Dedicated to the Study, Appreciation and Protection of Birds

Hitchcock Hawkwatch Has Exciting Season

    "After a fairly unremarkable 2001 season, Hitchcock's hawkwatchers
experienced a surprising, exciting, frustrating, and quite noteworthy
season in 2002",  according to Mark Orsag,  Doane College professor and
Hawkwatch Compiler.
    The Hawkwatch takes place at the Hitchcock Nature Area in Pottawattamie
County, north of Crescent, Iowa .  Previous records for coverage hours,
total migrating raptors and vultures, and diversity of flight were all
surpassed in 2002.  A highlight and new bird for the count was a Black
Vulture, the first seen in Iowa since 1959 .
    Species totals for 2002 are as follows:

1. Black Vulture   1*
2. Turkey Vulture  1,604
3. Mississippi Kite  15
4. Bald Eagle  787*
5.  Osprey   71
6. Northern Harrier  156
7. Sharp-shinned Hawk   937
8. Cooper‚s Hawk  199*
9. Northern Goshawk  5
10. Red-shouldered Hawk  3
11. Broad-winged Hawk  434*
12. Swainson‚s Hawk  1,914*
13. Red-tailed Hawk  2,207
14. Ferruginous Hawk   1
15. Rough-legged Hawk  23
16. Golden Eagle 17*
17. American Kestrel  224
18. Merlin  28
19. Peregrine Falcon  33
20. Prairie Falcon   2
unidentified raptors  53

Total:  8,714 individuals
Italicized entries require documentation to be submitted to the IOU
Records Committee.
*  Denotes a Hitchcock season record.

    The season began on August 14, with NOU member Don Maas counting from
the Lodge Deck, and concluded on December 14, when the Hitchcock sector
of the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge Christmas Bird Count was
covered.  Coverage was provided on  93 days for a total of 427 hours,
which was a new season record.
    Jerry Toll, Jim Meyer and Mark Orsag are the officially designated hawk
counters, but at least 25 other volunteers, many of them NOU  members,
provided coverage during the season, as their schedules allowed.
Although this count is located in Iowa, the proximity to Omaha allows
many eastern Nebraska birders to participate.
    Although the computed observation rate for the season was 20.4  raptors
or vultures per hour, that number can be a little misleading.  There
were hours during which counters, unable to find any hawks on the
horizon or anywhere else, had to entertain themselves by counting Crows
and Robins or by spending some quality time with Thunder, Hitchcock's
canine hawkwatcher.  There were also hours during which hawks were
zinging over the Lodge so fast it was hard to know which part of the sky
to watch and challenging to get an accurate count.   Hawk watchers
suffer not from "Warbler Neck" but from "Broad-winged Whiplash."
    The weather, too, varied greatly from day to day, and although there
were some warm days early in the season, the Lodge Deck is not known for
its balmy climate.  Normally one can figure on needing at least one more
layer of clothing than was comfortable when leaving home.  In truly
inclement weather, hawkwatchers can be found "hugging the wall," a
survival technique perfected by Jerry Toll, which involves plastering as
much of one's body as possible against the warm, brown, south-facing
wall of the lodge.
    We wish the hawkwatchers good luck in the 2003 season.

NEBRASKA COUNTY LISTS 2002

Nominating Committee Forming

 A committee is being organized to nominate candidates for officers to
be elected at our Annual Meeting in May.   If you have any suggestions
or would like to volunteer your services for any office, please contact
one of the current officers.

Welcome to the Following New Members:

 Bill & Susan Dunavan of York

Meeting Dates

 The 2003 Annual Meeting will be held at the new Rowe Sanctuary
Visitors‚ Center, southeast of Kearney on May 16-18.

 Our Fall Field Days
will be held at the 4-H Camp in the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey
on Sept. 26-28.

Seasonal Occurrence Reports

 Just a reminder: the winter occurrence report period covers December
through February.  Please report your sightings by March 15 to Ross Silcock ,
P. O. Box 57, Tabor, IA 51653-0057 or silcock(at)rosssilcock.c o m.
(to deter spammers the email address has been altered.  Just replace the (at) with the appropriate
symbol and remove the blank spaces.)

Save Money and Help the NOU

 Don't forget the NOU's online store when shopping for books or optics
this spring:

http://www.withoutbricks.com/NOUStore

The store carries over 7,000 nature-related items for sale:  books,
music, software, videos, bird feeders, bird seed, coffee, jewelry, etc.
Not only are prices typically 20% below retail, but the NOU receives
about 15% from every sale.

Chimney Swift Nests:  Chimneys vs. Snags

    The Chimney Swift is our only native swift east of the Rockies. It was
named "Chimney" Swift when European settlers witnessed the Swifts
entering their brick and stone chimneys.  In the past, the Chimney Swift
had nested exclusively in large hollow tree snags within virgin Eastern
forests.
    Other than when they are roosting or nesting in cavities, Chimney
Swifts do not land or perch. They rest, preen, drink, feed, and live
most of their lives on the wing.  Nest sticks are gathered by clutching
and breaking a single dead twig from a tree with their feet. The twig is
transferred to the bill in flight and brought to a cavity where it is
cemented with saliva to a stick nest deep within the cavity.
    Studies show Chimney Swifts are declining throughout their range,
possibly due to a steady reduction in suitable masonry chimneys and air
shafts. Older style construction has been a stronghold for Chimney Swift
populations during the past 100 -150 years.  As old buildings
deteriorate and are destroyed to make room for new ones, crucial Chimney
Swift habitat is lost.
    Though Chimney Swifts are considered urban nesters, there is a small
traditional nesting population scattered across Eastern United States,
which holds on to its original nesting habitat as it has for hundreds or
perhaps thousands of years. Patuxent Bird Population Studies show a
startling decline in Chimney Swift numbers (from an already seriously
low population) across its northern spruce/hardwoods habitat.
    What we are experiencing with the Chimney Swift is not a near
extinction of a species, but a possible near extinction of a species in
its native habitat.
    Little or no research has been performed on the possibilities of
Chimney Swifts imprinting on non-traditional structures.  The
possibility exists that if we allow populations of traditional nesters
to become extinct, perhaps the urban Chimney Swifts will never be able
to reassociate themselves with their traditional habitat.
    A "Traditional Nesters" project designed to survey for active Chimney
Swift nests and roosts in tree snags has been established.  Recording
all characteristics associated with an active snag and surrounding
habitat will provide guiding data for future management practices and
conservation efforts associated with this traditional nesting species.
    Some of our Eastern forests have had over 100 years to restore
themselves since initial clear cutting of the late 1800's/early 1900's.
Because the Chimney Swift requires an inside tree diameter of at least
11 inches and a depth of at least 6 feet, large mature trees play a
significant role for this species.
    The Traditional Nesters Research Project is currently recruiting
field nest searchers for the 2003 nesting season.  By volunteering or
donating to this project, participants will be contributing to a
worthwhile effort to enhance, learn, and save our valuable natural
communities.
    For more information, contact Kenneth F. Damro:
traditionalnesters@yahoo.com

(Courtesy of BIRDWORDS@yahoogroups.com)

NOU MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
It is once again time to renew your membership.  Please take a moment
and look at the numbers on the label of this newsletter to determine if
your membership has expired.

Please renew my membership in the category checked below:

___ One Active Member $15              ___ Family Active  $20
___ One Sustaining Member $25         ___ Family Sustaining $30
___ Student Member  $10                  ___ Life Member   $250

Name
_______________________________________________________________________

Address
_____________________________________________________________________

City  _____________________________  State  ____________________  Zip _______

Telephone
(______)___________________________Email____________________________

Please make check payable to NOU and mail with this form to:
Betty Grenon
1409 Childs Road East
Bellevue,  NE  68005-4418

(In order to deter junk e-mail, the e-mail addresses have been altered.
Replace the (at) with @ and remove the spaces between the last three letters)

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

Vice-President:
Alice Kenitz, 190648 Co. Rd. 22,  Gering,  NE  69341,    Phone:  308-436-2959
E-mail Address:  akenitz(at)prairieweb.c o m

Secretary:
Mitzi Fox, 1560 Fairgrounds Road, Albion,  NE  68620,    Phone:   402-395-2395
E-mail Address:  mitzi(at)megavision.c o m

Treasurer:
Betty Grenon, 1409 Childs Road East, Bellevue,  NE  68005,    Phone:   402-731-2383
E-mail Address:  grenon925(at)aol.c o m

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.e d u
(also 688 Gary St., Ripon, WI  54971, 920-748-2369 or 402-872-3073 Home)
E-mail Address:  clementeb(at)chater.n e t

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.e d u

Betty Allen, 9628 Emmet St., Omaha,  NE  68134    Phone:   402-571-9755
E-mail Address:  lizprints(at)webtv.n e t

Directors:
Loren Padelford, 1405 Little John Road, Bellevue,  NE  68005,  Phone:  402-292-5556 Home,
E-mail Address: lpdlfrd(at)juno.c o m

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.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.n e t

Occurrence Reports:
Ross Silcock, P.O. Box 57, Tabor , IA  51653,  Phone:   712-629-5865
E-mail Address:  silcock(at)rosssilcock.c o m

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.c o m

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