NOU Fall Field Days at Halsey Oct. 8-10
by Janis Paseka
We have some great programs lined up for Halsey. On Friday evening, John Sullivan has agreed to show slides from his recent birding trip to Kenya. Here's your chance to bird a foreign country without leaving Nebraska. Unfortunately, only John gets to add these exotic species to his life list.
On Saturday night, Loren 'Bub' Blake will show us what he has been up to photographically during the past year. He is preparing a program of all new slides, and it promises to be a real treat.
There will also be lots of birding opportunities for those who want to investigate local resident birds or migrants passing through the Sandhills in early October.
The registration form is included with this brief Newsletter. As the form indicates these registrations and payments are to be sent to Sue Amiotte, NOU Treasurer in Chadron, NE. The Registration deadline is October 1.
We hope as many of you who can will join us in Halsey October 8-10.
Waterfowl Reproduction a Success in 1999
by Clem Klaphake
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveys indicate improved habitat has produced a bumper crop of waterfowl this year. Their statistics show the total population of breeding ducks rose 11% overall and 32% over the average for the 1955-98 time period. Some of the bigger increases were Mallards 15%, Northern Pintails 21%, Northern Shovelers 22%, and Green-winged Teal 61%. It won’t be long now and we will be seeing some of these increases as we bird the wetland areas throughout Nebraska.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife attributes these increases to 1) an early warm spring and good
precipitation which created ponds and excellent nesting cover, and 2) improved habitat,
especially wetland restoration efforts. These efforts have often been linked to the
Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Conservation Program, Swampbuster provisions
of the 1996 Farm Bill, provisions in the Clean Water Act and conservation organizations
such as Ducks Unlimited.
by Jan Paseka
Now is your last chance this century to order an NOU anniversary T-shirt. These 100% cotton shirts feature the George Miksch Sutton Burrowing Owl and indicate that this is the 100th anniversary year of the organization. They are available in sizes M, L, XL, and in natural , sage green, or stone-washed blue for $10 each. (We may be able to order other colors, if there is something in particular you would like.)
If you would like to order a shirt, please contact Janis Paseka at 1585 Co. Rd.
14 Blvd, Ames, NE 68621, phone 402-727-9229, e-mail paseka@tvsonline.net. The shirts
can be picked up at the fall meeting in Halsey. If you can’t make it to Halsey, we
can make other arrangements to deliver your shirt to you.
by Robin Harding
N.O.U.'s web site continues to grow although I have not had as much time to work on it as I would like. I encourage everyone to take a look at it and send comments or contributions of materials that you would like to see on the web site to a board member, Lanny or me. The web site address is HTTP://RIP.PHYSICS.UNK.EDU/NOU/
There is also an e-mail discussion list called NeBirds that is devoted to the topic of Nebraska's birds. Any member can send a message to the list and the message is distributed to all subscribers. There have been very many interesting messages on NeBirds. Field trip reports are the most common type of message and many people have contributed some fascinating information and insights into the distribution and behavior or birds in Nebraska.
To join the list just send a message to AUTOSHARE@RIP.PHYSICS.UNK.EDU and
in the body of the message write the words SUBSCRIBE NEBIRDS and then type your
name. Soon after sending that message, you will receive a message welcoming you to the
list and giving you instructions on how to post messages, see who else is on the list,
and much more. Give it a try. I hope you enjoy it.
by Clem Klaphake
On August 2nd Joel Jorgenson reported seeing two Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at
the North Harvard Basin in Clay County. They were close to some 200 puddle ducks
(mostly Mallards and Blue-winged Teal). George and Bev Canterbury saw these two ducks
again on August 3rd, but they apparently didn't stick around too much longer. I
don't remember hearing of any other sightings of those two ducks. A non-Nebraska
sighting of significance was two Arctic Terns at Saylorville Reservoir close to Des
Moines, Iowa. Steve Dinsmore sent these sightings in to the Iowa birdline on August
18th and 19th.
* Administration building rooms are assigned on a first come, first served basis.
** Administration building linens are furnished. LINENS ARE NOT FURNISHED IN THE
CABINS.
*** Sack lunches are being provided for persons wishing to take longer field trips
such as the Valentine Refuge. Just let us know which you prefer.
NOTE TO PARENTS: The Nebraska 4-H Camp policy allows children 5 years of age and under to attend free. All persons older than 5 years of age are required to pay full fees for meals and lodging.