Halsey Fall Field Days
   by Alice Kenitz

 There were 65 members and friends of NOU who met at the 4-H Camp at Halsey on September 6-8, 2002, for the annual NOU Fall Field Days.  As always, it was fun to renew acquaintances and to meet new people.

 On Saturday field trips went to Valentine NWR, Willow Lake, and around the Nebraska National Forest.  Those who didn't want an organized field trip were free to go wherever.  Sunday morning everyone was on their own.  The very warm temperatures and strong south wind no doubt combined to make birding a little slow.  In spite of that, we identified 119 species.  Not counted in the total are a reported Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Blaine County and a reported Cassin's Kingbird in the
Forest.  Anyone having information about these two reports should contact Alice Kenitz or Ross Silcock--contact information for both is listed on the back page of this newsletter.  Also not included in the total were Dowitcher species and 'Blackbird unknown'.  Two of the best birds were a Canada Warbler and a MacGillivray's Warbler.  Both were seen in the Forest.

 Friday evening Bruce Eichhorst, a member of the biology faculty at UN-K, gave a fascinating talk--"Incubation Is More Than Just Keeping Eggs Warm: Observations of Grebes".  Bruce has conducted research on grebes at Agassiz NWR in northwestern Minnesota.  His research involved placing electronic temperature sensors in plastic Easter eggs and then placing the Easter eggs in the nests of grebes.  Many of us think that the temperature of the eggs in a nest is kept fairly constant.  But Bruce's research showed that the adults could be off the nest for several hours at a time.  Cooler temperatures of the eggs are not detrimental to development of chicks, but the development will be slower at lower temperatures.  Many times the adults will sit on a nest to protect the eggs from extreme heat.  Great Horned Owls are important predators in a marsh.  For this 'technology-challenged' writer, Bruce's hi-tech presentation using Power Point with video as well as slides, was almost as fascinating as his research.

 Late Saturday afternoon Bub Blake showed us slides from his travels this summer.  He was able to photograph at Crescent Lake NWR, Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas, and other places in Iowa and Nebraska.  Thanks to Bub for the crane photo which he donated as a raffle prize and to Lanny and Robin for the birdsong CD which was also raffled, for a total of $73.  Also many thanks to everyone else for the variety of entertaining door prizes.

 Saturday evening Babs and Loren Padelford gave a program on 'Odes'--"Dragons and Damsels 101: An Introduction to Nebraska's Odonates".  There are about 500 species of odonates that occur in the US and about 100 of them have been identified in Nebraska.  These remarkable predatory insects come in an amazing variety of colors.  They have many similarities to birds--they fly, lay eggs, some migrate, males and females look different, and sometimes the young insects (those just out of the larval form) look different.  They eat many smaller insects, catching them with their legs.  A number of people at the meeting enjoyed looking for and identifying odes on Sunday morning.

 Time spent with friends and nature in the beauty of the Sandhills is always special.  Those who have never been to the NOU Fall Field Days are encouraged to join us in 2003.

     Chris Thody  of Martell, Nebraska
     Carolyn Sonderman  of Omaha
     Jon Strong  of Omaha

     Welcome back to Mark Armstrong of Bellevue

NOU Board Meeting

 The NOU Board met in unofficial session due to lack of a quorum on September 6, 2002, at the 4-H Camp at Halsey.  Those present were Janis Paseka, Alice Kenitz, Betty Grenon, Steve Lamphere, Loren Padelford, Clem Klaphake, Robin Harding, Lanny Randolph, Wayne Mollhoff, Tom Labedz, and Neal Ratzlaff.

 For information purposes, Janis read the minutes from the Spring 2002 meeting.

 The Spring 2003 meeting will be held at Rowe Sanctuary May 16-18.  Lanny reported the building is well underway.  Marian Brown is working on the catering of the meals from Gibbon to Rowe.  He and Robin are working on field trip leaders.

 For Fall 2003, we can have September 5-7 or September 26-28.  Janis will ask for comments from the group tomorrow evening before deciding for sure.  The 2004 Spring meeting will be at Ogallala, but the dates have not been set.

 Betty Grenon reviewed the Treasurer's report.  We are holding our own, although we are at least 4 issues behind for the Nebraska Bird Review.  Ross Silcock is donating 50% of his share of the proceeds from "Birds of Nebraska".

 Neal discussed marketing of the "Breeding Bird Atlas."  About 300 copies have been sold.  Rick Wright wrote a good review of both books in Birding magazine.  We will pay $75 to Jim McKee to market the Atlas to libraries.  We will also pay $35 to display it at two librarians‚ association meetings.  These funds will be taken out of the Atlas fund.  It would cost $300 for a list of college libraries and we would still have to pay for flyers and postage.  This does not look like a viable option at this time.

Tom presented the Librarian's report.  He also showed a sheet of 'business' cards sent out by Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.  These could be left in businesses and given out by members in places they visited.

 Loren reported that the Records Committee has not had much business since Steve Dinsmore moved to Mississippi.  Joel Jorgensen is working on the 2001 report.

 We are 4 to 5 issues behind on the Nebraska Bird Review.  Steve Dinsmore has been co-editing.  Janis will contact Bill Clemente to see how he is doing.

 Audubon Nebraska is seeking funds to hire a coordinator for the Important Bird Areas program.  If one is hired, he/she may want to speak at the spring meeting.  Nebraska is one of only 3 states that do not have an IBA program.

 Clem reported he is on the education committee of the Nebraska Alliance for All-Bird Conservation.  This group is still working on establishing policies and direction.

 Loren suggested that the NOU needs a cap that birders can identify with.  He will look into this and bring a proposal to the spring meeting.

Alice Kenitz, Secretary pro-tem

Hitchcock Hawkwatch
by Mark Orsag

 Every August through December, bird of prey enthusiasts gather to observe and count thousands of hawks, eagles, and vultures that migrate south past Pottawattamie County‚s Hitchcock Nature Area. Founded in 1992 by Babs and Loren Padelford, the Hitchcock Nature Area Hawkwatch is held every fall. The broad expanse of the adjacent Missouri River Valley and the updrafts created by the prevailing westerly winds that strike the steep westerly face of the Loess Hills create a hawk highway that
attracts the migrating raptors to Hitchcock. Hitchcock has been designated as one of the top 30 sites in North America to observe raptor migration by Wildbird  magazine and one of 250 bird of prey migration sites of worldwide significance by the staff of Pennsylvania's famed Hawk Mountain sanctuary. An estimated 7,000 to 12,000 vultures and birds of prey migrate past the site every autumn.

 In the fall of 2000 (the hawkwatch‚s best season to date), no less than 8,357 hawks, eagles, and vultures of 19 different species were recorded by part-time volunteer counters at Hitchcock in just over 300 hours of observation. In the fall of 2001, just over 400 hours of coverage produced a count of 7,800 raptors and vultures of 18 species.  This year on September 22, a Black Vulture was observed.  Not only was this a new species for the Hawkwatch, it is one that had not been recorded in Iowa
since 1959.

 Literally millions of other diverse migrants, ranging from butterflies and dragonflies to robins, blackbirds, and pelicans, are also seen annually. Such counts are not only both fun and challenging for participants, but they also yield valuable data about the health of the Hawkwatch populations of a variety of migratory species. Hitchcock‚s count is affiliated with HMANA (Hawk Migration Association of North America), which is an international organization that specializes in closely
monitoring the health of the populations of North America‚s birds of prey.

 Each year, the hawkwatch volunteer group swells in number. The watch has also attracted a growing number of visitors (from five different states last season). There have been highly successful field trips by groups from both Nebraska and Iowa.

 The hawkwatch is manned every weekend from September 1 through November 30. Coverage in late August and early December and on weekdays is more sporadic. The best times to visit the watch are just before or after the passage of cold fronts from mid-September through early November. If you are interested in visiting, want more information about the count, or
are interested in volunteering, please contact Mark Orsag (402) 826-4162. E-mail: morsag@doane.edu
 

Chance Encounters
by Robin Harding

 Lanny and I had been wanting to go back to Medicine Creek Reservoir in Frontier County since late April when we saw a pair of Northern Harriers carrying nesting material.  We finally had an opportunity in late June.  We did not see any Harriers in the area where we suspected nesting but we did meet a woman who works for the Nebraska Game and Parks at Medicine Creek.  As we were talking, she mentioned that Wellfleet State Wildlife Management Area (SWMA) was spring-fed and so not as susceptible to drought as other SWMAs.  That reminded us that we had been wanting to visit Wellfleet for quite some time.

 The weekend following our chance encounter with the woman at Medicine Creek, we went to Wellfleet SWMA.  It's a great little lake with many mature trees around the edge and an extensive marsh at the northwest end.  There are few roads but we found a trail with some good views of the marsh.  The northeast side of the lake seems to be mostly owned by Nebraska Game and Parks while the southwest side appears to be mostly private property.  We spent a couple of hours at Wellfleet and saw some good birds including many Orchard Orioles, some Bell's Vireos and some Yellow-breasted Chats.

 We decided to explore a few of the roads in the area around Wellfleet so we headed west from Wellfleet and soon came to a fork in the road.  On the map, the road to the left looked more interesting but our decision was influenced by an unfamiliar bird sound coming from the right fork.  We did not find the source of the bird sound but decided to continue on for a while thinking that we could always turn back.  The farther we went, the more interesting it looked, so as long as the minimum maintenance road was passable, we went on.  In a deep road cut with steep dirt banks we saw a couple of wrens busily working the bank.  We snuck up on them and finally got a good look at a couple Rock Wrens.  We celebrated seeing them and then were surprised to see a couple more.  There may have been as many as five Rock Wrens in that area.  When they moved on, so did we.

 As it turned out, the minimum maintenance road was in good shape all the way through to another full maintenance county road.  We decided to turn left since we still had time to explore and we saw another minimum maintenance road on the map.  Shortly after we turned, the sky opened up and there was a brief down-pour.  We decided that minimum maintenance roads might be slippery after the rain so we followed a full maintenance road instead.

 I am glad the rain changed our plans because as we drove down the road, we saw some birds in a four-row shelter belt of young trees only three to five feet tall.  There were Lark Buntings, Grasshopper Sparrows and mystery birds.  I heard a song that was vaguely familiar.  I had heard that song on our recordings at home but had never encountered the songster in real life.  We could see lots of sparrows in the shelter belt but could not positively identify all of them.  Lanny and I searched our memories and looked at the bird guide and decided to play some of the sparrow songs.  When the CD played the Cassin's Sparrow, we looked at each other and exclaimed,  THAT'S IT!

 It's amazing what a series of chance encounters can bring.  We had no hopes nor expectations of what we might find.  We were just exploring some new territory.

 The Spring Annual Meeting will be held at the new Rowe Sanctuary Visitors' Center  southeast of Kearney on May 16, 17 and 18, 2003.

President and Newsletter Editor:
Janis Paseka, 1585 Co. Rd. 14 Blvd., Ames,  NE  68621,  Phone:  402-727-9229
E-mail Address:  paseka at tvsonline dot net

Vice-President:
Alice Kenitz, 190648 Co. Rd. 22,  Gering,  NE  69341,    Phone:  308-436-2959
E-mail Address:  akenitz at prairieweb dot com

Secretary:
Mitzi Fox, 1560 Fairgrounds Road, Albion,  NE  68620,    Phone:   402-395-2395
E-mail Address:  mitzi at megavision dot com

Treasurer:
Betty Grenon, 1409 Childs Road East, Bellevue,  NE  68005,    Phone:   402-731-2383
E-mail Address:  grenon925 at aol dot com

Editor, Bird Review:
William Clemente, Box 10, Peru State College, Peru,  NE  68421    Phone:   402-872-2233  Work
E-mail Address:  bclemente at oakmail.peru dot edu
(also 688 Gary St., Ripon, WI  54971, 920-748-2369 or 402-872-3073 Home)
E-mail Address:  clementeb at chater dot net

Librarian:
Mary Lou Pritchard, 6325 O St., #515,  Lincoln,  NE  68510    Phone:  402-486-2428   Home
or N.O.U. Library, c/o Division of Zoology, Univ. of Nebr. State Museum, W-436 Nebraska Hall,
Lincoln, NE  68588-0514,  402-540-9157

Past Presidents:
Clem Klaphake, 707 Garden Ave., Bellevue,  NE  68005    Phone:  402-292-2276
E-mail Address:  cnk at scholars.bellevue dot edu

Betty Allen, 9628 Emmet St., Omaha,  NE  68134    Phone:   402-571-9755
E-mail Address:  lizprints at webtv dot net

Directors:
Loren Padelford, 1405 Little John Road, Bellevue,  NE  68005,  Phone:  402-292-5556 Home,
E-mail Address: lpdlfrd at juno dot com

Steve Lamphere, 3101 Washington St., Apt. 98, Bellevue, NE  68005   Phone:  402-291-9149

Jan Uttecht, Box 823, Stanton, NE  68779   Phone: 402-439-2114

Records Committee:
Mark Brogie, Box 316, Creighton,  NE  68729    Phone:  402-358-5675
E-mail Address:  mbrogie at mother.esu1.k12.ne dot us

Breeding Bird Atlas Project and Nest Records Committee:
Wayne Mollhoff, 1817 Boyd St., Ashland, NE  68003,  Phone:  402-944-2243
E-mail Address:  wmollhoff at netscape dot net

Occurrence Reports:
Ross Silcock, P.O. Box 57, Tabor , IA  51653,  Phone:   712-629-5865
E-mail Address:  silcock at rosssilcock dot com

Nebraska Birdline:
Loren and Babs Padelford, 1405 Little John Road, Bellevue,  NE  68005,  Phone:  402-292-5325 Birdline
402-292-5556 Home,    E-mail Address: lpdlfrd at juno dot com

NOU Website:          http://rip.physics.unk.edu/NOU/