From: dtmsem2000@y...
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 5:57 pm
Subject: Greeting from NE Snowbird in AZ
Have really missed NEBirds since it went down. We aren't birding
today as the rain is falling. It comes down here as rain not snow
in the Valley of the Sun.
Just returned from a SO. CA bird trip with the FFNC bird club.
Loaded them on the plane kicking and screaming and sent them
back. Great trip.
Waiting for bird news from Nebraska.
Don Maas
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@s...>
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 7:27 pm
Subject: Test
Hi all:
If anyone gets this, please let me know!
Ross (#9)
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
New Zealand Land and Pelagic Trips
http://sidney.heartland.net/silcock
From: NevaLCP@a...
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 8:07 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Test
Coming through loud and clear Ross. Seen any birds?
Neva, who saw the usual half dozen doves at the feeder
From: "Jan Johnson" <jjohnson@m...>
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 10:22 pm
Subject: Test
I signed up and am testing this to see if I've got everything working as is.
To make this bird news... Not much new here in northeast Nebraska. I'm
still hoping that soon something will reappear. Although not
in large
numbers we have seen Snow Bunting fairly regularly. The last one yesterday
and the day before in the company of 2 Lapland Longspurs and about
15 Horned
Larks hanging out at the end of our lane.
Yesterday Richard saw a Bald Eagle 1/2 mile south of our house here
in
Dixon County. All winter our home feeders have been void of anything
except
the regular Downys, Hairys, and BC Chickadees. Most of what is fed
is at school
this year. I've had between 4 and 8 Common Grackles there daily all
winter along with a Red-bellied Woodpecker and an occasional Sharp-shinned
Hawk.
The last time he appeared a couple of weeks ago the kids were given
a rare treat.
He sat in the tree about 20 feet from the classroom window oblivious
to the kid's
movements when after about 15 minutes a female House Finch landed above
him. He
didn't waste time flying straight up off his perch to flush it and
then went
straight after her catching her in mid-air. The kids were amazed.
Glad to have this group back on-line.
Jan Johnson
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made."
Groucho Marx
From: ckavian@a...
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 8:41 pm
Subject: Birds
I want to test this new yahoogroups listserv and report a few birds.
Feb. 27 at my feeder here in Bellevue
Song Sparrows (2)
Tree Sparrows (3)
Cedar Waxwings (23)
Robin (1)
Juncos (15)
Goldfinches (12)
House Finches (2)
Blue Jays (4)
Cardinals (3)
Chickadees (5)
Downy WP (2)
Red-bellied WP (1)
N. Flicker (1)
Clem Klaphake
Bellevue, NE
From: Carolyn Hall <cjhall@h...>
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 8:43 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Test
Jan,
You came through just great. Neat story about the sharp-shin catching
the
finch. Here in Bassett I have NO birds but over at my nephew's house
they have
house finches, goldfinches, a downy WP and a red-bellied WP.
On Monday my brother saw a GULL about 1/2 mile north of the Niobrara
River in
Keya Paha county. He is not a birder but he does know what a gull looks
like
but of course does not differentiate in the species of gull. What a
gull is
doing in the frozen over Niobrara River Valley, is anyones guess.
I haven't been carrying my bino's while feeding cows but have been seeing
"snow
birds" of two or three species. A week ago we did see 4 Eastern
bluebirds about a
mile north of the Niobrara in Keya Paha county.
Carolyn Hall, Bassett, NE PS Thanks, Steve for getting the list going!!!!!
From: nratzlaff@a...
To: NEBirds@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 7:02 PM
Subject: [NEBirds] Re: Test
Hi Ross:
Got your message and 5 others so far. Its nice to have this up and working again.
From another who saw 6+ doves at the feeder!!
Did have a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a White-throated Sparrow this
week. (along with 24 Fox Squirrels, including 3 black phase) I
suspect they must be coming from almost as far as Tabor to eat here!!
Neal Ratzlaff
From: "Jan Johnson" <jjohnson@m...>
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 11:22 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Re: Test
Got it Ross. Made out my winter occurance report for you tonight. Sure
didn't take long to fill out. It will be in tomorrow's mail.
Jan Johnson
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made."
Groucho Marx
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@s...>
Date: Wed Feb 28, 2001 9:59 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Re: Test
Obviously everything's working fine! All of a sudden I've got lots of
stuff
for the Winter Report! (More's welcome).
A note: the dreaded "Reply" goes to EVERYONE! Watch those intimate
comments (coming from one who's been snagged).
Ross
From: "POAGUE, Kevin" <kpoague@a...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 10:18 am
Subject:
Hello, is this thing on? Driving to Spring Creek Prairie this morning,
I saw
25 horned larks and 12 pheasants. At our bird feeders, among the usual
crowd, were 3 purple finches.
Kevin Poague
Audubon Nebraska
PO Box 117
Denton NE 68339
kpoague@a...
402/797-2301
From: Steve McIlree <smcilree@h...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 11:24 am
Subject: List Up and Growing
NEBirders--
Well, I'm certainly happy to see how well this list is being
accepted. In just slightly over 30 hours since it went online, we
already have 26 subscribers. That's a pretty phenomenal growth rate
for a new mailing list, and good in light of
the fact that I only had 55 addresses to send invitations. If
anyone is obviously missing as things get going, please let me know
so
I can send them an invitation, if I overlooked them initially.
On the horse mailing lists I manage I take a pretty hand off
approach, and find that the occasional off-topic threads are pretty
self-limiting and often actually interesting. I found the
discussions here about moose and armadillos just as informative as
the strictly bird threads. To put everyone in perspective of my
philosophy of discussion list management let me quote from the
Welcome Message for the 450 member Fjord horse list I run. "Personal
experiences, discussions of training techniques, good advice and
pleasant conversation are always welcome here. View the list as an
opportunity to sit around the kitchen table with friends and discuss
Fjord horses over a pot of good coffee." I think that the virtual
kitchen table model is a pretty good one for any list and what I
intend to try here for now.
That out of the way, I spotted two mature Bald Eagles on the Iowa
shore of Carter Lake this morning. They were directly across from
the exit from Eppley Airport.
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
A canter is the cure for every evil. --Benjamin Disraeli(1804-1881)
From: Alan Risor <arisor@g...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 12:14 pm
Subject: Eagles
Hello,
It is great NEBirds is back online again. It was like getting email
from
old friends by now even though some of us have not ever met.
There is a pair of Bald Eagles in resident along the Elkorn River south
of Wisner for about a month or so now. They fly very low above town
almost daily. Also one of the Pork Producers south of town observed
10
of them feasting on a hog carcass at his farm.
Alan Risor
Box 184
Wisner NE 6l8791
arisor@g...
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@s...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 7:04 pm
Subject: NOU Spring Meeting?
Does anyone have the dates and location for the meeting? (Misplaced
my
latest Newsletter).
Thanks,
Ross
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
silcock@s...
New Zealand Land and Pelagic Trips
http://sidney.heartland.net/silcock
From: cnk@s...
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 8:18 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Meeting?
Ross,
Nou Spring Meeting is May 18-20 at Camp Calvin Crest in Fremont.
Clem
From: Steve McIlree <smcilree@h...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 9:22 pm
Subject: Subscription Invitations
NEBirders--
I just got a message from Yahoo that took me a while to puzzle out.
Evidently someone passed on their invitation to join the list to a
friend who sent it to Yahoo in an attempt to subscribe themselves.
The problem with that was the invitations are individually coded
with the email address to which they were originally sent. When an
invitation was returned from an address other than the original
recipient's, Yahoo rejected the whole thing and sent it to me to
sort out. So, if you have a friend who you think would like to
subscribe, either send me their email address and I'll send an
invitation, or they can join on the Web site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEBirds.
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
If I be once on horse-back, I alight very unwillingly; for it is the
seat I like best. --Michel Eyquem de Montaigne(1533-1592)
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@s...>
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2001 10:04 am
Subject:
Today March 2 We did the loop from Alma to Orleans And then we went
from
Alma to the Dam and back here is what we saw
Trip 1
Prairie Falcon1
R.T.Hawk 8
R.L. Hawk 1
Kestrel 2
Meadowlark sp 35
Horned Lark 25
Magpie 1
Tree Sparrow 40
Bald Eagle 3
Crow 2
Trip 2
Kestrel 2
Bald Eagle 47
R.T.Hawk 4
Medowlark sp. 4
G.H.Owl on nest 1
N. Harrier 1
Junco 1
Robin 29
G.B. Heron 8
Herring Gull 6
Crow 7
Cardinal 1
R.L Hawk 2 one that was very dark.
M Dove 1
Ring-billed Gull 14
On the lake we did not count the malards, C. Geese, C mergansers or
C Goldeneye most were to far out in water and just too many birds.
Feb 19 we saw our first Sandhill Cranes fly over the yard . Good Birding
Glen and Wanda
From: nratzlaff@a...
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2001 5:18 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Meeting?
The NOU Spring Meeting dates are May 17, 18 and 19 (3rd wekend in May).
The meeting is at Camp Calvin Crest, a wonderful setting for our meeting
on
the bluffs overlooking the Platte River south and west of Fremont.
The
accommodations are great and everyone on this list is encouraged to
attend.
If you are not an NOU member and are interested e-mail your address
to me
(Neal Ratzlaff) at nratzlaff@a... and I'll see that you get a copy
of the
next newsletter containing meeting details and registration info.
Neal Ratzlaff
From: nratzlaff@a...
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2001 5:19 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Meeting?
Oops!! I gave you the wrong dates for the NOU meeting. It is May 18-20,
not
17-19. I did get the location right!!
Neal
From: "Jan Johnson" <jjohnson@m...>
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2001 10:03 pm
Subject: Sightings and a Question...
A lovely day today that brought about more mud. I found two good birds
yet
today in-between the snow and mud. The lone SNOW BUNTING we've been
seeing
in the area is still here with his small flock of Horned Larks and
beginning
to show more black each time I see him. Just north of Waterbury I found
a
TRUMPETER SWAN flying very low. Flew right overhead heading southwest.
He
must have come from the Missouri River since it's the only open water
in
this area at the moment. Lots of Redtails out enjoying the day, too.
Now another question for everyone. My address has changed from the old
rural route to a new 911. The USPS will no longer deliver mail to my
old
address. My last newsletter came with my old address on it. Can someone
route me to the person who can change my address on all future mailings?
Thanks...
Jan Johnson
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
If you can fake that, you've got it made."
Groucho Marx
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@s...>
Date: Sat Mar 3, 2001 1:56 pm
Subject:
March 3 we saw an adult Golden Eagle it was 2 miles west of the
intersection of l83 and 4 in Harlan co.
Good birding Wanda and Glen
Alma Ne.
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Sat Mar 3, 2001 8:16 pm
Subject: Hitchcock Raptors
Mark Orsag and I had the same idea today. The warm pleasant weather
brought us
out and we thought maybe a few raptors would have the same idea. We
thought bald
eagles would be moving, as it turned out very few were but other raptors
were.
Here is what we saw in about 4 hours at Hithcock Nature Center:
Red-tailed hawk-14, including 1 harlan's
Bald eagle-2,adult-1, 3rd year transistioning to adult-1
rough-legged hawk-8* includes 2 dark morph
merlin-1, prairie subspecies
unidentified raptor-1
*record one day high according to Mark
5 species/26 individuals
Also seen at Hitchcock:
winter wren, heard by Mark
northern shrike, first seen hawking insects
cedar waxwings-9
Nothing else other than crows was moving in the valley. No waterfowl
yet. Fog in
the valley hampered viewing for much of the period.
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Sat Mar 3, 2001 8:33 pm
Subject: NEBirds
Yesterday,March 2nd the 3 Eurasian Collared Doves were again spotted
in
Mitchell near the water tower, they were close to the same place that
we originally saw them on Feb.26th. Also 12-15 snow geese were
seen today,
March 3rd at Winters Creek Lake.
Kathy
From: "Stephen J. Dinsmore" <dinsmore@l...>
Date: Sun Mar 4, 2001 10:12 pm
Subject: Lake McConaughy area birding.
Hello everyone-
Joe Fontaine and I spent the day birding around western Nebraska, mainly
in the Lake McConaughy area. Spring has definitely sprung out west
- there
were flocks of geese in the air all day long, and lots of other migrants
as
well. Anyway, here are the highlights of our trip:
Western Grebe (3 at Lake Ogallala)
Greater White-fronted Goose (small flocks in Lincoln, Keith and Deuel
counties)
Trumpeter Swan (7 at Lake Ogallala, 7 on a pond north of Kingsley dam,
and
13 at the Clear Creek marshes, Keith Co.)
TUNDRA SWAN (2 adults at Lake Ogallala)
Greater Scaup (18 at Lake Ogallala)
Barrow's Goldeneye (1 adult female at Lake Ogallala)
Bald Eagle (111 at Sutherland Reservoir and 136 in the Lake McConaughy
area - a great day for this species)
Thayer's Gull (1 at Sutherland Reservoir and 4 at Lake McConaughy)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult at Lake McConaughy)
Glaucous Gull (1 at Sutherland Reservoir and 5 at Lake McConaughy)
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (1 at Big Springs, Deuel Co.)
Short-eared Owl (1 along I-80 in Deuel Co.)
Northern Shrike (we watched an adult eat a caterpillar(!) at the Clear
Creek
marshes, Keith Co.)
Snow Bunting (80 at Lake McConaughy - Sand Point)
We were unable to relocate the first/second-year GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL
seen yesterday (3/3) at Sutherland Reservoir by Aaron Brees. This was
probably the same bird seen in December at Lake Ogallala and possibly
in
January at Sutherland Reservoir.
Steve
*************************************************
Stephen J. Dinsmore
Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
dinsmore@l...
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~dinsmore
From: ckavian@a...
Date: Mon Mar 5, 2001 12:56 am
Subject: Birds in Sarpy Co.
Still not much activity in terms of non-winter species. In southern
Sarpy Co. near Schramm State Park today:
2 Bald Eagles (1 adult, 1 a 3rd year)
3 Kestrels
1 B. Kingfisher
11 Red-tailed Hawks
Good Birding
Clem Klaphake
Bellevue, NE
From: marshwren@n...
Date: Mon Mar 5, 2001 1:02 am
Subject: Adams, Kearney and Phelps Counties, 4 March
Hi Nebraska birders,
Sunday, March 4, Robin and I saw at least 400 American
Crows fly across the Buffalo/Kearney County line two miles
south of the Gibbon I-80 exit. In northeastern Adams
County we saw a Rough-legged Hawk. In southeastern Kearney
County we saw a male Northern Harrier. In southwestern
Kearney County we saw another Northern Harrier, a Cooper's
Hawk, another Rough-legged Hawk, a Northern Shrike, about
35 Lapland Longspurs mixed in with at least 300 Horned
Larks and about fifty Western Meadowlarks (heard some
sing).
good birding and goodbye,
Lanny
Lanny Randolph
southcentral Nebraska
50370 24th rd
Gibbon, Ne. 68840
308-468-5057
Marshwren@n...
From: "Mmathieson" <mmathieson@n...>
Date: Mon Mar 5, 2001 10:14 am
Subject: NE birds in southern Buffalo Co on Sunday
We drove s. on the 10D Link at 2 pm then w. on the gravel and first
saw an adult
Bald Eagle perched on the s. side of the Platte, eyeing lots of Canadas,
the our
attention was drawn to a f, N. Harrier cruising around, low then an
Am Kestral,
unidentified sm falcon sp. 300-400 S. Cranes, oversaw by another unidentified
sm
falcon sp. There were 28 Robins schmoozing with 14-16 Cedar Waxwings
across the
highway from the Ampride at the Gibbon Exchange at 5 pm. The Brown
Creeper came
to our house earlier Sunday.
Productive Birding To All....M.Mathieson
From: Steve McIlree <smcilree@h...>
Date: Mon Mar 5, 2001 8:08 pm
Subject: Bookmarks and Eagles
NEBirders--
This weekend we were manning the Fjord Horse booth at the Nebraska
Horse Expo in Lincoln, so got little chance to get out in the nice
weather. However on our way to Lincoln Sunday morning, we spotted a
mature Bald Eagle in a tree right beside the east-bound lane of I-680
at 60th street.
While we're using this Yahoo server for the list, I've discovered the
Web site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEBirds/) has some nice
features. If you click on the line to the left of the screen that
says "Bookmarks" you'll find a list of good birding Web sites, to
which you can add your own favorites. I've started it with a few that
I like. I'd sure like to see places on the Web others enjoy.
Likewise, the line labeled "Files" will take you to a page where you
can upload pictures you'd like to share will the rest of us, and the
"Calendar" line will take you to a calendar you can update with
upcoming events you think would interest all here.
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Noblest of the train that wait on man, the flight-performing horse.
--William Cowper(1731-1800)
From: dhchance@h...
Date: Tue Mar 6, 2001 8:48 am
Subject: Pileated WP
We saw a pileated WP along the Missouri River near Wathena Sunday
afternoon. It is listed as a breeding bird in Doniphan County, KS.,
although this is our first sighting. Would anyone know whether they
are found in SE Nebraska, perhaps around Rulo in comparable habitat,
and whether they have ever nested there? Thanks for any information.
Donna Chance
Wathena KS
Doniphan Co
From: cnk@s...
Date: Tue Mar 6, 2001 8:13 am
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Pileated WP
To: NEBirds@yahoogroups.com
From: dhchance@h...
Date sent: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 14:48:49 -0000
Send reply to: NEBirds@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [NEBirds] Pileated WP
Donna,
I haven't heard any reports of Pileated WP being in the Rulo - Indian
Cave State Park areas of southeastern Nebraska, but I wouldn't be
surprised if they did show up there. Further north along the
Missouri R. in Sarpy County there have been sightings for several
years. Two years ago in Fontenelle Forest here in Sarpy Co. there
was documentation of a nesting pair along one of the trails. Last
year there were continued sightings of up to 4 different birds, but
I
don't recall any identified nesting sites. Fontenelle Forest is on
the
south edge of Omaha in the city of Bellevue. Ornithologist Dr. Paul
Johnsgard indicated to me last year that he thinks the Missouri
River riparian habitat could be a natural corridor for this species
to
move north out of western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
Clem Klaphake
Bellevue, NE
From: "POAGUE, Kevin" <kpoague@a...>
Date: Tue Mar 6, 2001 9:33 am
Subject:
Folks,
I saw my first bluebird of the year about a mile north of Spring
Creek Prairie this morning (3/6). Several western meadowlarks
were in full song, saw about 25 horned larks, and there are more
flickers around now. C'mon spring.
Kevin Poague
Audubon Nebraska
PO Box 117
Denton NE 68339
kpoague@a...
402/797-2301
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Tue Mar 6, 2001 2:25 pm
Subject: NEBirds
This morning I drove out to Winter's Creek Lake. The ice is finally
begining to melt with these nice days. Besides the thousands
of Canada
Geese and hundereds of mallards there were many American Wigeons, Red
Heads, Common Goldeneyes, Commom Mergansers. Several Northern Pintails,
Green-winged Teal, Canvasbacks,Lesser Scaup, and one adult male Hooled
Merganser. Also, I think, a couple of female Red-breasted Mergansers
but
I couldn't tell for sure. What a beautiful day!!
Kathy Larson
Scottsbluff County
Mitchell, NE
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Wed Mar 7, 2001 8:51 am
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Pileated WP
Yes, as far as I know only one record of nesting Pileated has occurred
in SE
Nebraska. That occurred in 1999 in Sarpy County just south of Omaha.
Pileated was seen in 2000 at the same location but I dont think breeding
was
verified. Jerry Toll
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@s...>
Date: Wed Mar 7, 2001 6:59 pm
Subject: Fw: HARLEQUIN DUCK (!) @ WY.CO.LAKE
How about this??? Watch out in the Rainwater Basin and eastern lakes!
Ross
----- Original Message -----
From: Sebastian Patti
To: <KSBIRD-L@L...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 4:33 PM
Subject: HARLEQUIN DUCK (!) @ WY.CO.LAKE
> Roger McNeill confirmed a SUB-ADULT MALE HARLEQUIN DUCK at Wyandotte
County
> Lake this PM . . . The bird is with a flock of goldeneyes .
. .this is not
> a joke . . .it's the real mccoy . . .
> sebastianpatti@h...
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@s...>
Date: Wed Mar 7, 2001 3:52 pm
Subject:
Today March 7 We had Sandhill Cranes flying over the house here in Alma
and
lots of Can. Geese .. Also one half mile West of Funk today we saw
thousand's of Snow Geese. And few White-fronted Geese . Also we saw
some
Sandhill Crane's flying in the same area Good birding
Wanda and Glen Hoge Alma, Ne.
From: "Wanda Hoge" <jacana@s...>
Date: Thu Mar 8, 2001 10:42 am
Subject:
The Ducks are back looking at the West-end of the lake where the river
comes into Lake we had N Pintail, Gadwall. A Wigeon, Canvasback,
Redhead , Ring-necked Duck Mallard C Geese , Ross Goose , Snow Goose
.
and 15+ Bald Eagle Also had more Sandhill Cranes going over Alma today.
Good Birding Glen and Wanda Hoge
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Thu Mar 8, 2001 5:49 pm
Subject: Eastern waterfowl migration
I saw the first signs Spring Migration here in
eastern Nebraska today. The only open water close to Omaha that
I know of is at the fountain at Abbot Drive by the airport. I saw:
Greater Scaup-2 males, Not absolutely positive yet on identification.
Everything fit except the shape of the head but I didn't see them in
a relaxed position.
13-Redheads
1-Canvasback, female
3-Buffleheads, male
1-Ring-billed Gull
innumerable Canada's
1-Coot, been there all winter
Also today I saw an American Crow carrying
nesting material to a pine tree in Omaha.
Jer
From: "Craig Hensley" <chensley@n...>
Date: Thu Mar 8, 2001 7:17 pm
Subject: Sign of Spring
Greetings -- don't know if this is commonplace or not yet, but a
note to say I found my first redwinged blackbirds yesterday at a
feeder south of Ft. Calhoun. Was also in Kansas (Topeka area)
this
past weekend and saws 10s of thousands of geese (all 3 primary species),
90 bald eagles, a loggerhead shrike and a few waterfowl including 2
greater scaup. Good birding to one and all.
Naturally,
Craig Hensley
From: "Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@p...>
Date: Thu Mar 8, 2001 8:27 pm
Subject: Mountain Bluebirds
NEBirders,
We had the first 2 Mountain Bluebirds south of Gering yesterday.
Didn't see any today.
Alice Kenitz
From: "POAGUE, Kevin" <kpoague@a...>
Date: Fri Mar 9, 2001 4:15 pm
Subject:
Today (3/9), we heard the first killdeers here at Spring Creek.
And many, many skeins of snow geese were heading west. Heads up,
rainwater basin!!
Kevin Poague
Audubon Nebraska
PO Box 117
Denton NE 68339
kpoague@a...
402/797-2301
From: cnk@s...
Date: Fri Mar 9, 2001 6:39 pm
Subject: Eagles
NEBirders,
With the weekend forcast for cloudy weather and possible rain
and snow by Sunday I decided to look around a little today. I first
stopped at our new Super Walmart in Bellevue and when I came
out there was a small kettle of 5 Bald Eagles moving north. So then
I drove to Haworth Park on the Missouri River here in Bellevue. At
the Marina there were:
80+ Ring-billed Gulls
2 Kestrels
3 Killdeer
1 Red-tailed Hawk very high and moving north
2 Adult Bald Eagles moving north
Then I drove south on Hwy 75 to the Platte River. As I drove over
the bridge I could see several Bald Eagles sitting on chunks of ice
in the river. I drove back and pulled off on a side road and found
at
least 18 Bald Eagles scattered on the ice and in trees on both sides
of the river. This is just upstream from where the Platte flows into
the Missouri. There may have been more, but this is all private land
and it is too dangerous to walk on the highway bridge to get a
better look up and down the river. I would say the BEs are clearly
on the move back north. There also was a flock of about 40
Common Merganser on the Platte R. Since the Platte is the county
line between Sarpy and Cass counties I guess most of those
eagles could be recorded for either county. Things are loosening
up now, be on the lookout!
Good Birding
Clem Klaphake
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Fri Mar 9, 2001 9:40 pm
Subject: NEBirds
This afternoon I heard, then saw a Killdeer south of Kiowa WMA.
I was looking for Snow Geese but found only two on farm ponds
south of Kiowa WMA. Only a few Canada Geese and Mallards
at Kiowa and at least a thousand Red-winged Blackbirds in the trees
to the east.
Kathy Larson
ScottsBluff Co.
From: nratzlaff@a...
Date: Fri Mar 9, 2001 11:16 pm
Subject: Snow Geese
Saw several large skeins of Snow Geese flying over Aurora (Hamilton
Co)
early this afternoon and several thousand in a field along Interstate
80
just west of York.
Neal Ratzlaff
From: "Stephen J. Dinsmore" <dinsmore@l...>
Date: Sat Mar 10, 2001 8:56 am
Subject: Lake McConaughy birding.
Hello everyone-
Kay Niyo and I spent yesterday birding the Lake McConaughy area. With
temperatures in the 60s all day, it certainly felt like spring. There
was quite a bit of open water on most of the lakes except Lake McConaughy,
which is still 95% frozen. There were good numbers of gulls scattered
across Lake McConaughy (most picking on the ice in the middle of the
lake),
but very few were using Lake Ogallala. It looks like this year's planned
gull trip will not happen. Here are the highlights:
Pied-billed Grebe (2 at Lake McConaughy)
Horned Grebe (3 at Lake Ogallala and 14 at Lake McConaughy)
Western Grebe (8 at Lake Ogallala and 20 at Lake McConaughy)
Clark's Grebe (2 at Lake McConaughy)
American White Pelican (7 at Lake McConaughy)
Bald Eagle (a total of 185 in the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala/Clear
Creek area)
MEW GULL (2 adults at Lake McConaughy)
Thayer's Gull (3 at Lake Ogallala and 10 at Lake McConaughy)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult at Lake McConaughy)
Glaucous Gull (2 at Lake Ogallala and 13 at Lake McConaughy)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (3 at Lake Ogallala)
BOHEMIAN WAXWING (2 at Lake Ogallala)
Steve
******************************************************
Stephen J. Dinsmore
Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
dinsmore@l...
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~dinsmore
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Sat Mar 10, 2001 9:59 am
Subject: close enuff
Checked out the open water at the settling ponds south of Council
Bluffs IA on the 9th. THis is not Nebraska but close enough.
Gadwall-2
Northern Pintail-9
Common Merganser-44
Lesser Scaup-33
Common Goldeneye-2
Wood Duck-14
Ring-necked Duck-28
Redhead-18
Snow goose-1
White-fronted Goose-6
Ring-billed Gull-9
Canada Goose-bunches including a couple lessers
Mallards-bunches
Near Lake Manawa I saw some killdeer also. 4 of them.
Jer
From: "John W. Hall" <jwhall2@j...>
Date: Sat Mar 10, 2001 11:20 am
Subject: Boystown and Chalco Hills-Saturday AM
Taking Jerry Toll's lead, I went searching for open water this morning.
Boystown Life Center lake has a small amount of open water right beside
the center and a good number of birds including:
106 Canada Geese
36 Lesser Scaup
42 Ring-necked Ducks
11 Canvasback
3 Redhead Ducks
11 Gadwall
4 Common Goldeneye
7 American Coots
49 Mallard
At Chalco Hills
5 Red-tail Hawks
29 Mallards
2 Ring-necked Ducks
5 Ring-billed Gulls
1 American Robin
1 Eastern Bluebird
~260 Snow Geese flew over with 19 Canada Geese
4 Merganser sp. flew over (too high, too far, too fast)
John Hall
Omaha
From: murwille <murwille@e...>
Date: Sat Mar 10, 2001 5:40 pm
Subject: Friday Birding In Central Nebraska
Hello Everyone,
Birds started coming in around here in earnest on Wednesday. By
yesterday there were THOUSANDS of geese and cranes. I was out with
John Kozak near Funk WPA for about 3 hours and picked up a Prairie
Falcon along with several species of ducks. Later I went to Rowe
Sanctuary near Gibbon and enjoyed an evening in the blind. More than
this, Well I think I will let my pictures speak for themselves. Just
in case my signature file gets filtered out - go to my photoarchive
page at the hyperlink below - check out the "New Photos" link.
http://204.234.8.16/~7hills/photos/photoarchive.htm
All of these photos were taken with a Sony Mavica FD95 digital camera
(a digital camera) equipped with a 1.4x teleconverter. This give the
camera
the equivalent of 560mm of telephotos (in 35mm format). The nice thing
is
that this all comes with auto focus/exposure, image stabilization,
no film
costs, and instant gratification! Enjoy!
Mark Urwiller
Physics Instructor, Kearney High School
Seven Hills Observatory Director
Home Address: 4711 Heather Lane, Kearney NE 68845
Home Phone: 308-234-6536
e-mail: murwille@e...
Web Pages:
http://genie.esu10.org/~murwille/7hills.htm
http://204.234.8.16/~7hills/7hills.htm
http://genie.esu10.org/~murwille/resume.htm
http://204.234.8.16/~7hills/Rowe/birding.htm
http://204.234.8.16/~7hills/pvao/pvao.htm
http://204.234.8.16/~7hills/photos/photoarchive.htm
From: Steve McIlree <smcilree@h...>
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 8:18 am
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Friday Birding In Central Nebraska
Mark--
Saturday, March 10, 2001, you wrote:
> ...Later I went to Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon and enjoyed an evening
> in the blind. More than this, Well I think I will let my pictures
> speak for themselves. Just in case my signature file gets filtered
> out - go to my photoarchive page at the hyperlink below - check out
> the "New Photos" link.
Thanks for the great photos. They give us some tangible evidence
that maybe Spring _will_ eventually arrive this year. If anyone else
has pictures they would like to share, but don't have their own Web
site, don't despair. You can put your favorite photos on the Group
Web site at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEBirds. First click on
"Files" on the left side of the Home page, then click on "Add File"
at the top or bottom of the Files page. You can then use the
"Browse" button to find the picture on your own computer, fill in
the "Description" box with a suitable caption, and click on the
"Upload File" button to move the picture from your computer to the
Web site. Then be sure to send a message to the list to let the
rest
of us know there is a new picture.
--
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Have you driven a Fjord, lately?
From: "Loren J. Padelford" <lpdlfrd@j...>
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 9:32 am
Subject: Birds at MidAmerican Pond 3/10
Hi NE Birders,
We checked the MidAmerican Pond (south of Council Bluffs, IA)
yesterday for new arrivals. Along with lots of Mallards &
Canada Geese we found:
4 Northern Shovelers
7 Gadwalls
170 Redheads
150 Lesser Scaup
20 Common Goldeneyes
5 Hooded Mergansers
47 Common Mergansers
3 American Coots
12 Ring-billed Gulls
We also saw a Rough-legged Hawk & 2 Killdeer southwest of the ponds.
Babs & Loren Padelford
Bellevue, NE
lpdlfrd@j...
From: "Ross Silcock" <silcock@s...>
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 10:48 am
Subject: Fw: IPL Ponds Sun am
Hi All:
Checked the IPL (MidAmerican) Pond (only south pond has open water)
for the Harlequin Duck that apparently has departed from the Wyandotte
Co Lake in ne Kansas as a result of an onslaught of 4200 (!!) fishermen
on opening day of some season or other. No luck. Some turnover
from
Babs and Loren's report for Sat; decidedly early spring flavor, in
terms of species, gender, and age classes:
Canada Goose 556 (including 26 hutchinsii)
Greater WF Goose 2
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 34
Northern Pintail 38
Redhead 11
Lesser Scaup 81 (only 7 females)
Common Goldeneye 8
Common Merganser 12
Ringbilled Gull 64
Herring Gull 4 (all gulls adults)
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
silcock@r...
New Zealand Land and Pelagic Trips
http://sidney.heartland.net/silcock
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 12:31 pm
Subject: NEBirders
Even though it is snowing some this morning I decided to check out a
couple of private wetland areas, on one pond I saw 23 Wood Ducks, 17
Am.
Wigeons, 19 Mallards, 22 Canada Geese, 2 Cm. Goldeneye and 3 Gadwalls.
There were also several ducks sleeping on the shore that I couldn't
tell
what they were though I'm sure some of them were Wood Ducks and Mallards.
On another pond a few miles to the north I saw 39 RedHeads, 12 Am.
Wigeons and 4 Wood Ducks and 6 Mallards. Also in the area were 6
Phesants and 4 Kestrals. As I was crossing the North Platte River
bridge south of Mitchell I could see one Common Merganser and a
couple hundered Mallards, to much traffic to stop and get a good look.
Kathy Larson
Scotts Bluff Co.
From: larryeinemannl@a...
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 4:47 pm
Subject: Still frozen over in the Lincoln area!
Hi!
I did not go out to check Branched Oak Lake or others this weekend.
The
area lakes were frozen over the weekend before. I did see 6 White-fronted
geese and 1 adult Bald eagle at BOL on March 3 along with Canada geese.
Twin Lakes in Seward County was frozen over also. One little puddle
had a
Redhead on it and Canada geese in the area. I was out hiking in Wilderness
Park in Lincoln on March 10 and saw the first Snow geese fly over,
some 150;
likewise a small flock of 10 Common mergansers fly over in the fog
and mist.
I continued to Holmes Lake and found it was frozen over with some 35
Ring-billed gulls resting on the ice, while some were foraging along
the
shore with crows. 25 Robins were actively searching under crab apple
trees
in the park, looking for rotted fruit. While in Wilderness Park,
I verified
the nesting of a Great Horned owl. There were 12 Cedar waxwings
and other
typical forest birds present, including 9 Brown creepers and 4 Golden-crowned
kinglets and a Barred owl. On the way back into Lincoln, just
south of the
expanding southward extension of the city, I found a flock of about
150
Starlings, 50 Red-winged blackbirds, and 1 Common grackle. Spring should
be
coming soon!
Larry Einemann
From: "Joel Jorgensen" <zrtac@g...>
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 7:52 pm
Subject: wash/doug cos
hello,
I went down to cunningham lake to today hoping to find at least a pocket
or two of open water. I only found a little bit at the north end where
the
stream feeds the lake. About 70 Canada Geese and 2 Gadwalls were present.
Also, 35 Ring-billed Gulls and 1 Bald Eagle were on the ice. Since
Friday,
have seen several Killdeer, Mourning Doves, and Red-winged Blackbirds.
However, with all the cold and snow, and more snow coming down.......Spring
seems a ways off.
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 8:46 am
Subject: southeast Washington county March 10
Drove up to the Missouri River floodplain by Boyer Chute NWR in the
morning. That area continues to be productive. In a flooded cornfield
just north of (what was) Nathan's Lake there was lots of waterfowl,
mostly Canada's and Mallards but a few other birds:
American Widgeon-2
Gadwall-12
Northern Shoveler-2
Northern Pintail-59
Snow Goose-10
Across the way were 6 killdeer foraging on ice. A mixed flock
of
Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs flew over. Could not get
numbers of species though. sounded about evenly mixed witha total number
in flock about 75.
On the road connecting Ft Calhoun and Boyer NWR is a deadend road to
the south
that had an estimated 1000 redwing blackbirds foraging in spilled grain
at a
farmhouse.
At that same intersection, if you go north, you go into the Kirby property
where
2 short-earred owls continue to be present. They are in a grove of
pines by the
mailboxes before you enter the restricted area of the refuge. There
are 50-100
pellets under the roost tree. Technically it's part of the refuge so
permission
would be required to remove them (the pellets that is) if anyone has
interest in
them.
The number for the refuge is 468-4688
Jerry Toll
From: Steve McIlree <smcilree@h...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 8:55 am
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] southeast Washington county March 10
Jerry--
Monday, March 12, 2001, you wrote:
> ...In a flooded cornfield just north of (what was) Nathan's Lake
> there was lots of...
Does anyone here have any idea of what the plans for Nathans Lake
are? It looks like some major restoration as a wildlife area. I
don't remember any islands in the original lake, but it looks as if
islands are being built.
--
Steve McIlree -- Pferd & Skipper -- Omaha,
Nebraska, USA
Men are better when riding, more just and
more understanding, and
more alert and more at ease... --Edward Plantagenet(1373-1413)
From: "Alice Kenitz" <akenitz@p...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 1:56 pm
Subject: Scotts Bluff County
NEBirders,
On Saturday, March 10, I visited a small lake south and a little
west of Gering. In addition to quite a few Canada Geese and a few
Mallards, I saw--
Common Merganser--6
Lesser Scaup--5
Common Goldeneye--1
Redhead--35
Red-winged Blackbird--Didn't count them,
but they were singing and
displaying all over the place.
Alice Kenitz
Gering
From: "Helen Hughson" <hhughson@s...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 2:47 pm
Subject: Last of Rosy Finches
Hi:
On March 9, I saw the last little flock of Rosy Finches. They were
at my feeder for most of the day--about 20, inclucing Black, Hepburns
and Gray-crowned. I thought they might come back during the snowy
weather, but they didn't. I don't know if there are any left in
the area, but there are none here at Wind Springs. Guess they left
to
make room for Killdeer, Meadowlarks, mourning doves, etc.
HH
From: "Joel Jorgensen" <zrtac@g...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 3:28 pm
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] southeast Washington county March 10
Hello all,
Although I know no details, I remember when the Papio NRD bought
Nathan's Lake and surrounding area that their intent was to restore
the
wetland. I was in omaha today so I drove by Nathan's Lake and it looks
like
they are doing just that....increasing the size (perhaps doubling the
area)
of the "lake" and, as Steve said, there are now a couple of islands.
Hopefully the NRD maximizes the marsh, and perhaps the USFWS will increase
the wetland area in that area if they purchase (which they apparently
plan
on doing) most of the river bottom land east of Ft. Calhoun, since
it has
been especially prone to flooding in years past. A nice big Missouri
River
bottom marsh would be a wonderful thing to have in this area.
The flooded
fields north of there were all frozen today and thus no waterfowl.
Joel Jorgensen
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 7:12 pm
Subject: NEBirders
This afternoon, March 12, Bob and I checked out Winter's Creek NWR.
The
wind was blowing pretty good so a lot of the ducks were on the far
shore
and we couldn't see what they were. We did see dozens of Red-heads,
9
No. Shovelers, 5 Am. Wigeons, 15 No. Pintails, 12 Green-winged Teal,
3
Gadwall and several Mallards on the small pond to the east of the road,
then on the main lake there were hundreds of Red-heads, Mallards, Canada
Geese some Common Mergansers and with a small group of Red-heads a
female Long-tailed Duck.
Kathy Larson
Scottsbluff Co.
From: "Harding and Randolph" <marshwren@n...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2001 9:56 pm
Subject: [NeBirds] southcentral Buffalo County
Nebraska birders,
I am getting tired of our weekend birding getting messed-up
by the weather. In spite of the winter storm watch, we went
birding on Sunday, March 11. We didn't go far from home and
the weather was tolerable.
At our home near Gibbon, we saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Harris's
Sparrow. Where are all the Harris's Sparrows this winter? We usually
see lots of them all winter. This winter we have seen only a few.
We checked several sandpits along I-80 between the Gibbon and Kearney
exits. We were surprised to find some open water and lots of birds.
We saw about 75 Gadwall, 22 Buffleheads, 400 Ring-necked Ducks, 75
Canvasbacks, 275 Redheads, 300 Lesser Scaup, 17 Northern Shovelers,
35 Northern Pintails, 80 Snow Geese, 2 Killdeer, 3 Northern Harriers
and many thousands of Sandhill Cranes.
At a feedlot one mile west of the Minden I-80 exit, we saw at least
40 Lapland Longspurs mixed with about 400 Horned Larks. We saw one
Pine Siskin at a feeder three miles southwest of the Minden I-80 exit.
We saw 6 Green-winged Teal at Kearney's sewage treatment plant. At
Bufflehead State Recreation Area, we saw two Common Mergansers and
a
Blue-winged Teal. We saw an immature Merlin (Richardsonii) a mile and
a half east of Kearney. A Ferruginous Hawk was seen on the southeast
edge of Kearney.
Near the Archway Monument we saw a Northern Shrike, three more Harris's
Sparrows, two Wood Ducks and one or two Great Blue Herons. Near Grandpa's
Steakhouse We saw a dark morph adult Red-tailed Hawk, 23 Greater White-
fronted Geese and an American Coot. In Kearney County a half mile west
of the Fort Kearny Historical Park, we saw another Merlin.
Good birding,
Robin Harding
From: ckavian@a...
Date: Tue Mar 13, 2001 6:28 pm
Subject: Spring Birds
NEBirders,
I drove over to Lake Manawa south of Council Bluffs today. Saw
the following birds:
Bald Eagles 14
Ring-billed Gulls 55
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Kestrel 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2 Eastern 1 Harlan's
Common Mergansers 4
C. Goldeneye 1
I then drove over to the most watched piece of open water east
of the Rockies; the Mid-American Settling Ponds Large numbers of
waterfowl are there. It was very difficult to count since
there were large numbers coming and going constantly. So the
number are rough estimates.
Hooded Mergansers 4
Redhead 90
Gadwall 100+
Common Goldeneye 150+
Common Mergansers 200+
Pintail 70+
Mallard 80+
Canada Geese 300+
Ring-billed Gulls 100+
Bald Eagles 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Kestrel 1
From: escholar@u...
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2001 8:05 am
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Spring Birds
I saw three separtate flocks of snow geese this morining within
30 mins. of each other. Two flocks were several hundred
birds and one was about 100. I was at the medical center at 42nd.
and Dewey the birds were heading northwest.
Eric.
From: Kathy <renosmom@a...>
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2001 2:29 pm
Subject: NeBiders
This morning I drove out to Winter's Creek to see if I could
relocate the Long-tailed Duck, but no luck. Most of the
ice has melted and it is covered with waterfowl. The only new
birds that I saw today that I didn't see Monday were Lesser
Scaups and Canvasbacks, and some Snow Geese finally showed up,
about 50-60, one small group, about 25 landed, the rest kept
right on going. North of the lake a few miles I saw 6 Mountain
Bluebirds in a pasture sitting on top of some weeds, what a
beautiful sight.
Kathy Larson
ScottsBluff Co
From: "Jerry Toll" <jertol@r...>
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2001 10:04 pm
Subject: Hitchcock Nature Center March 14
Greetings
I was out at 7:30 this morning and noticed a mass movement of
waterfowl up the Missouri River Flyway. I was not able to get to
Hitchcock Nature Center, on the Iowa side of the Missouri River
until 10:45 though. I spent 3 hours there and saw:
36,000 snow geese
410 canada geese
38 rusty blackbirds I only saw breeding females.
237 migrating american robins
36 bald eagles of which 23 were adult
19 red-tailed hawks
2 cooper's hawk
1 red-shouldered hawk
5 northern harriers, 3 males 2 female
1 dark morph rough-legged hawk
The flight was virtually over by 1 pm. All in all a pretty exciting
couple of hours.
Last night (the 13th) I went to Cunningham Lake in northern Douglas
county to look for woodcock. I had no luck.
From: ckavian@a...
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2001 11:54 pm
Subject: Migration!
NEBirders,
What a day to be out birding! Lots of birds on the move. There
was a continuous flight of Snow and White-fronted geese moving
west (the Rainwater Basin I presume) throughout the day (Wed.).
After 80,000 to 100,000 I stopped counting. I was out in Sarpy
county and all the flocks were going straight west, at times
even south west. I heard them as early as 7:30am and at 4:30
as I was hurrying back to teach my night class their still
flocks going over. As I went into my house tonight at 9:45pm
another flock was going over to the west. It has been a long
time since I have seen that many Snows going over in that short
a period of time. They weren't really even following any river
valley either. Mixed between these flocks of Snow Geese
were several thousand ducks as well (esp. Mallards, Pintails
and Gadwall), but too many to count after a while. At least two
of the flocks I saw were White-fronted Geese. Besides watching
the geese and ducks fly over I stopped at Walnut Creek Recreation
Area just south of Papillion in northern Sarpy County and saw:
Bobwhite 1
Mallards 1
Gadwall 5
Canada Geese 4
Tree Sparrows 12
E. Bluebirds 4
Northern Harriers 5 (3males)
Red-tails 5 (2 nests with one adult sitting on each of the nests)
Meadowlark 12 sp.
Red-winged Blackbirds 60
Common Grackle 32
Red-bellied WP 1
Robins 26
Killdeer 8
Juncos 15
Horned Larks 6
From there I drove over to Wehrspan Lake and saw:
Kestrel 3
Common Goldeneye 5
Lesser Scaup 13
Mallard 22
Bufflehead 2
Redhead 2
Pintails 6
Ring-necked Duck 8
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Ring-billed Gull 64
Rusty Blackbirds 14 (both male and female)
Robins 125
E. Bluebirds 2
All of these birds were seen within sight of of either I-80, Hwy 470
(4 lanes
of traffic), or Millard and the other sprawling subdivisions of Sarpy
County.
All in all this day convinced me spring is here, regardless of the snow
we
may get on Thursday. It was a great day to be out.
Clem Klaphake
Bellevue, NE
From: "Alice Heckman" <aheckman@n...>
Date: Thu Mar 15, 2001 8:50 pm
Subject: RE: [NEBirds] Migration!
NEbirders,
In spite of today's brief blizzard that closed schools in the
south central part of Nebraska, one can tell that spring has
arrived. All of you who have noted Snow Geese headed for the
rainwater basin are correct. I am the principal of a rural
elementary school in Phelps County. Wednesday we had a
flock of thousands of Snow Geese in the field adjacent
to the school. This is the first time I have observed Snows
in that number west of Highway 183 in proximity to the school.
They are definitely expanding westward in their migration.
We are currently building a house on the edge of a prairie dog
town to the west of Kearney. All winter long the Bald Eagles
seemed to have a pattern hunting in the late afternoon in the
Prairie Dog town. You could count on them a little before sunset
all winter. Since the massive increase in waterfowl in the area
the Eagles have quit hunting the Prairie Dogs. (It hasn't stopped
the Rough Leg Hawks, however.) I'm excited to see if this
pattern continues in subsequent years.
Alice Heckman
Kearney