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Newsletter            March 2004        Number 2
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Welcome to New Members

We welcome new members:

Marie Schatz from Papillion

Urban Lehner and Nancy Leonard from Omaha
 
 

Documentations for the NOU Records Committee by Mark Brogie, Records Committee Chair

     There have been a few questions concerning the article about ‘Bird Species That
     the NOU Records Committee Actively Seeks Documentation’ in the last newsletter.
     In 1988 the NOU Records Committee issued the following guidelines:

     Regular--acceptably reported in 9-10 of the past 10 years

     Casual--acceptably reported in 4-7 of the past 10 years

     Accidental--acceptably reported in 0-2 of the past 10 years

     Extirpated--not acceptably reported in the past 50 years

     Extinct--no longer found alive anywhere in the world

     The frequency of occurrence for any species that is acceptably reported in 3 or
     8 of the last 10 years is discussed by the committee and placed in a category
     felt most appropriate by the committee.  The NOU Records Committee seeks
     documentation for all species of less than regular occurrence in Nebraska
     as well as for those species whose occurrence has not been documented in Nebraska. 

     Firmness of data supporting a bird on this list is indicated by the following
     terms (NOU Records Committee 1986), an adequately labeled diagnostic specimen
     (1-S); an adequately labeled diagnostic photo or slide (1-P); an adequately
     labeled diagnostic recording (1-R); a sight record with three or more acceptable
     written documentations (II); and a sight record with one or two acceptable
     written documentations (III). 

     Address questions and/or send documentations to the chair of the Records Committee,
     Mark Brogie.  His contact information is on the last page of this newsletter.
 
 

Ogallala Spring Meeting

The 2004 Annual Spring Meeting will be held at the Grey Goose Motel in Ogallala on
May 14-16.  NOU member, Bill Huntley, has made the arrangements for our meeting—
thank you, Bill!!  Bill encourages everyone to make reservations early as the Ogallala
High School graduation is that weekend.  A registration form is also found elsewhere in
this newsletter.  Please send your reservations to Betty Grenon, NOU treasurer, by May 4.

Field trips will feature birding in Ogallala, around Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala,
and other nearby areas.  There will be trips for those who like to do a lot of
walking and for those that want a minimal amount of walking.  Birding in the Lake
McConaughy area is always great, so we hope to see a lot of you at the meeting.
The water level in the lake is very low due to the drought in western Nebraska and
the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado.  Nevertheless, we should find plenty of good
birds.  Several of us stopped for a 30-minute look last year on our way to
Kearney—about two hours later we finally tore ourselves away!!

Registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Nature Park which is two blocks west of
the Grey Goose.  In case of inclement weather, registration will be at the Grey
Goose.  Dinner on Friday and Saturday nights will be at the Grey Goose.  Sack lunches
for Saturday noon will be picked up at the Grey Goose on Saturday morning, and we
will leave from there for field trips.  Breakfast both mornings as well as lunch on
Sunday noon will be on your own.

Vice-president Dave Heidt has arranged an interesting program for us.  Speaker on
Friday evening will be Gabe Wilson, biologist for the Central Public Power District.
Gabe works with Least Terns and Piping Plovers at Lake McConaughy and will be telling
us about how the low water levels are affecting the birds.

Saturday night, Joel Jorgensen will discuss the findings in his new book, An Overview
of Shorebird Migration in the Eastern Rainwater Basin, Nebraska (NOU Occasional Paper
#8).  Many of us have been anxiously awaiting the publication of Joel’s findings.
Joel will have copies of his book available for $7 plus tax.  Please see the article
about this book later in this newsletter. 

Don’t forget to bring something for a door prize.
 
 

Tentative schedule for the weekend:

Friday, May 14

4:30 p.m.  Registration begins at Ogallala’s Nature Park, 2 blocks west of the Grey
           Goose Motel.  In case of inclement weather, registration will be at the Grey
           Goose.

5:45 p.m.   Registration moves to the Grey Goose

6:00 p.m.   Dinner at the Grey Goose

6:45 p.m.   Gabe Wilson discussing effects of the drought on Least Terns and Piping Plovers
            At Lake McConaughy         

8:00 p.m.   Executive Board Meeting

Saturday, May 15

Breakfast on your own

6:30 a.m.    Gather at the Grey Goose for field trips.  Pick up sack lunches for noon.

6:45-7:15 a.m.  Field trips leave from the Grey Goose

6:00 p.m.    Dinner at the Grey Goose

6:45 p.m.    Door prize drawings

7:15 p.m.   Annual NOU Business meeting and election of officers

7:45 p.m.    Evening program by Joel Jorgensen, An Overview of Shorebird Migration in
the Eastern Rainwater Basin, Nebraska

Sunday, May 16

Breakfast on your own

6:30 a.m.  Gather at the Grey Goose for field trips.

6:45-7:15 a.m. Field trips leave from the Grey Goose

Noon        Weekend species tally at the Nature Park.  You are welcome to bring your lunch.

1:00 p.m.  Adjourn
 
 

Nominating Committee

A big thank you to the members of the Nominating Committee—Robin Harding, Norma
Brockmoller, and Alice Rushton.  The following officers have agreed to serve another
term:

President--Alice Kenitz

Vice President--Dave Heidt

Secretary--Mitzi Fox

Treasurer--Betty Grenon

Editor Nebraska Bird Review--Bill Clemente

Librarian--Mary Lou Pritchard

Director--Jan Uttecht

Elections will be held at the Annual Business Meeting on May 15.
 
 

Fall Field Days

Plan to attend the NOU Annual Fall Field Days at Halsey on September 24-26, 2004.
 
 

Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws

Article IV, Section 4, of the NOU Bylaws covers the duties of the President.  It
states, in part:

“…………The President shall issue a newsletter to the membership at least every two months,
beginning with a full report of the preceding annual meeting, to be mailed by the first
week of July…….”

The NOU Board of Directors is proposing to amend this sentence so that it will read

“The President shall issue a newsletter at least four times per year.”
 
 

If the amendment passes, Article IV, Section 4, would read:

“The duties of the President shall be to preside impartially at meetings of the corporation
and of the Board of Directors, to nominate members of committees for the approval of the
Board, to call necessary meetings of the Board of Directors, and to perform such other
duties as customarily pertain to this office. The President shall issue a newsletter at
least four times per year.  The President is responsible for seeing that the newsletters
are put into the mail properly and promptly (see Section 11)”

The idea behind this proposed amendment is to save a little money.  It costs NOU about
$100 to print and mail each issue of the newsletter.  We would probably save about
$150 a year.  With fewer issues, there would usually be more pages in an issue, making
the cost of each issue more than $100.

One of the big disadvantages to this idea is that the newsletter is really the only
way we have to keep the membership informed about the activities, etc., of the NOU.
Looking at it with this idea in mind, 6 issues could be preferable.  The wording of
the proposed amendment would allow more than 4 issues if necessary.  This proposed
amendment will be voted upon at the Annual Business meeting May 15.

The amendment does not give any suggestion for months of publication so as to leave a
lot of flexibility, but one suggestion might be January (to request dues), April (to
give information on the spring meeting), July or August (to report on the spring
meeting and to give information on the fall meeting), and November (to report on the
fall meeting and to request dues).  
 
 

Member News

NOU member, Rick Wright, is in the process of moving to Arizona.  Rick is starting
a new business, Aimophila Adventures from which he will be doing guiding, writing,
and editing about birds.  He is a Department Editor at Birding and will be branching
out into guiding and tour services this coming summer, specializing in southeast
Arizona.  His new address is 251 East Rudasill Road, Tucson, AZ 85704, new phone
number is (520)-544-8643, e-mail address remains
<mailto:anzyleduc@hotmail.com>anzyleduc@hotmail.com .  Rick and his wife, Alison,
hope that NOU members traveling in Arizona will give them a call, whether to take
advantage of formal guiding services, or just to get together for a little quick local
birding.
 
 

NOU Items for Sale

     Several NOU-related items will be for sale at the Spring Meeting.

     1.  New for the organization this year will be caps and bucket hats.  Everybody needs
     a cap or hat to keep the sun off the nose.  This will also be a good advertisement for
     NOU.

     2.  Joel Jorgensen’s monograph, An Overview of Shorebird Migration in the Eastern
     Rainwater Basin, Nebraska has just been published.  This book has been accepted by
     the Board of Directors as NOU Occasional Paper #8.  Copies will be available on
     Saturday evening for $7 plus tax.  Or they can be ordered from Joel Jorgensen, 1829
     South St., #28, Blair, NE 68008 for $7 plus $2 for tax and shipping.

     3.  The Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas by Wayne Mollhoff will be $25 at the meeting,
     or can be ordered from Neal Ratzlaff, 536 Brentwood Rd, Omaha, NE 68114 for $29 which
     includes shipping and sales tax.
 
 

An Overview of Shorebird Migration in the Eastern Rainwater Basin, Nebraska by Joel
Jorgensen

     The importance of Joel Jorgensen’s monograph is best stated in the Abstract on page 1
     of the publication.  “The Rainwater Basin (RWB) has received limited attention as an
     important stopover area for migrant shorebirds because of an absence of basic survey
     data.  Here I present the first comprehensive inventory of shorebird migration for
     the eastern Rainwater Basin (eRWB).  These data document the importance of this
     region as a stopover site for migrants and will serve as a baseline for future
     monitoring efforts.”  Later in that same paragraph, Jorgensen writes, “The surveys
     were conducted at a time when over 90% of the RWB wetlands have been destroyed and
     the remaining wetlands are degraded....The dramatic reduction in terms of both
     quantity and diversity of wetland types and the degradation of existing wetlands
     has severely reduced the capacity of the RWB to provide adequate shorebird habitat.
     This reduced capacity has had implications not only locally and regionally, but also
     on international and hemispheric scales.”    

     The publication has 68 pages, 18 maps, and 11 tables.  Thirty-nine species of
     shorebirds are covered.  Jorgensen made his observations during the spring of
     five years—1997-2001.  Fall observations were over 3 years—1998-2000.

     His study area is described in terms of geomorphology, vegetation, ecology, settlement
     and development, contemporary development, and history of observers.  Jorgensen
     describes his methods and water conditions during the time of his observations. 

     The species accounts include distribution, conservation status, eRWB status, taxonomy,
     habitat, and seasonal abundance.

     Following the species accounts, a Discussion section emphasizes the importance of
     studying the eRWB and the area’s impact on the global populations of shorebirds.
     Following the Discussion there is an extensive bibliography, a gazetteer, and county
     maps showing the location of the wetlands Jorgensen studied.

      It is doubtful that the editor of this newsletter is going to do much birding in the
      eRWB, but I found the information as to the relative abundance of each species
      (locally and globally) as well as the dates of occurrence in the eRWB very interesting
      and helpful.  I eagerly await further studies of this area by the author.
 
 

Dues

     If you have not paid your dues for 2004, please send them to treasurer Betty Grenon
     ASAP!!  If you have paid your dues, give the membership blank on the next page to a
     birding friend who is not an NOU member.

County Life Lists for 2003
 

Extinct Birds

     The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently removed the Mariana Mallard and the
     Guam Broadbill from the endangered species list because both species are considered
     extinct.

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Registration for Spring Meeting at Ogallala, May 14-16, 2004.
 
 

Friday dinner……………………………$9.45 x  ________ =_____________

Saturday sack lunch……………………$6.20 x  ________=______________

Saturday dinner………………………$10.70 x ________=______________

Registration fee………………………$5.00  x ________=______________

Total enclosed………………………………________________
 
 

PLEASE INDICATE ANY SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS __________________________________

 _______________________________________
 
 

 Names_____________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip_______________________________________________________________

Phone number _______________________________________________________________
 
 

Make checks payable to NOU and mail with this form before May 4 to:

    Betty Grenon, Treasurer

     409 Childs Road East

     Bellevue, NE 68005
 
 

   _______________________________________________________________________

Please enter my membership in the category checked below:

_______One Active Member…………$15.00                       ______Family Active………$20.00

_______ One Sustaining Member……$25.00                  ______Family Sustaining…$30.00

_______Student Member………………$10.00                      ______Life Member………$250.00
 
 

Name____________________________________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip____________________________________________________________________

Telephone________________________E-Mail___________________________________________
 
 

Make checks payable to Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union and return with this form to:

    Betty Grenon, Treasurer

    1409 Childs Road East,

    Bellevue, NE 68005

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

Vice-President:
Dave Heidt, 1703 Hilltop Drive, Norfolk, NE 68701-2031
Phone: 402-371-3412
daveh(at)northeastcollege. c o m

Secretary:
Mitzi Fox, 2560 Fairgrounds Road, Albion, NE 68620-5200
402-395-2395
mitzi(at)megavision. n e t

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

Editor, Nebraska Bird Review:
Bill Clemente, Department of English, Peru State College, Peru, NE 68421
402-872-2233 (work)
bclemente(at)oakmail.peru. e d u

Librarian:
Mary Lou Pritchard, 6325 O St., Lincoln, NE 68510
402-486-2428

Past Presidents:
Janis Paseka, 1585 Co. Rd. 14 Blvd, Ames, NE 68621
402-727-9229
paseka(at)tvsonline. n e t

Clem Klaphake, 707 Garden Ave., Bellevue, NE 68005
402-292-2276
ckavian(at)aol. c o m

Directors:
Jan Uttecht, Box 823, Stanton, NE 68779 (2004)
402-439-2114

Loren Padelford, 1405 Little John Road, Bellevue, NE 68005 (2005)
402-292-5556
lpdlfrd(at)juno. c o m

Steve Lamphere, 3101 Washington St., Apt. 98, Bellevue, NE 68005 (2006)
402-291-9149

Records Committee:
Mark Brogie, Box 316, Creighton, NE 68729
402-358-5675
mbrogie(at)esu1. o r g

Breeding Bird Atlas and Nest Records Committee:
Wayne Mollhoff, 1817 Boyd St., Ashland, NE 68003
402-944-2243
wmollhoff(at)netscape. n e t

Occurrence Reports:
Ross Silcock, P. 0. Box 57, Tabor, IA 51653
712-629-5865
silcock(at)rosssilcock. c o m

Nebraka Birdline:
Josef Kren
402-721-5487 ext. 6490
800-642-8382 ext. 6490
nebraskabirds@yahoo.com

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

NOU Online Store:  http://www.withoutbricks.com/NOUStore

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union
3745 Garfield
Lincoln, NE 68506