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1. Fw: [BIRDCHAT] Common Crane in Abitibi Region, Quebec
"Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Thu, 7 Oct 1999 21:25:46 -0500
2. Seward birds
"Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu>
Fri, 08 Oct 1999 09:36:33 -0500
3. Lincoln bird
"Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu>
Fri, 08 Oct 1999 10:06:26 -0500
4. fallout
"Kevin POAGUE"<kpoague@audubon.org>
Fri, 08 Oct 99 18:09:00 -0400
5. Nebraska Birdline for 10/10/99
"Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com>
Sun, 10 Oct 1999 08:23:27 -0500
6. Osprey at Killdeer Lake
NevaLCP@aol.com
Sun, 10 Oct 1999 11:20:57 EDT
7. eastern RWB report
"Joel Jorgensen" <zrtac@genesisnet.net>
Sun, 10 Oct 1999 19:31:42 -0500
8. FW: 10/8--10/10 at HNA
Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Sun, 10 Oct 1999 23:31:44 -0500
9. [NeBirds] a shopping trip
marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph)
Tue, 12 Oct 1999 10:13:15 -0500
10. Halsey preliminary tally
paseka@tvsonline.net (Paseka, Janis)
Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:56:47 -0500
11. Re: Halsey preliminary tally
John C Sulllivan <johnsllvn@juno.com>
Tue, 12 Oct 1999 17:09:57 -0500
12. Re: Halsey preliminary tally
"Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@prairieweb.com>
Tue, 12 Oct 1999 20:18:00 -0600
13. NOU Fall Field Days
marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph)
Tue, 12 Oct 1999 22:39:59 -0500
14. Spike Rush WMA birds (York Co)
"Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu>
Thu, 14 Oct 1999 20:46:54 -0500
15.
"Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net>
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 14:01:57 -0000
16. Seward County birds
"Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu>
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 14:45:30 -0500
17. Re: Seward County birds
"Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net>
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 18:38:33 -0000
18. instructions
marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph)
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 21:42:44 -0500
19. Nebraska Birdline for 10/15/99
"Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com>
Sat, 16 Oct 1999 09:27:10 -0500
20. RE: Seward County birds
"Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu>
Sat, 16 Oct 1999 11:41:33 -0500
21. [NeBirds] N.W. Adams Co.
marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph)
Sat, 16 Oct 1999 18:33:09 -0500
22.
"Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net>
Sat, 16 Oct 1999 19:06:43 -0000
23. Panhandle birding.
Steve_Dinsmore@usgs.gov (Steve Dinsmore)
Sat, 16 Oct 1999 20:45:58 -0600
24. Varied Thrush in Madison Co. (Norfolk)
Mark Brogie <mbrogie@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us>
Sun, 17 Oct 1999 13:28:12 -0500 (CDT)
25. Sunday''s Sparrows
"Jan Johnson" <jjohnson@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us>
Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:18:10 -0700
26. up on the Calamus
Moni J Usasz <musasz@juno.com>
Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:58:42 -0500
27. Whooping Crane
"Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@prairieweb.com>
Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:40:15 -0600
28. RE: Nebraska Birdline for 10/15/99
Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Mon, 18 Oct 1999 09:21:59 -0500
29. FW: 10/11-10/18 at HNA
Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Mon, 18 Oct 1999 17:01:07 -0500
30.
"Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net>
Tue, 19 Oct 1999 20:01:38 -0000
31. BOL Surf Scoters
John C Sulllivan <johnsllvn@juno.com>
Tue, 19 Oct 1999 21:20:26 -0500
32. Nebraska Birdline for 10/19/99
"Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com>
Tue, 19 Oct 1999 22:33:45 -0500
33. Hitchcock Ibis
Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Wed, 20 Oct 1999 09:16:18 -0500
34.
"Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net>
Wed, 20 Oct 1999 21:45:34 -0000
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@sidney.heartland.net>
Subject: Fw: [BIRDCHAT] Common Crane in Abitibi Region, Quebec
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 21:25:46 -0500
Thought you folks in Common Crane country would be interested in this!
Ross
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
silcock@sidney.heartland.net
New Zealand Land and Pelagic Trips. Next: Nov 1999
----------
> From: Peter Landry <tringa@CYBERGLOBE.NET>
> To: BIRDCHAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: [BIRDCHAT] Common Crane in Abitibi Region, Quebec
> Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 8:36 PM
>
> On Tuesday, October 5, Mabel McIntosh and I drove up from Montreal,
Quebec to Barraute (pop. 1177) north of Val-d"Or, Quebec in search of a
reported Common Crane. We exited Montreal going north on Route 15 which
becomes Route 117 and on which we continued north through the park 'La
reserve faunique La Verendrye' to the city of Val-d"Or (pop. 25,000) and
then on to Barraute on Route 397. Mixed in with that town's local road
signs is one at the north end of town marked 'Rang 1 et 2 ouest' onto which
we turned left and went west but a short distance until on the right side
of the farm road we saw a large sign in front of a farm which read: "FERME,
L. et G. Galarneau, Co-operative Agricole d'Amos, LISE - GHISLAIN
GALARNEAU". [I think you will find it easier to read road signs if I don't
translate them into English].
>
> Just west of the farm isan area with hundreds of acres of suitable crane
habitat on both sides of the road. Birders the day before reported seeing
the Common Crane "45 seconds" after arriving. But we had no such luck as we
looked from a point several hundred feet west along the road from the farm.
Then Lise (Larose) Galarneau suddenly appeared in her car and jumped out
with binoculars in hand. It was she who had noticed four or five days
earlier the presence of a 'funny' crane ('drole' de grue) quite different
from the many Sandhill Cranes staging in the area. She quickly pointed out
to us four cranes a quarter mile away in the field to the north.. They were
mostly hidden by a row of bushes which ran parallel to the road and through
which it was difficult to make out details. But shortly all four flew up
and went towards the south-east as a group and crossed to the other side of
the road before landing.
>
> We then got great views of all four. At first we concentrated on the
Common Crane with its black neck overlaid by vertical white bands coming
from behind each eye and meeting below at the rear of the neck. We found
that the red patch on the crown was not easy to see as it only showed every
now and then, when the relative positions of the sun, the bird's head and
our eyes were right. It was a noticeably taller bird than the other three.
It also showed a splotchy 'pale vinaceous tinge' on the tertials in amount
between that shown on the two adults pictured in "Birds of the Western
Palearctic", Vol II (S. Cramp, Ed.) In flight the primaries and secondaries
showed a broad black trailing edge on the lower side.
>
> The second crane, with a pronounced red cap on its forehead, had the
plumage of a typical adult Sandhill Crane.The third and fourth cranes
looked very much as shown in the NGS field guide for an immature Sandhill
Crane. The pale tone of their plumage was a better match to that shown in
the guide for the imm. Sandhill than for the darker tone shown for the imm.
Common. Other than for these differences in tone, the two immatues look
very similar in NGS. This suggests that the two species of crane share
many genes and given the chance might be able to produce hybrids. Jonathon
Frechette, who observed the four birds for more than two hours the day
before us, noted in a posting to the Quebec French language mail list
ORNITHO-Qc, that he several times saw the Common Crane feed the two
immatures and that it and the Sandhill Crane were much more watchful than
the two young birds. He went on to wonder if this parental behaviour ought
perhaps lead to a belief (that here was) the hybri!
> dization of the two species.
>
> Having heard that Pierre Bannon saw two Sharp-tailed Grouse in the
immediate vicinity of the farm last Sunday and that Jonathon Frechette saw
eight the next day, we too wanted to see this bird which is difficult to
find in Quebec.On hearing this Lise immediately said she could take us to a
good place for them. She took us down beyond the end of the road and into a
clover field on the left. We walked down a path on the west edge of the
field to no avail, perhaps.because the sun was not shining with little wind
the way it had the previous day.But on retracing our steps when we were
nearly back at the road we heard a whirring of wings and there was a
Sharp-tailed which proceeded to land practically at our feet! The end of a
perfect two hours of birding which included seeing a flock of some seventy
Sandhill Cranes with whom the intrepid crane "family" of four never at any
time interacted. In fact they never interacted with any other Sandhills.The
experience also included often hea!
> ring the thrilling sound of Sandhills calling from here and there as they
flew about in small flocks. Also, there was no snow, which kindly held off
until the next day, when an inch apparently fell. Mabel and I then started
the long drive back and repeated the six and a half hours we took to drive
up in the morning. The drive then had been sensational with a very heavy
frost everywhere and no wind. Not even a ripple on the many lakes. And
there were dozens of mountains with beautiful broad bands of red- and
orange-coloured maples.The only bird of note on the way was a Pileated
Woodpecker which flew across the road. We had hoped for a Spruce Grouse,
but no luck. Gray Jay was another bird that could have flown across the
road in La Verendrye but didn't..
>
> The people in Northern Quebec are very friendly and mostly unilingual
French. This is true of Lise Larose so you might find it useful if you are
thinking of going up to Abitibi and are unilingual English to learn the
following: Common Crane = Grue cendree (= gray crane), Sharp-tailed Grouse
= Tetras a queue fine (= grouse with a thin tail) .
>
> The discovery of this Common Crane is very exciting because as far as I
know there have been no sightings in eastern North America. Please correct
me someone if this is wrong.
>
> The story of how the sighting got out to the birding community is that
after Lise Larose realized that the bird was unusual she phoned a friend
Sylvie Gagnon who works in Rouyn for Ducks Unlimited. She came over to
Barraute and identified the bird. Sylvie then communicated with Normand
David, Director General of AQGO (an association of 30 Quebec birding clubs)
and he sent an e-mail about it to 36 birding e-mail addresses which
included ORNITHO-Qc. I always find it interesting how the news of a rarity
gets out. Apparently since the find Sylvie is in daily contact with Lise
and so knows the latest status of the bird, i.e. Is it or is it not still
there? Her telephone number is 819 637 7198. I think it is likely that she
can speak English although I don't know for sure. I do know that the Common
Crane was seen yesterday, Wednesday, October 6, but the reports for today,
Thursday, October 7, if any, are only likely to be posted late at night
after the birders have returned.
>
> P.S. I couldn't help asking Lise how come a road could be Rang 1 and 2.
Well it seems that the farmland south of the road is Rang 1 {range 1) and
that north of the road is Rang 2. Since Lise's place is north of the road
her address is Rang 2.
>
>
> Peter Landry
>
>
> tringa@cyberglobe.net
> Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 09:36:33 -0500 From: "Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> Subject: Seward birds > On Monday, Oct 4, I had a yellow-bellied sapsucker along Plum Creek > on the edge of Concordia University campus: > > On Friday, Oct 8, I had the following birds along Plum Creek > on the edge of Concordia University campus during my half hour morning > walk (nothing spectacular, but sparrows are here and a few birds are > still hanging around): > red-breasted nuthatch - 1 house wren - 1 (still hanging around) > ruby-crowned kinglet - 2 > orange-crowned warbler - 1 yellow-rumped warbler - 3 > dark-eyed junco - 1 (first of the season) clay-colored sparrow - 3 fdield sparrow - 1 white-throated sparrow - 3 > Lincoln's sparrow - 5 song sparrow - 1 > Joseph Gubanyi > Concordia University > 800 North Columbia > Seward, NE 68434 > (402) 643-7316 > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu >
Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 10:06:26 -0500 From: "Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> Subject: Lincoln bird I forgot to mention that on Monday afternoon, Oct 4, I saw a merlin in Lincoln chasing a flock of starlings at 44th and O St. > Joseph Gubanyi > Concordia University > 800 North Columbia > Seward, NE 68434 > (402) 643-7316 > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu > >
Date: Fri, 08 Oct 99 18:09:00 -0400 From: "Kevin POAGUE"<kpoague@audubon.org> Subject: fallout Folks, The front that came through Thursday night sure brought the birds with it. Spring Creek is loaded with warblers (and we happen to be open 9-5 this weekend for your birding enjoyment). The fact that 99% of them are yellow-rumps should only dampen one's enthusiasm a tad because there are other things to see out here. Here is a list of what I saw Friday. Yellow-rumped warblers (a gazillion) orange-crowned warbler eastern bluebird sedge wren brown thrasher Cooper's hawk Northern harrier soliary sandpiper vesper sparrow field sparrow cedar waxwing eastern and western meadowlark Lincoln's sparrow cormorant great blue heron Kevin Poague Audubon Nebraska PO Box 117 Denton NE 68339 kpoague@audubon.org 402/797-2301
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 08:23:27 -0500 Subject: Nebraska Birdline for 10/10/99 From: "Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com> - RBA * Nebraska * Statewide * October 10, 1999 * NEST9910.10 - Birds Mentioned Sedge Wren Hermit Thrush Brown Thrasher Le Conte's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Harris's Sparrow Solitary Sandpiper Sharp-shinned Hawk Eastern Bluebird Black-headed Grosbeak Spotted Towhee Eastern Phoebe Marsh Wren Winter Wren Palm Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow Fox Sparrow Great Egret Greater Yellowlegs Yellow-billed Cuckoo Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat Cooper's Hawk Vesper Sparrow Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-breasted Nuthatch Field Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Pine Siskin - Transcript Tape Number: 402-292-5325 Compilers: Babs & Loren Padelford Transcriber: Babs Padelford (lpdlfrd@juno.com) Welcome to an update of the Nebraska Birdline, sponsored by the Audubon Society of Omaha, for Sunday, October 10th. In eastern Nebraska in Washington County on the 9th at Boyer Chute NWR the following species were found: 8 SEDGE WRENS, a HERMIT THRUSH, a BROWN THRASHER, 11 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS, 10 SWAMP SPARROWS & a HARRIS'S SPARROW. Also on the 9th, 2 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS were seen just north of the Washington County line in a flooded area east of the River Road. On the 8th, 2 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 50 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS & a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK were seen near Fort Calhoun. In Douglas County on the 7th, a SPOTTED TOWHEE visited a yard near 114th & Center in Omaha. In Sarpy County on the 5th, a HERMIT THRUSH came to a bird bath in Bellevue west of Fontenelle Forest. On the 6th in Bellevue, 3 EASTERN PHOEBES, a MARSH WREN, a WINTER WREN, a PALM WARBLER, a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW & a FOX SPARROW were seen in Fontenelle Forest. On the 8th, a GREAT EGRET, 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, 2 EASTERN PHOEBES, 7 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 25 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, a NASHVILLE WARBLER & a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT were seen at Chalco Hills Recreation Area southwest of Millard. In Lancaster County on the 8th the following birds were seen at Spring Creek Prairie south of Denton: a COOPER'S HAWK, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, a SEDGE WREN, a BROWN THRASHER, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS & a VESPER SPARROW. In Seward County on the 4th, a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was found along Plum Creek on the edge of Concordia University campus. On the 8th along Plum Creek a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, a FIELD SPARROW, 3 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, 3 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS & a DARK-EYED JUNCO were seen. In Iowa north of Council Bluffs, 8 PINE SISKINS were seen at a feeder on the 6th. For more information on this week's sightings, you may call 402-292-5556. To report your sightings, please leave your name, your phone number and your report after the tone at the end of this message. Be sure to include the date of the sighting. Thank you and good birding! - End transcript
From: NevaLCP@aol.com Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 11:20:57 EDT Subject: Osprey at Killdeer Lake My husband, Ken, "bird watching" from a duck blind, reported the presence of an Osprey fishing in Killdeer Lake (southwest of Lincoln). He says it left after making two dives and he couldn't tell if it had caught anything or not. Ken says Killdeer is an attractive lake for avian fishing, shallow with fish near the surface. Incidentally, the ducks present were undisturbed, which is usually the case on KP's hunting forays. Neva Pruess Lincoln, NE
From: "Joel Jorgensen" <zrtac@genesisnet.net> Subject: eastern RWB report Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 19:31:42 -0500 Hello all: I had some concrete matters to deal with in the eastern RWB area so I hit the few basins that still have water. Below is what I found. Joel Jorgensen ------------------- 10 Oct, eRWB alot of duck hunters 1 Black-crowned Night Heron 1 imm. Plegadis Ibis 300 Greater White-fronted Geese (all were flying high with the north wind, only time I saw them is when I was out of my truck and heard them first, I bet there were thousands in the sky today) 1 Ring-necked Duck 17 Black-bellied Plovers 32 American Golden-plovers 456 Killdeers (best single day count of the year) 33 American Avocets 45 Greater Yellowlegs 17 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Sanderling 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper (a little late, but seen at close range, very short bill) 107 Least Sandpipers 2 Baird's Sandpiper 32 Pectoral Sandpiper 11 Stilt Sandpipers 381 Long-billed Dowitchers 1 Common Snipe 1 Merlin 3 Sedge Wren 25 Brewer's Blackbirds 1 Great-tailed Grackle
From: Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Subject: FW: 10/8--10/10 at HNA
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 23:31:44 -0500
Greetings,
The Hitchcock Nature Area (HNA) is located in the Loess Hills on the
Iowa side of the Iowa-Nebraska border overlooking the Missouri River Valley
to the west. The watch is easily accessible from the intersection of
Interstate Highways 680 and 29; take Iowa 988 into the town of
Crescent,Iowa. From Crescent, take Route 183 north to HNA. Some counting has
been
done at HNA since 1992. This year, counting of raptors, vultures and other
migrants is being done on a part-time basis during the September 1-December
15 period. There are three watchpoints at HNA; most counting, however, has
been done from the deck of the park's lodge. HNA will remain an undercounted
site until staffing improves or a higher vantage point is created.
Summary
We were a bit short-handed this weekend due to the Nebraska Ornithologists
Union Conference, but we still managed to get two sites staffed for most of
the very long hours we logged looking at cloudless skies. Despite some very
long and boring lulls, we posted some fairly good numbers. Morning and early
evening on Sunday 10/10 were Hitchcock at its "October aerial traffic jam"
best.
Northern Goshawk on 10/8 was an immature female. Nice to see the NG more or
less on schedule. We don't see many at HNA, and there is always the
off-chance of getting skunked for the year. The adult Bald Eagle on 10/9 put
on quite a show-- dueling with an immature RT and "posing" for photographs
just above the Lodge. Some interesting buteo morphs on 10/9 including 2
Rufous Morph Swainson's adults, and an immature Rufous Morph Red-tailed.
The Swainson's are still coming through in surprisingly high numbers. An
early morning kettle of 43 was photographed as it lifted off from Westridge
on 10/10. Very heavy movements of non-raptors morning and evening. At times,
in the evening, it was hard getting a clean look at the raptors due to the
thousands of Common Grackles, Eurasian Starlings, Blue Jays, Red-winged
Blackbirds, American Robins, and Yellow-rumped Warblers going through.
Accipter were hazing the flocks leading to a wild scattered torrent of
birds. One, seemingly endless, flock of grackles was guesstimated at
130,000!
And I will have that report on non-raptors done soon.... really!
Species 10/8 10/9 10/10 YTD
Turkey Vulture 23 112 57 1233#
Osprey 0 1 0 58#
Northern Harrier 0 8 3 47
Bald Eagle 0 1 1 2?
Sharp-sh. Hawk 7 13 32 361
Cooper's Hawk 1 9 4 96#
Northern Goshawk 1 0 0 1
Red-should. Hawk 0 0 0 3#
Swainson's Hawk 1 34 61 264*
Broad-wing.Hawk 0 0 1 214
Red-tailed Hawk 11 28 103 423*
Golden Eagle 0 0 0 0
Amer. Kestrel 1 4 3 90#
Merlin 0 0 1 3
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 6
unid. raptor 0 2 3 80#
Totals 7/45 8/212 10/269 14/2910#
?= 1 adult BE; 1 immature BE.
# Indicates new seasonal record.
* Unusual Buteo Morphs and subspecies through 10/10:
1 Dark Morph Swainson's Hawk
2 Rufous Morph Swainson's Hawk
2 Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk
1 Krider's Red-tailed Hawk
1 Western Rufous Morph RT (imm.)
3 Western Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk
2 (identifiable) Western Light Morph Red-tailed Hawk
5 Red-tailed Hawk (Dark Morph indeterminate between Harlan's/Western)
Hours: 3.0 9.75 10.0 162.3# YTD
Max Obs: 2 4 5
Points manned: 1 2 2
H.Temp: 70 85 80
Wind: SE var NW
Skies: Clear clear clear
Best wishes,
Mark Orsag
morsag@doane.edu
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 10:13:15 -0500 From: marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph) Subject: [NeBirds] a shopping trip Hi Nebraska birders, Monday, October 11, Robin and I were on vacation. Robin sent me to the store, so of course I went to the store that has a marsh near by. In Adams County at Thirty-two Mile Creek Marsh which is two miles east of Kenesaw I saw an immature Cattle Egret, about 75 Greater White-fronted Geese, five Snow Geese (one of them was a blue morph), an American Coot, a Semipalmated Plover, an adult American Avocet in basic plumage, four Least Sandpipers and two Savannah Sparrows. On my way home, with the groceries safely in a cooler, in northeastern Kearney County I saw a Vesper Sparrow, another Savannah Sparrow, four Western Meadowlarks singing amoung large numbers of meadowlarks unidentified as to species and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. The Yellow-headed Blackbird was mixed in with about 280 cowbirds. Robin and I had a wonderful time at the NOU fall field days. good birding and goodbye, Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon, Ne. 68840 308-468-5057 Marshwren@nctc.net (home) RandolphL@UNK.edu (work)
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:56:47 -0500 From: paseka@tvsonline.net (Paseka, Janis) Subject: Halsey preliminary tally NeBirders: Here's a preliminary tally of the birds seen at the NOU meeting last weekend at Halsey. I apologize for the untidy appearance the list will probably have by the time it gets to your screen. Where were all the Townsend's Solitaires this year? There aren't any on our preliminary list. I see we got skunked on wrens this year, too. We (in Gertrude Wood's car) saw one but didn't identify it. Did anyone else see a wren? Who got the Black Duck and the Brewer's Sparrow? We'd like to know more about those sightings. Was it too late in the season for Poorwills? We were a little short on warblers this year. Maybe we should count the dead Yellow Warbler found hanging on a barbed wire fence? Please send me any additions or corrections to this tally. A complete and, with luck, accurate account of what was seen will be published later. Thanks. It was great seeing everyone, and the Sandhills and the weather were beautiful! Janis Paseka 1585 Co. Rd. 14 Blvd. Ames NE 68621 paseka@tvsonline.net Preliminary total: 109 Cherry (C): 76 Brown (BR): 49 Blaine (BL): 33 Thomas (T): 23 Forest (F): 61 C BR Pied-billed Grebe C BR Western Grebe C BR American White Pelican C BR BL T F Double-crested Cormorant BR American Bittern C BR T F Great Blue Heron BR Black-crowned Night-Heron C Trumpeter Swan F Greater White-fronted Goose F Snow Goose C BR BL T Canada Goose C BR F Wood Duck C BR Green-winged Teal BR American Black Duck C BR T F Mallard C Northern Pintail C B F Blue-winged Teal C Northern Shoveler C BR Gadwall C BR American Wigeon C Canvasback C BR Redhead C Ring-necked Duck C Lesser Scaup C Bufflehead C BR Ruddy Duck T F Turkey Vulture C BR BL T F Northern Harrier B F Sharp-shinned Hawk F Cooper's Hawk C Swainson's Hawk C BR BL T F Red-tailed Hawk C BR Ferruginous Hawk T F Golden Eagle C T F American Kestrel T Merlin C F Prairie Falcon C BL F Ring-necked Pheasant C BR BL F Greater Prairie-Chicken C BL F Sharp-tailed Grouse BR BL F Wild Turkey F Northern Bobwhite BR Sora C BR American Coot C BR BL T F Sandhill Crane C BR BL Killdeer C BL Greater Yellowlegs C Least Sandpiper C Baird's Sandpiper C Long-billed Dowitcher C BR Common Snipe C Franklin's Gull C BR Ring-billed Gull BR Forster's Tern C T Rock Dove C BR BL Mourning Dove F Eastern Screech-Owl C F Great Horned Owl C BR T Belted Kingfisher BL T Red-headed Woodpecker BR F Red-bellied Woodpecker C BR F Downy Woodpecker C F Hairy Woodpecker C BR F Northern Flicker C BR F Horned Lark F Blue Jay F Black-billed Magpie C BR BL T F American Crow C BL F Black-capped Chickadee F Red-breasted Nuthatch F White-breasted Nuthatch C F Golden-crowned Kinglet F Ruby-crowned Kinglet BL F Eastern Bluebird C BR BL T F American Robin C BR American Pipit C BR BL T F Cedar Waxwing C BL European Starling C BR BL F Orange-crowned Warbler F Nashville Warbler C BR BL F Yellow-rumped Warbler C BL Common Yellowthroat F Northern Cardinal C F Spotted Towhee C F American Tree Sparrow C T F Chipping Sparrow C F Clay-colored Sparrow BL Brewer's Sparrow C T F Field Sparrow C BL F Vesper Sparrow C BR BL T Savannah Sparrow F Grasshopper Sparrow C BR BL F Song Sparrow BR Lincoln's Sparrow BL Swamp Sparrow BL F White-throated Sparrow C BR BL F White-crowned Sparrow C F Harris' Sparrow C F Dark-eyed Junco C BR BL T F Red-winged Blackbird C BR BL T F Western Meadowlark C Yellow-headed Blackbird C BL Brewer's Blackbird C BR F Common Grackle C Brown-headed Cowbird F House Finch F Red Crossbill C BR F American Goldfinch BL F House Sparrow
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 17:09:57 -0500 Subject: Re: Halsey preliminary tally From: John C Sulllivan <johnsllvn@juno.com> Hello Janis & all, It was great to see everyone at the Fall Field Days, sorry we didn't make it back to the lodge in time for the final tally on Sunday. Laura Johnson and I did run across several Townsend's Solitares near the fire tower in the forest Sunday morning. That is the only addition to the list that we had. John Sullivan Lincoln, NE ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
From: "Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@prairieweb.com> Subject: Re: Halsey preliminary tally Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 20:18:00 -0600 Janis, Those in my car also saw a wren, but weren't able to identify it. It was in kind of a Marsh Wren place, but that's about all we can say for it. Great weekend. Alice -----Original Message----- From: Paseka, Janis <paseka@tvsonline.net> To: NeBirds <NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu> Date: Tuesday, October 12, 1999 11:55 AM Subject: Halsey preliminary tally >NeBirders: > >Here's a preliminary tally of the birds seen at the NOU meeting last >weekend at Halsey. I apologize for the untidy appearance the list will >probably have by the time it gets to your screen. > >Where were all the Townsend's Solitaires this year? There aren't any on >our preliminary list. I see we got skunked on wrens this year, too. We >(in Gertrude Wood's car) saw one but didn't identify it. Did anyone >else see a wren? Who got the Black Duck and the Brewer's Sparrow? >We'd like to know more about those sightings. Was it too late in the >season for Poorwills? We were a little short on warblers this year. >Maybe we should count the dead Yellow Warbler found hanging on a barbed >wire fence? > >Please send me any additions or corrections to this tally. A complete >and, with luck, accurate account of what was seen will be published >later. > >Thanks. It was great seeing everyone, and the Sandhills and the weather >were beautiful! > >Janis Paseka >1585 Co. Rd. 14 Blvd. >Ames NE 68621 >paseka@tvsonline.net > >Preliminary total: 109 >Cherry (C): 76 >Brown (BR): 49 >Blaine (BL): 33 >Thomas (T): 23 >Forest (F): 61 > >C BR Pied-billed Grebe >C BR Western Grebe >C BR American White Pelican >C BR BL T F Double-crested Cormorant >BR American Bittern >C BR T F Great Blue Heron >BR Black-crowned Night-Heron >C Trumpeter Swan >F Greater White-fronted Goose >F Snow Goose >C BR BL T Canada Goose >C BR F Wood Duck >C BR Green-winged Teal >BR American Black Duck >C BR T F Mallard >C Northern Pintail >C B F Blue-winged Teal >C Northern Shoveler >C BR Gadwall >C BR American Wigeon >C Canvasback >C BR Redhead >C Ring-necked Duck >C Lesser Scaup >C Bufflehead >C BR Ruddy Duck >T F Turkey Vulture >C BR BL T F Northern Harrier >B F Sharp-shinned Hawk >F Cooper's Hawk >C Swainson's Hawk >C BR BL T F Red-tailed Hawk >C BR Ferruginous Hawk >T F Golden Eagle >C T F American Kestrel >T Merlin >C F Prairie Falcon >C BL F Ring-necked Pheasant >C BR BL F Greater Prairie-Chicken >C BL F Sharp-tailed Grouse >BR BL F Wild Turkey >F Northern Bobwhite >BR Sora >C BR American Coot >C BR BL T F Sandhill Crane >C BR BL Killdeer >C BL Greater Yellowlegs >C Least Sandpiper >C Baird's Sandpiper >C Long-billed Dowitcher >C BR Common Snipe >C Franklin's Gull >C BR Ring-billed Gull >BR Forster's Tern >C T Rock Dove >C BR BL Mourning Dove >F Eastern Screech-Owl >C F Great Horned Owl >C BR T Belted Kingfisher >BL T Red-headed Woodpecker >BR F Red-bellied Woodpecker >C BR F Downy Woodpecker >C F Hairy Woodpecker >C BR F Northern Flicker >C BR F Horned Lark >F Blue Jay >F Black-billed Magpie >C BR BL T F American Crow >C BL F Black-capped Chickadee >F Red-breasted Nuthatch >F White-breasted Nuthatch >C F Golden-crowned Kinglet >F Ruby-crowned Kinglet >BL F Eastern Bluebird >C BR BL T F American Robin >C BR American Pipit >C BR BL T F Cedar Waxwing >C BL European Starling >C BR BL F Orange-crowned Warbler >F Nashville Warbler >C BR BL F Yellow-rumped Warbler >C BL Common Yellowthroat >F Northern Cardinal >C F Spotted Towhee >C F American Tree Sparrow >C T F Chipping Sparrow >C F Clay-colored Sparrow >BL Brewer's Sparrow >C T F Field Sparrow >C BL F Vesper Sparrow >C BR BL T Savannah Sparrow >F Grasshopper Sparrow >C BR BL F Song Sparrow >BR Lincoln's Sparrow >BL Swamp Sparrow >BL F White-throated Sparrow >C BR BL F White-crowned Sparrow >C F Harris' Sparrow >C F Dark-eyed Junco >C BR BL T F Red-winged Blackbird >C BR BL T F Western Meadowlark >C Yellow-headed Blackbird >C BL Brewer's Blackbird >C BR F Common Grackle >C Brown-headed Cowbird >F House Finch >F Red Crossbill >C BR F American Goldfinch >BL F House Sparrow > >
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 22:39:59 -0500 From: marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph) Subject: NOU Fall Field Days NeBirders, We had a great time at the NOU Fall Field Days. The weather was excellent but maybe too warm for the birds. Some of my favorite sightings for the weekend were the Red-breasted Nuthatches, Yellow- rumped Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, a female Red Crossbill, Dark-eyed Juncos, Sandhill Cranes, a Prairie Falcon, a Sharp- shinned Hawk, Prairie-Chickens, Sharp-tailed Grouse, a White-throated Sparrow, American Pipits and Trumpeter Swans. The rivers were high, the marshes were full and the Sandhills were beautiful. Many thanks to everyone who made the weekend so wonderful. Robin Harding marshwren@nctc.net
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 20:46:54 -0500 From: "Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> Subject: Spike Rush WMA birds (York Co) On Wednesday evening, Oct 14, I visited Spike Rush WMA 1 mile west of Waco and had the following birds: > American bittern - 1 > sora - 1 > killdeer - 20 > common snipe - 4 > marsh wren - 3 Leconte's sparrow - 8 > Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow - 6 > savannah sparrow - at least 25 What was truly impressive were the numbers of Leconte's and Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows. There were surely more in several patches of sedge, but there were so many moving around, they were hard to count. We had many good looks as the sparrows responded well to our "pishing". > Joseph Gubanyi > Concordia University > 800 North Columbia > Seward, NE 68434 > (402) 643-7316 > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu > >
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net> Subject: Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 14:01:57 -0000 Coming south out of Holdredge on 183 there is a wet land area on the East side of the road at about 1:30 We saw 22 American Avocet 3 Greater Yellowlegs Killdeer Coots Marlard Pintail Greenwinged Teal And a few tame Geese . This morning before the wind came up we had lots of Meadowlarks flying across the rd. on our way to Kearney but on the way home with the wind we only saw 1 or 2. We had such a good time at the fall meeting Just wish I could remember the peoples names as will as I can birds. We still have lots of D.C Cormorants Herons and Great and Cattle Egrets Good birding Wanda and Glen Alma Ne.
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 14:45:30 -0500 From: "Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> Subject: Seward County birds > On Friday morning I walked through a private marsh 1 mile west of > Seward in search of my first Seward County Nelson's sharp-tailed > sparrow and my first Nebraska yellow rail (I dream a lot and it is a > good spot) and had the following birds: > sora - 1 Virginia rail - 1 > killdeer - 10 > common snipe - 9 > marsh wren - 5 sedge wren - 7 > Leconte's sparrow - 8 > Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow - 6 > savannah sparrow - 3 swamp sparrow - 2 Lincoln's sparrow - 1 I missed my target birds but was impressed with the numbers of wrens (I am sure I undercounted them - they were everywhere). It was the first time I had sedge and marsh wrens almost side by side (within 5 ft of each other). I actually was surprised that I could not find a Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow. My guess is after this weekend, many of these birds will be gone. > Joseph Gubanyi > Concordia University > 800 North Columbia > Seward, NE 68434 > (402) 643-7316 > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net> Subject: Re: Seward County birds Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 18:38:33 -0000 If you did not get the sharp-tailed what did you get 6 of Wanda and Glen Alma ---------- > From: Gubanyi,Joe <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> > To: 'NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu' > Cc: 'jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu' > Subject: Seward County birds > Date: Friday, October 15, 1999 7:45 PM > > > > On Friday morning I walked through a private marsh 1 mile west of > > Seward in search of my first Seward County Nelson's sharp-tailed > > sparrow and my first Nebraska yellow rail (I dream a lot and it is a > > good spot) and had the following birds: > > sora - 1 > Virginia rail - 1 > > killdeer - 10 > > common snipe - 9 > > marsh wren - 5 > sedge wren - 7 > > Leconte's sparrow - 8 > > Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow - 6 > > savannah sparrow - 3 > swamp sparrow - 2 > Lincoln's sparrow - 1 > I missed my target birds but was impressed with the numbers of wrens (I > am sure I undercounted them - they were everywhere). It was the first > time I had sedge and marsh wrens almost side by side (within 5 ft of > each other). I actually was surprised that I could not find a Nelson's > sharp-tailed sparrow. My guess is after this weekend, many of these > birds will be gone. > > > Joseph Gubanyi > > Concordia University > > 800 North Columbia > > Seward, NE 68434 > > (402) 643-7316 > > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 21:42:44 -0500 From: marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph) Subject: instructions NeBirders, I recommend that everyone on this list set the acknowledgement feature by sending a message to: AUTOSHARE@RIP.PHYSICS.UNK.EDU In the body of the message write: SET NEBIRDS ACK You will get a copy of every message that you send to the NeBirds list if you do this. You will see how your messages look on the list. You will see what is being automatically archived. Please remember that when you reply to a message posted to the NeBirds list, your reply is also posted to the entire list, not just the person who sent the original message. Please also avoid including a copy of the entire message to which you are replying, especially if it is a long message. It's unneccessary and it clutters the archive. I hope these instructions help all of you. Robin Harding marshwren@nctc.net
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 09:27:10 -0500 Subject: Nebraska Birdline for 10/15/99 From: "Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com> - RBA * Nebraska * Statewide * October 16, 1999 * NEST9910.15 - Birds Mentioned American Bittern Black-crowned Night-Heron Ferruginous Hawk Sandhill Crane Sora American Pipit Golden Eagle Merlin Prairie Falcon Sharp-tailed Grouse Black-billed Magpie American Tree Sparrow Red Crossbill Plegadis IBIS sp. Greater White-fronted Goose Black-bellied Plover Killdeer American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe Sedge Wren Brewer's Blackbird Great-tailed Grackle Cattle Egret Semipalmated Plover Savannah Sparrow Winter Wren Carolina Wren Nashville Warbler Swamp Sparrow Harris's Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Pine Siskin American Bittern Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - Transcript Tape Number: 402-292-5325 Compilers: Babs & Loren Padelford Transcriber: Babs Padelford (lpdlfrd@juno.com) Welcome to an update of the Nebraska Birdline, sponsored by the Audubon Society of Omaha, for Friday, October 15th. In western Nebraska on the 9th in Brown County at Willow Lake the following birds were seen: a WESTERN GREBE, an AMERICAN BITTERN, a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a FERRUGINOUS HAWK, SANDHILL CRANES, a SORA, & an AMERICAN PIPIT. In Thomas County on the 9th the following species were found at Halsey National Forest: a GOLDEN EAGLE, a MERLIN, a PRAIRIE FALCON, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, SANDHILL CRANES, a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW & RED CROSSBILLS. In central Nebraska in the eastern Rainwater Basin on the 10th the following birds were found: a BLACK- CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a Plegadis IBIS sp., 300 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 17 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 456 KILLDEERS, 33 AMERICAN AVOCETS, 45 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 17 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, a SANDERLING, a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 107 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 32 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 11 STILT SANDPIPERS, 381 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a COMMON SNIPE, a MERLIN, 3 SEDGE WRENS, 25 BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS & a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. In Adams County on the 11th, a CATTLE EGRET, 75 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, an AMERICAN AVOCET, 4 LEAST SANDPIPERS & 2 SAVANNAH SPARROWS were found at Thirty-two Mile Creek Marsh 2 miles east of Kenesaw. In eastern Nebraska in Douglas County on the 15th, 6 WINTER WRENS, 2 CAROLINA WRENS, a NASHVILLE WARBLER & 30 SWAMP SPARROWS were found in Neale Woods north of Omaha. On the 12th, a HARRIS'S SPARROW & 2 DARK-EYED JUNCOS were found at Cunningham Lake. In Lancaster County on the 14th at Little Salt Fork Marsh east of Raymond, 7 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 3 COMMON SNIPE, 2 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS & a PINE SISKIN were seen. In York County on the 14th, an AMERICAN BITTERN, a SORA, 4 COMMON SNIPES, 3 MARSH WRENS, 8 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS, 6 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS were found at Spike Rush WMA 1 mile west of Waco. For more information on this week's sightings, you may call 402-292-5556. To report your sightings, please leave your name, your phone number and your report after the tone at the end of this message. Be sure to include the date of the sighting. Thank you and good birding! - End transcript
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 11:41:33 -0500 From: "Gubanyi,Joe" <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> Subject: RE: Seward County birds Wanda, Thanks for catching that. I used an old message to write my report and forgot to delete the Neslon's sharp-tailed sparrow from the list. I did not see Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrows on my Friday morning marsh walk in Seward. Rechecking my list, everything else is correct. Joe > ---------- > From: Wanda Hoge > Reply To: NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu > Sent: Friday, October 15, 1999 12:38 PM > To: NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu > Subject: Re: Seward County birds > > If you did not get the sharp-tailed what did you get 6 of Wanda and > Glen > Alma > > ---------- > > From: Gubanyi,Joe <jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu> > > To: 'NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu' > > Cc: 'jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu' > > Subject: Seward County birds > > Date: Friday, October 15, 1999 7:45 PM > > > > > > > On Friday morning I walked through a private marsh 1 mile west of > > > Seward in search of my first Seward County Nelson's sharp-tailed > > > sparrow and my first Nebraska yellow rail (I dream a lot and it is > a > > > good spot) and had the following birds: > > > sora - 1 > > Virginia rail - 1 > > > killdeer - 10 > > > common snipe - 9 > > > marsh wren - 5 > > sedge wren - 7 > > > Leconte's sparrow - 8 > > > Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow - 6 > > > savannah sparrow - 3 > > swamp sparrow - 2 > > Lincoln's sparrow - 1 > > I missed my target birds but was impressed with the numbers of wrens > (I > > am sure I undercounted them - they were everywhere). It was the > first > > time I had sedge and marsh wrens almost side by side (within 5 ft of > > each other). I actually was surprised that I could not find a > Nelson's > > sharp-tailed sparrow. My guess is after this weekend, many of these > > birds will be gone. > > > > > Joseph Gubanyi > > > Concordia University > > > 800 North Columbia > > > Seward, NE 68434 > > > (402) 643-7316 > > > jgubanyi@seward.cune.edu >
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 18:33:09 -0500 From: marshwren@nctc.net (Harding and Randolph) Subject: [NeBirds] N.W. Adams Co. Hi Nebraska birders, Saturday October 16, in Buffalo County, Robin and I saw three Eastern Bluebirds and four Lincoln's Sparrows in our yard three and a half miles southeast of Gibbon. In Kearney County, two miles south of our home, we saw eleven Savannah Sparrows and twenty Western Meadowlarks, some of which were vocalizing. In Adams County, two and a half miles west of Kenesaw, we saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk and about 25 more Savannah Sparrows. At Kenesaw SWMA we saw a Snow Goose, a female Northern Harrier and three more Savannah Sparrows. At 32 Mile Creek Reservoir, which is two miles east of Kenesaw, we saw five more Snow Geese (one of which was a blue morph), two American Wigeon, at least eleven Ruddy Ducks, a Greater Yellowlegs, four Least Sandpipers, about thirty American Pipits, another 40 Savannah Sparrows, a Harris' Sparrow, one adult and three immature White-crowned Sparrows and a Dark-eyed Junco. Two miles west of Prosser we saw a male and a female Wood Duck, two Chipping Sparrows, two Field Sparrows and five Song Sparrows. Back at home we saw a Cooper's Hawk flying over the fields near by. good birding and goodbye, Lanny Lanny Randolph southcentral Nebraska 50370 24th rd Gibbon, Ne. 68840 308-468-5057 Marshwren@nctc.net (home) RandolphL@UNK.edu (work)
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net> Subject: Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 19:06:43 -0000 At 6:45 p.m. we saw 60 Sandhill Cranes go over Alma at the Lake we still have app. 5,000 D.C. Cormorants 6 Cattle Egrets and 13 Pelican's Did not see any Great egrets at all and looked where we usually see them think the cool weather has sent them South. Good Birding Wanda and Glen
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 20:45:58 -0600
From: Steve_Dinsmore@usgs.gov (Steve Dinsmore)
Subject: Panhandle birding.
> NEBirders-
I spent today (16 October) birding in the western
Panhandle in the snow and wind. The change in the weather
has certainly changed the birdllife! The passerine migration
is all but over and the first waves of migrant waterfowl
have arrived. Also of note was the fact that there were
thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrating today-I heard them
almost every time I stopped the car. My total for the day
was about 96 species with the following highlights:
PACIFIC LOON-1 first-basic bird @Lake Alice
Common Loon-1 @Lake Minatare
Eared Grebe-487 for the day, including 271 at the Gering
sewage lagoons
BLACK SCOTER-2 females or immatures @Lake Minatare
Hooded Merganser-18 @Lake Alice
Northern Harrier-34 for the day, 29 in Scotts Bluff Co.
Merlin-2 in Kimball County and 1 in Scotts Bluff County
Sandhill Crane-everywhere, including 2,416 @Lake Alice
American Avocet-21 @Lake Alice
Long-billed Dowitcher-122 in Scotts Bluff County
Northern Shrike-1 @Wildcat Hills Nature Center
Mountain Bluebird-19 @Scotts Bluff National Monument
and 12 @Lake Alice
Hermit Thrush-singles at Oliver Reservoir and Gering
American Tree Sparrow-1 @Winters Creek Lake
White-throated Sparrow-2 @Bushnell, 2 @Oliver Reservoir, 4
@Winters Creek Lake
Lapland Longspur-40 near Minatare
Stephen J. Dinsmore
Fort Collins, CO
steve_dinsmore@usgs.gov
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 13:28:12 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mark Brogie <mbrogie@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us>
Subject: Varied Thrush in Madison Co. (Norfolk)
A male Varied Thrush has been discovered in Norfolk!
It has intermittetly been coming to a feeder at 122 Morningside Drive
(extreme eastern part of Norfolk) at the residence of Lee Cooper.
Ellen, Ben & I saw the bird yesterday, it is one gorgeous plumaged bird.
It is very wary and is coming to cracked corn at a feeder behind the
house. One can observe the feeder if one parks on the curve in the road
at the north side of the residence.
Mark A. Brogie - Science Dept. HOME:
Creighton Community Schools Mark A. Brogie
1609 Redick Ave., Box 10 508 Seeley St., Box 316
Creighton, NE 68729 Creighton, NE 68729
(402) 358-3663 (402) 358-5675
FAX (402) 358-3804
mbrogie@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us
From: "Jan Johnson" <jjohnson@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us>
Subject: Sunday''s Sparrows
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:18:10 -0700
Another good day for sparrows at the pond's stream here at my home in
southern Dixon County 7 1/2 miles nw of Wakefield. Had a total of 18
species there today with 10 of them sparrow species including:
White-throated Sparrow
Harris' Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (the first this fall)
Tree Sparrow (the first this fall)
Jan Johnson
Wakefield Community Schools
Wakefield, NE 68784
jjohnson@mother.esu1.k12.ne.us
Lover of birds, books, and beasts...
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:58:42 -0500 Subject: up on the Calamus From: Moni J Usasz <musasz@juno.com> Did a tad bit of birding up around the dam on Saturday - it was mostly a family trip - but still lots of birds to see and frustration because birding wasn't the primary focus All day we heard and saw skeins of sandhill cranes going over, also heard and saw white-fronted geese going over. There were still cormorants and pelicans on the lake as well as at least one ring-billed gull - many others much too far away to determine species. A short walk that am at an old brushy farmstead on the lake netted a probable prairie falcon, towhee (sp?), yellow crowned kinglets, meadowlarks (western ,I presume), white-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, song sparrow and multiple other sparrows who took one look at us and dove into the nearest cedar tree or brush pile and were never seen clearly again. That afternoon as we were attempting to walk along the beach with a three year old nephew in tow, we started seeing sparrows everywhere. Wish I had had time to look all of them over - they were being so much more cooperative than the ones in the am - saw quite a few Harris' and white-throated sparrows, a chipping sparrow and a probable fox sparrow - all sort of in passing as we all worked to keep the three year old out of the lake and from falling off all the logs he was climbing. Anyone else see the Varied Thrush? Moni ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
From: "Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@prairieweb.com> Subject: Whooping Crane Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 19:40:15 -0600 Hi NeBirders, I had 2 phone calls today from people that saw a Whooping Crane with a flock of Sandhill Cranes. The first call was from Steve Kerr who saw the bird over his home which is northwest of Mitchell at about 10:15. He reported seeing more than 2200 Sandhill Cranes today. The second call was from Rex Metzger who lives in Gering but was by the North Platte River south of Mitchell at about 10:25 when he saw the Whooping Crane with the Sandhills. The timing and locations are right so that this was probably the same bird. There were many, many Sandhill Cranes yesterday (Saturday) and quite a few today. We had about 6 Mountain Bluebirds along the road in front of our house this afternoon. Good birding, Alice
From: Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu> Subject: RE: Nebraska Birdline for 10/15/99 Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 09:21:59 -0500 Loren, Babs and all, Quite a weekend at HNA-- best of year by far; I 'm still adding up stuff, but here are some of the highlights: Record 300+ Red-tail flight on Sat (numerous and varied morphs) Record 6 Merlins on Saturday 2 total Rough-legged Hawks (earliest ever HNA record) 6 total Bald Eagles 2 Golden Eagles on Sunday White-faced Ibis on Sat. Seen by Don Maas and I. Anybody know if this needs documentation for Iowa? Guesstimated flock of 622,000 Common Grackles and assorted blackbirds on Saturday. Mark O -----Original Message----- From: Loren J. Padelford [mailto:lpdlfrd@juno.com] Sent: Saturday, October 16, 1999 9:27 AM To: birdcntr@listserv.arizona.edu Cc: hologrambirds@worldnet.att.net; NeBirds@rip.physics.unk.edu Subject: Nebraska Birdline for 10/15/99 - RBA * Nebraska * Statewide * October 16, 1999 * NEST9910.15 - Birds Mentioned American Bittern Black-crowned Night-Heron Ferruginous Hawk Sandhill Crane Sora American Pipit Golden Eagle Merlin Prairie Falcon Sharp-tailed Grouse Black-billed Magpie American Tree Sparrow Red Crossbill Plegadis IBIS sp. Greater White-fronted Goose Black-bellied Plover Killdeer American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe Sedge Wren Brewer's Blackbird Great-tailed Grackle Cattle Egret Semipalmated Plover Savannah Sparrow Winter Wren Carolina Wren Nashville Warbler Swamp Sparrow Harris's Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Pine Siskin American Bittern Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - Transcript Tape Number: 402-292-5325 Compilers: Babs & Loren Padelford Transcriber: Babs Padelford (lpdlfrd@juno.com) Welcome to an update of the Nebraska Birdline, sponsored by the Audubon Society of Omaha, for Friday, October 15th. In western Nebraska on the 9th in Brown County at Willow Lake the following birds were seen: a WESTERN GREBE, an AMERICAN BITTERN, a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a FERRUGINOUS HAWK, SANDHILL CRANES, a SORA, & an AMERICAN PIPIT. In Thomas County on the 9th the following species were found at Halsey National Forest: a GOLDEN EAGLE, a MERLIN, a PRAIRIE FALCON, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, SANDHILL CRANES, a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW & RED CROSSBILLS. In central Nebraska in the eastern Rainwater Basin on the 10th the following birds were found: a BLACK- CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a Plegadis IBIS sp., 300 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 17 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 456 KILLDEERS, 33 AMERICAN AVOCETS, 45 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 17 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, a SANDERLING, a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 107 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 32 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 11 STILT SANDPIPERS, 381 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a COMMON SNIPE, a MERLIN, 3 SEDGE WRENS, 25 BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS & a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. In Adams County on the 11th, a CATTLE EGRET, 75 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, an AMERICAN AVOCET, 4 LEAST SANDPIPERS & 2 SAVANNAH SPARROWS were found at Thirty-two Mile Creek Marsh 2 miles east of Kenesaw. In eastern Nebraska in Douglas County on the 15th, 6 WINTER WRENS, 2 CAROLINA WRENS, a NASHVILLE WARBLER & 30 SWAMP SPARROWS were found in Neale Woods north of Omaha. On the 12th, a HARRIS'S SPARROW & 2 DARK-EYED JUNCOS were found at Cunningham Lake. In Lancaster County on the 14th at Little Salt Fork Marsh east of Raymond, 7 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 3 COMMON SNIPE, 2 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS & a PINE SISKIN were seen. In York County on the 14th, an AMERICAN BITTERN, a SORA, 4 COMMON SNIPES, 3 MARSH WRENS, 8 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS, 6 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS were found at Spike Rush WMA 1 mile west of Waco. For more information on this week's sightings, you may call 402-292-5556. To report your sightings, please leave your name, your phone number and your report after the tone at the end of this message. Be sure to include the date of the sighting. Thank you and good birding! - End transcript
From: Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu>
Subject: FW: 10/11-10/18 at HNA
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 17:01:07 -0500
Greetings,
The Hitchcock Nature Area (HNA) is located in the Loess Hills on the
Iowa side of the Iowa-Nebraska border overlooking the Missouri River Valley
to the west. The watch is easily accessible from the intersection of
Interstate Highways 680 and 29; take Iowa 988 into the town of
Crescent,Iowa. From Crescent, take Route 183 north to HNA. Some counting has
been
done at HNA since 1992. This year, counting of raptors, vultures and other
migrants is being done on a part-time basis during the September 1-December
15 period. There are three watchpoints at HNA; most counting, however, has
been done from the deck of the park's lodge. HNA will remain an undercounted
site until staffing improves or a higher vantage point is created.
Summary
There was at least some coverage on 6 of 8 days this "week". Two sets of
counters were on site Monday, and I have included data for that day an for
the 18th. I will post this later. Don Maas logged two hours on Tuesday, but
unfortunately had to leave just as hawks were beginning to move in very good
numbers-- a might have been good day. The Monday jinx struck again on the
11th and 18th. Full coverage Friday through Sunday-- mostly from our hardy
band of "Hitchcock veterans" who braved some chilly temperatures and high
winds. We also had a field trip from Fontenelle Forest Birding Club arrive
Saturday afternoon.After a slow first hour, they got to experience a great
"Red-tail pulse". A big thanks to Chris Adams and a "please come again" to
all!
One of the best weekends of the year so far. Friday had north winds, but was
otherwise balmy with swarming ladybugs, a smoldering prairie restoration
fire, and a steady but unspectacular flight of hawks. Raptor highlights were
an adult Bald Eagle found by Clem Klaphake and a Krider's Red-tailed Hawk
identified by Loren and Babs Padelford. The HNA "Red-tail express" topped
100 again. A big American Crow flight of over 7000.
Saturday
THE DAY! A front had moved through during the night and things began to pop
through early. Things slowed after noon and hopes for a big flight appeared
to die. The watchers were not destined to go away disappointed, however, as
a seeming "copy cat" front moved in the late afternoon bringing with it a
veritable blizzard of migrants. By the end of the day, we had seen over 300
Red-tailed Hawks including a panoply of "unusual" morphs and subspecies. We
also saw eight other raptor species including 4 Bald Eagles and the first
Rough-legged Hawk of the season. We recorded over 4000 American Crows and
even had a White-faced Ibis earlier in the day. The crescendo, however,
occurred late in the day as rivers and clouds of grackles streamed past the
watch. I guesstimated one flock at 622,000!
Sunday brought more bonuses-- 160+ more Red-taileds, quite a few ducks
another Rough-leg and 2 GOLDEN EAGLES. It ended up being a frustrating day,
however, as a sudden wind shift to SW seemed to halt many migrants in their
tracks. Numerous Red-tailed Hawks and one of the Golden Eagles milled around
confusingly. I'll never really be sure whether we saw 2 or 3 Golden Eagles
or if our Red-tailed count was close to right. Another odd incident
concerned, evidently two, buteo- eagle groupings ( a "thermal stack" of 6
RTs and an im. BE and an im. GE accompanied by two RT). Their simultaneous
appearance led to a good deal of confusion between our two watchpoints. I'm
not entirely sure we got this right either...
10/11-- 8TV, 6SS, 1SW, 4RT, 1 AK (5/19) 3.5 hr
10/18-- 1UR (0/1) 2.0 Hr (Worst Day in HNA history)
Species 10/12 10/15 10/16 10/17 YTD
Turkey Vulture 1 13 7 0 1262#
Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 0 0 58#
Northern Harrier 1 4 3 5 60
Bald Eagle 0 1 4 1 8?
Sharp-sh. Hawk 7 19 15 7 415
Cooper's Hawk 1 0 4 0 101#
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 0 1
Red-should. Hawk 0 0 0 0 3#
Swainson's Hawk 1 0 0 0 266*
Broad-wing.Hawk 0 0 0 0 214
Red-tailed Hawk 7 101 332 166 1033#*
Rough-leg. Hawk 0 0 1 1 2
Golden Eagle 0 0 0 2 2?
Amer. Kestrel 1 0 1 2 95#
Merlin 0 0 6 0 9
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 0 6
Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 0 0
unid. raptor 0 1 5 8 95#
Totals 7/19 5/139 9/378 6/192 16/3658#
?= 3 adult BE, 5 immature BE; 0 adult GE, 2 immature GE.
# Indicates new seasonal record.
* Unusual Buteo Morphs and subspecies through 10/10:
1 Dark Morph Swainson's Hawk
2 Rufous Morph Swainson's Hawk (both adults)
8 Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk (6 ad, 2 imm)
2 Krider's Red-tailed Hawk (2 ad, )
2 Western Rufous Morph Red-tailed Hawk (1 ad, 1 imm.)
3 Western Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk (adults)
3 (identifiable) Western Light Morph Red-tailed Hawk (adults)
7 Red-tailed Hawk Dark Morph (indeterminate between Harlan's/Western)
Hours: 2.0 8.25 10.25 10.0 198.3# YTD
Max Obs: 1 4 15 4
Points manned: 1 2 2 2
H.Temp: 70 75 53 50
Wind: W N N N/SW
Skies: Clear clear partly Clear
cloudy
Best wishes,
Mark Orsag
morsag@doane.edu
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net> Subject: Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 20:01:38 -0000 Saw the Varied Thrush at Norfolk today . Time about 1:15 Got to the house at 1p.m The Owner of the house was out digging in the back yard he came over and said he needed a break would go in and the bird may come back to the feeder and it did. Good looking bird Thankyou Mark. Wanda and Glen Alma
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 21:20:26 -0500 Subject: BOL Surf Scoters From: John C Sulllivan <johnsllvn@juno.com> Hello All, At Branched Oak Lake tonight 10-19 there were about 1200 ducks / 10 spp. on the main body of the lake, mostly Gadwall & American Widgeon. Among them were 2 imm. / fem. Surf Scoters. I watched them for 15 minutes or so until I saw one stretch and wing-flap to be sure they were Surf and not White-winged. 3 Horned Grebes were also in this raft. John Sullivan Lincoln, NE ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 22:33:45 -0500 Subject: Nebraska Birdline for 10/19/99 From: "Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@juno.com> - RBA * Nebraska * Statewide * October 19, 1999 * NEST9910.19 - Birds Mentioned Varied Thrush Horned Grebe Surf Scoter American Woodcock Hermit Thrush Purple Finch Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Whooping Crane Sandhill Crane Pacific Loon Hooded Merganser American Avocet Mountain Bluebird Common Loon Black Scoter Lapland Longspur Eared Grebe Merlin Northern Shrike Greater Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper American Pipit Savannah Sparrow Harris's Sparrow Cooper's Hawk Double-crested Cormorant American White Pelican Cattle Egret Greater White-fronted Goose - Transcript Tape Number: 402-292-5325 Compilers: Babs & Loren Padelford Transcriber: Babs Padelford (lpdlfrd@juno.com) Welcome to an update of the Nebraska Birdline, sponsored by the Audubon Society of Omaha, for Tuesday, October 19th. In eastern Nebraska in Madison County on the 19th, a male VARIED THRUSH was still visiting a feeder on the east side of Norfolk at 122 Morningside Drive. The feeder can be seen from the curve in the road at the north side of the house. In Lancaster County on the 19th, 3 HORNED GREBES & 10 species of ducks were seen on Branched Oak Lake including 2 immature SURF SCOTERS. In Douglas County on the 17th at Neale Woods north of Omaha, 3 AMERICAN WOODCOCKS were seen on the Missouri River Ecology Trail & 2 HERMIT THRUSHES were found on River Trail. In Sarpy County on the 17th in Bellevue, a HERMIT THRUSH & a flock of 10 PURPLE FINCHES were seen on South Stream Trail in Fontenelle Forest. In Dixon County on the 17th, 10 species of sparrows, including FOX SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW & AMERICAN TREE SPARROW were found 7.5 miles northwest of Wakefield. In western Nebraska on the 17th in Scotts Bluff County, a WHOOPING CRANE was reported with SANDHILL CRANES at the North Platte River south of Mitchell. On the 16th, a first basic PACIFIC LOON, 18 HOODED MERGANSERS, 2,416 SANDHILL CRANES, 21 AMERICAN AVOCETS & 12 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were seen at Lake Alice. Also on the 16th, a COMMON LOON & 2 female BLACK SCOTERS were seen at Lake Minatare & 40 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen near there. Also seen in Scotts Bluff County on the 16th, were 271 EARED GREBES at the Gering sewage lagoons, a MERLIN, a NORTHERN SHRIKE at Wildcat Hills Nature Center & 19 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS at Scotts Bluff National Monument. In Kimball County on the 16th, a HERMIT THRUSH was found at Oliver Reservoir. In central Nebraska in Adams County on the 16th at 32 Mile Creek Reservoir, 2 miles east of Kenesaw, a GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 4 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 30 AMERICAN PIPITS, 40 SAVANNAH SPARROWS, a HARRIS'S SPARROW & 4 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were found. In Buffalo County on the 16th, a COOPER'S HAWK was seen 3.5 miles southeast of Gibbon. In Harlan County on the 16th, 5,000 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 13 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, 6 CATTLE EGRETS & 60 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at Harlan Reservoir. In Loup County on the 16th, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE & several flocks of SANDHILL CRANES were seen flying over Calamus Reservoir. For more information on this week's sightings, you may call 402-292-5556. To report your sightings, please leave your name, your phone number and your report after the tone at the end of this message. Be sure to include the date of the sighting. Thank you and good birding! - End transcript
From: Mark Orsag <MOrsag@doane.edu> Subject: Hitchcock Ibis Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 09:16:18 -0500 Hi all, After consultation with Steve Dinsmore and others, Don Maas and I will be documenting the ibis seen at Hitchcock Nature Area as a Plegadis Ibis species. The white border on the face that we both saw is evidently not definitive at this time of year. You learn something new every day... Mark O
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@swnebr.net> Subject: Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 21:45:34 -0000 Today at 2p.m. We had a Nighthawk fly over the house. Lots of gulls on the lake .Loving this nice fall weather . Good birding Wanda and Glen Alma NE.
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