu Biology Division - KSU ICBM: 39.18N, 96.34W Manhattan KS 66506-4901 VOX: 785-532-6663 http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~drintoul/ FAX: 785-532-6653 "Listing is actually a ridiculous activity when you think about it, so I just try not to think about it." Scott Seltman, 1998
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 10:55:37 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: my oversight, NOU website address Hi Nebraska birders, After I sent that message last night after work, I noticed that I still had the website address in front of me unsent. But, then Robin was ready to go home. While one can find the NOU website by going to Rip's home page and sifting through the many links, http://rip.physics.unk.edu/nou/ will get you straight to the NOU site. You can look through the links there, or http://rip.physics.unk.edu/nou/SpecialReports/Collared.html will get you straight to the collared doves without visiting the NOU home site first. http://rip.physics.unk.edu/nou/Johnsgard will get you straight to The Birds of Nebraska and Adjacent Plains States by Paul Johsgard. Sorry for the delay, I hope you're not worn out from looking at Dave's Kansas website. His has been going a lot longer, so it is not yet a fair comparison. Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 12:52:38 -0500 (CDT) From: Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu> Subject: Re: new addition to the NOU website I can't connect with the NOU page, but in looking at a friends it seems that only the species names are included, without any annotations. This is of less value than no list, as it suggests that tinamous, passenger pigeons etc are still found in Nebr., as Dave Rintoul concluded. I think that if none of the descriptive materials are to be included it would be better to delete the list.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 12:56:50 -0500 (CDT)
From: Paul Johnsgard <pjohnsga@unlinfo.unl.edu>
Subject: RE: birds of NE/tinamous and the top of the checklist
Dave;
I have just looked at the NOU version of my list, and it turns out
that none of the text for spp. accounts seems to be present, so just ignore
the wole list for now. The spp. in parens are on the hypothetical list.
Best, Paul
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 13:24:30 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: Website Birds of Ne. by Johnsgard Nebraska birders, http://rip.physics.unk.edu.nou/Johnsgard/ is the correct address. I'm sorry I caused such confusion by forgetting the last / mark. All of Dr. Johnsgard's book is on the web sight, it just doesn't fit all onto one part. From the above address click on definitions, the confusion seems to be coming because people are only reading the list part. Rip is now composing more complete instructions on how to use that part of the website. I repeat: It is all on there, you are just not finding it yet. Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 13:27:17 +0100
From: price_rip@hotmail.com (Robert I. Price)
Subject: Re: new addition to the NOU website
At 12:52 PM 7/1/98, Paul Johnsgard wrote:
>I can't connect with the NOU page, but in looking at a friends it seems
>that only the species names are included, without any annotations. This is
>of less value than no list, as it suggests that tinamous, passenger pigeons
>etc are still found in Nebr., as Dave Rintoul concluded. I think that if
>none of the descriptive materials are to be included it would be better to
>delete the list.
The address of THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA by Paul A. Johnsgard is
http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/Johnsgard/
I prefer you not tell anyone this address. I prefer you tell
users to use http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/ or better yet
http://rip.physics.unk.edu/ Then click appropriate links to
get to the desired information.
On the Johnsgard page you will see the Table of Contents.
Table of Contents (The Maps will be on-line as soon
as I am able to put them up.)
INTRODUCTION
Vegetation and Topography of Nebraska
Definitions of Terms Used in the Text
List of Species
References
The Introduction contains the full text of the intro as sent
to me on a disk.
The "Vegetation and Topography of Nebraska" section is also
verbatum.
As for "descriptive materials" mentioned above I assume you
are refering to the "Definitions of Terms Used in the Text"
section.
All references are listed in the "References" section.
As for the "List of Species" section. I am trying to re-write
the first few line of that page to make it obvious that the
links take you to the full text for each species. The "List
of Species" on the web can not be presented to you in the way
it is in the hardcopy of the book. If I presented it as in the
book most of you would never look at it because the file would
be very large. I have parsed the list into segments containing
from about twenty to thirty species with *no* breaks within a
family.
Note: If a page is too long to view in a screen or two remember
that each page is individually searchable. See the manual for
your browser for instructions for searching a given page. This
site as a whole *is not* searchable. I am not running this as
a DBase, I am only using Standard HTTP.
RIP
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Standard Bicycle :: Bike E == Standard Computer :: Macintosh *
* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
* Dr. Robert I. Price H: (308)234-5961 *
* Department of Physics O: (308)865-8282 *
* University of Nebraska at price_rip@hotmail.com *
* Kearney, Nebraska 68849-1160 http://rip.physics.unk.edu *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 21:56:25 -0500 Subject: re: New addition to NOU page From: jwhall2@juno.com (John W. Hall) What a great resource for birders across the state of Nebraska. I have spent over 3 hours this evening perusing Dr. Johnsgard's material. Dr. Price's page gets better almost daily. Please excuse my hyperbole, but I think it is FANTASTIC. John W. Hall Omaha, Nebraska jwhall2@juno.com _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 00:18:50 -0500
From: Carolyn Hall <cjhall@huntel.net>
Subject: Birding in North Central Nebraska
Birding in Northern Nebraska
Wednesday July 1, 1998
What a simply gorgeous day to be showing my friends Jeff and Beth
Meyers, Evan age 9
and Derrick age 12, from Lincoln, NE, the sights in Keya Paha and Rock
counties.
Jeff joined me at 7 AM to bird in the deciduous and cedar trees by my
rental house
on the north side of the Niobrara river. The black-headed Grosbeak woke
me at 5:30 so I
was ready to go out to see him. Jeff is a better birder than I am so
off we go.
A pair of eastern phoebes(Sayornis phoebe) were sitting on the corral
fence east of
the house. The persistent barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) dived at us
as we stepped off
the porch. The house wren (Troglodytes aedon) was singing to it mate
west of the house.
The ash, elm and cottonwood trees were so heavy with leaf that we could
not see the
black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) that was singing in
the cottonwood.
We walked west on the gravel road where we saw the female black-headed
grosbeak in a
dead elm tree along with a dickcissel (Spiza americana) and a pair of
American goldfinches
( Spinus tristis). In the next corpse of deciduous trees, we saw a
group of common crows,
adults and juveniles (Corvus brachyrhynchos), a brown thrasher
(Toxostoma rufum),
common grackle ( Quiscalus quiscula), American robins (Turdus
migratorius), brown
headed cowbird ( Molothrus ater) and heard a yellow-billed cuckoo
(Coccyzus
americanus). On the fence along the pasture were red-winged blackbirds
(Agelaius
phoeniceus), western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) and had a bobolink
(Dolichonyx
oryzivorus) was perched on a stem of grass in the pasture.
Further along, we saw 7 baby bluebirds (Sialia sialia) perched on the
highline. We
could hear killdeer (Charaddrius vociferus) and bobwhites (Colinus
virginianus) calling
from the meadow. On the return we saw a female dickcissel, a red-eyed
vireo (viero
olivaceus) and a male indigo bunting (Passerina cyabea). We checked the
stock watering
pond north of the corral and found the male black-headed grosbeak but no
ducks or the
great blue heron. In the curly-cupped gumweed we found a grasshopper
sparrow
(Ammodramus savannarum). The lark sparrows (Chondestes grammacus)were
along the
fence as we returned.
As we returned across the bridge, the cliff swallows (Petrochelidon
pyrrhonota) that
nest under it left in a swarm. Across the river we hiked to the top of
the hill on the land
that the National Audubon Society owns. There were lots of field
sparrows (Spizella
pusilla) and chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) in this area. We
checked the bluebird
box on top of the hill with its family of tree swallow (Iridoprocne
bicolor) babies. There
was a black-billed magpie (Pica pica) sitting on a post along the
highway.
A drive up the hill a mile north of the river brought us to a pine/red
cedar/deciduous forest. Here we heard white-breasted (Sitta
carolinensis) and red-breasted
nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) and a woodpecker which we thought was a
flicker(?). We
saw black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) and a flock of 8 cedar
waxwings
(Bombycilla cedrorum) and a rufous-sided towhee (pipilo
erythhhrophthalus) as we
returned to the car.
We drove the 12 miles south into Basset, rescuing a painted tortoise
from the
middle of the road as we went. Beth and the boys were waiting for us in
the Park where
they had their camper. On Tuesday night we had seen a common nighthawk
(Chordeiles
minor), chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica), tree and barn swallows as we
watched the
boys set off smoke bombs and small firecrackers.
We checked bluebird boxes as we drove the 13 miles northeast to the
Hall Ranch.
They had never seen white bluebird eggs and there were two boxes with
them. We
lunched under the large cottonwood trees north of the ranch buildings.
We carefully
checked the area for rattlesnakes before we sat on cottonwood logs to
eat our lunch.
Out on the flat land north of the river we saw wonderful wild flowers
(I won't name
them) and I showed them a keya paha (turtle hill in Dakota Indian).
These small dome
shaped mounds were left after the last glacier melted. We have about a
dozen of them on
that pasture. An interesting phenomena. It has been wet so the ancient
buffalo wallows
were full of water and at most of them we saw birds of the prairie-lark
sparrows,
grasshopper sparrows and horned larks (Eremophila alpestris). There
were lots of upland
sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) on posts as we drove back to Bassett.
Derrick spotted a
lone turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) soaring on a thermal. We think
Derrick has great
potential as a future birder.
I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as the Meyer family. They are now
off to
canoe the Niobrara river and then attend a family reunion at Fort
Robinson in northwest
Nebraska. Jeff and Derrick should see more western birds in that area.
Carolyn Hall
Bassett, NE
cjhall@huntel.net
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net> Subject: Bill Clemente's email address Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 20:39:15 -0500 Hi folks: Does anyone know Bill Clemente's email address at Peru State? I have Tom Klubertanz's, but I don't think he's around right now. Thanks in advance, Ross Silcock Tabor, IA silcock@sidney.heartland.net
Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 23:21:01 +0000 From: "Linda R. Brown" <lb14735@navix.net> Subject: Re: Bill Clemente's email address Dear Ross, I think Bill is in Wisconsin. I got a post from him last week from this address: ClementeL@Mail.Ripon.EDU. Hope this helps. Linda Linda R. BRown 3745 Garfield Lincoln, NE 68506 402-489-2381 lb14735@navix.net
Date: Sun, 5 Jul 1998 21:18:26 -0500 From: ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu> Subject: July 04 at Funk Lagoon Nebraska birders, On Saturday, July 04, flying over the Platte River south of our home near Gibbon, we saw four Turkey Vultures and a Cooper's Hawk. We also heard a Sedge Wren there. In Phelps County, at Funk Lagoon, we saw 36 American White Pelicans, a Great Egret, a Snowy Egret, three Black-crowned Night-Herons, two white and a blue Snow Geese, a male Cinnamon Teal, two adult and four fuzzy baby Virginia Rails, three Lesser Yellowlegs, two juvenile Least Sandpipers, a Wilson's Phalarope, fourteen Franklin's Gulls, six Black Terns, a Marsh Wren, two Swamp Sparrows and at least fifteen Great-tailed Grackles. We walked along one of the dikes at Funk Lagoon looking for shorebird habitat. We found only a few shorebirds but we got a real close look at a Least Sandpiper. We saw it at first from a great distance and could not identify it so we snuck up on it. We got kind of close and sat down to set up the scope. We saw it much better and identified it as a Least because of its yellow legs, no primary extension and no streaks on its sides. As we watched, it began to move closer to us and eventually came to within about ten feet before it flew. I don't get that close to shorebirds very often so this was a rare treat. Shorebirds are much less frustrating when they come right up close. I hope you had a great holiday. Robin
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998 11:21:46 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: Sharp-shinned Hawk in S. Franklin Co. in early July Hi Nebraska birders, Friday, July 3 at our home we saw a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. In Franklin County four miles south of Franklin we saw three Upland Sandpipers. A half mile east of Highway 10 and just north of the Kansas State line we saw a Blue Grosbeak. In the area of the Limestone Bluffs Wildlife Management Area we saw two Turkey Vultures, a Sharp-shinned Hawk chasing a Red-tailed Hawk, at least nine Bell's Vireos, a Black-headed Grosbeak, twelve Grasshopper Sparrows and two Orchard Orioles. Two miles northeast of Limestone Bluffs SWMA we saw a Northern Mockingbird. Four miles northeast of Limestone Bluffs SWMA we saw two more Upland Sandpipers. Besides at Limestone Bluffs we saw about one Grasshopper Sparrow every half mile along the southern and eastern borders of Franklin County. In Kearney County a half mile south of Norman we saw a Loggerhead Shrike. A half mile south of the Gibbon I-80 exit we saw a Bobolink. The Sharp-shinned Hawk was mostly a silhouette bird. It had the accipiter shape with long tail and short wide wings. It was much smaller than the Red-tailed Hawk that it was harassing. We are used to seeing American Crows chasing Red-tails, so we have the comparative size worked out. This bird was much smaller than a crow. Its tail was squared off and its small head did not expend past the bend in its wings, not even a little. This bird was much too small to be a Cooper's Hawk, even a small one. Everthing that we have read leads us to believe that Sharp-shinned Hawks are only winter visiters and early spring migrants in Nebraska. So we were trying very hard to turn it into anything except a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but we were unable to do so. Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net> Subject: Re: Bill Clemente's email address Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998 23:53:45 -0500 Linda: Thanks for Bill Clemente's email address. I did want the WI one! Ross Silcock ---------- > From: Linda R. Brown <lb14735@navix.net> > To: NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu > Subject: Re: Bill Clemente's email address > Date: Friday, July 03, 1998 6:21 PM > > Dear Ross, I think Bill is in Wisconsin. I got a post from him last > week from this address: ClementeL@Mail.Ripon.EDU. > > Hope this helps. > > Linda > > Linda R. BRown > 3745 Garfield > Lincoln, NE 68506 > 402-489-2381 > lb14735@navix.net
From: "murwille" <murwille@genie.esu10.k12.ne.us>
Subject: Funk Lagoon 7/7/98
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 23:06:45 -0500
John Kozak and I , along with my 6 year old son , Zachary (Urwiller), went
to Funk Lagoon today for an afternoon birding trip. The trip yielded 53
species. The highlights were 3 Great Egrets and 2 Least Terns near the
Kiosk. A Walk into the marsh on the mowed trails yielded a group of at
least 30 Black-crowned Night Herons! (So many we couldn't count them
accurately! - maybe more!) We stopped by Union Pacific SRA on the way back
to Kearney and saw that the Imm. Common Loon continues there. I will try
to remember to post the complete list of the trip on my web site tomorrow.
There were several shore birds also.
Good Birding To All!
Mark Urwiller
4711 Heather Lane
Kearney NE 68847
Phone: 308-234-6536
Internet:
murwille@genie.esu10.k12.ne.us
http://162.127.10.1/~murwille/7hills.htm
http://204.234.2.2/~murwille/7hills.htm
http://162.127.10.1/~murwille/resume.htm
http://204.234.2.2/~murwille/birding.htm
_=_ _____________________
______--' '--______ (|__________________/
'-------------------' //
'-.-' \ \ //
\ ----------//-----=
-}| =^====--- _/)
\_____________/
"Live long and prosper"
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 19:27:25 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: request for newsletter articles Hi Nebraska birders, Betty Allen, the president of NOU is working on the newsletter. She likes many of the bird lists and such she has read here. She has webTV and cannot download or print anything that she receives, just read and send. And I don't think she can even proof read what she sends, that is why I'm not forwarding the exact words she sent to me. She would like anyone that would like to have anything they have sent to NeBirds in the past month and a half, or anything else, published in the NOU newsletter please send it to her. Most of the NOU members are not subscribed to this list. If it is only a few lines she can copy it off the screen. Lizprints@webtv.net is her e-mail address. If it is longer than that send it on paper to: Betty Allen 9628 Emmet St. Omaha, Ne. 68134 I found her message in my mailbox yesterday morning. I'm sorry that I am just now sending it, especially since the deadline is Friday, July, 10. If you don't think it will get there until Saturday, please send it to her e-mail besides snail mail, telling her that it probably won't get to her until Saturday. She can't copy it off her screen but she can read it and know how much space to save for it. I believe the deadline for submitted materials is Friday, but it goes to the printer on Monday. thanks in advance, Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 14:01:49 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: NOU newsletter again Hi Nebraska birders, The deadline for the newsletter has been set back one week. The new deadline is Friday, July 17. Lizprints@webtv.net is the address for very short submissions. Send longer submissions by snail mail to: Betty Allen 9628 Emmet St. Omaha, Ne. 68134 thank you, Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 15:28:30 -0500 From: LANNY RANDOLPH <RANDOLPHL@platte.unk.edu> Subject: a Fourth of July stroll Hi Nebraska birders, Robin has already reported about our trip to Funk Lagoon Saturday, July 4. That is how we celebrate the 4th. But we saw something important enough and fun enough to write it up for you seperately. No two people perceive the same incident the same way. We walked Mallard Dike. That is the one that follows the south edge of the marsh and connects the eastern most road with the center road. We went the first thing in the morning, so we started from the east end so that we would have the sun at our backs. We were counting everthing, so we stopped a lot to add numbers to our lists. So we were talking softly and laughing a lot while stopping frequently. We went to where the Curlew Sandpiper was last August and turned around and went back while behaving more or less the same way. You've already read about the neat stuff that we saw. When we got a little more than half the way back, we passed a spot I'm sure that we stopped at on our way out there. Robin told me that she could hear Virgina Rails. After she told me, I could hear them too. She heard them first, but I got back there first. I peeked around the edge of the cattails. On the other side of a little open water, I could see a bill sticking out around the edge of the cattails. Robin and I sat down. We could see an adult Virginia Rail walking behind the front cattails, and then another. After that we only saw one at a time. By this time they had been out in the open several times. Robin asked me what was behind the one in the open. I didn't see anything? Then she told me that two black fuzzy babys were following the adult. I still couldn't see anything. Then she told me that no, their were three black fuzzy baby Virginia Rails following a parent. I could then begin to see them. Then they're parent led them out into the open. They were easy to see, then. Before it was all done we saw four black fuzzy baby Virginia Rails. All along the adults had been walking back and forth in front of us. They were probably feeding, but it looked as though they were parading back and forth showing off their new family. The young were black balls of fuzz with long black legs (compared to a hen's chick), black eyes and a light pink bill with a black ring around the middle. Since then we have looked in all of our references, and have not been able to find a photo or picture of Virginia Rail young. Not even a discription. I looked up Virginia Rail in Kenn Kaufman's "The Lives of North American Birds." If I remember correctly, it said that Virginia Rail is a common species throughout the continental U.S. Often heard but seldom seen. Well, that is one viewing of a common species that I will never forget. good birding and goodbye, Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon Ne. 68840 RandolphL@Platte.UNK.edu MarshWren@nctc.net 308-468-5057
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 18:12:09 -0500 From: ROBIN HARDING <HARDINGR@platte.unk.edu> Subject: Virginia Rail babies at Funk Nebraska birders, Lanny's version of the fuzzy baby Virginia Rail sighting is great. I just want to add my version. We all have a most memorable birding experience. Well, this is one of mine. The conditions that day were wonderful. It had been stiflingly hot and humid for a few days but that day was cloudy, cool and breezy. A welcome break from the heat. We were walking along one of dikes at Funk Lagoon. On those rare days when the weather is not too hot, not too cold, not too windy and not raining too hard, a walk on one of the dikes at Funk is highly recommended. As I have reported earlier, we saw some good birds that day. While we were on our way back, I heard a odd sound. I said something to Lanny so we went back a few steps and peered into the thick cattails. We saw some movement and after watching the spot for awhile, we spied a Virginia Rail. OOOO! I thought. We don't see rails very often. The rail walked along the edge of the cattails and then disappeared into them. We sat down to write it on our lists and we lingered awhile. Then we saw another Virginia Rail walking across in much the same manner as the other one. I was having fun watching it forage when I saw something moving around further back in the cattails. Finally I was able to see that was about half the size of the Virginia Rail, all black and fuzzy. When it came out into the open a little, I could tell that it was a baby, following its parent. AAAAH! It was so cute, long gangly legs, short button nose (er, I mean beak). And then we saw two and then three and finally four. They were all following the adult back and forth a few times before finally disappearing into the cattails. They probably have a pretty good life in those thick stands of cattails with all the bugs you could ever hope for. Robin
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