Date: 1/13/25 2:00 pm From: Donna and Bruce Walgren via groups.io <Piranga...> Subject: [NEBirds] Crawford CBC
Crawford Christmas Bird Count - History and Review for 2024
This year is the 27th time that this count has been conducted. The count
traces its beginnings to 1973 when Dick and Dorothy Roche of Chadron started
it. They did the count for 6 years between 1973 and 1979, when
circumstances caused them to stop. Donna and I restarted it in 2000. In
some of those early years, it was just the two of us attempting to count the
entire circle. Other years when we couldn't get down from Casper, other
folks picked it up and counted. There have been varying degrees of the
number of observers over the years, and we credit the birders from the North
Platte River Valley (Scottsbluff, Gering, and Mitchell) for being a mainstay
in keeping the count going. Some years we did attract birders from further
east, but it is quite a bit to ask of someone to drive several hundred miles
to participate. This year we had volunteers again from the Platte River
Valley, and also from Crawford, O'Neill, Rapid City, and Casper - 9 people
in total. Count Day (January 3, 2024) started at 16 degrees, light wind,
cloudy with some fog, and ended at 21 degrees, light wind, cloudy with heavy
fog, and generally yucky (to quote Kathy DeLara) weather. The lack of
precipitation from late summer up to the date of the count resulting in
access to all roads in the circle, but a lack of foraging habitat for some
of the usual winter birds. Nevertheless, we did tally 1,700 individual
birds representing 34 species.
High Counts: American Kestrel and Western Meadowlark
Notable Sightings Worth Discussion: Sharp-tailed Grouse were counted for the
first time since 2015.
Wild Turkey numbers have increased for the last two years after being below
100 from 2014 to 2021.
The 10 Red-tailed Hawks are the most seen since 2010.
Mourning Doves were seen for the sixth time.
Black-billed Magpie numbers are up in double digits for the first time since
2006.
Horned Lark numbers are the highest since 2015.
American Robin numbers are low but vary quite a bit from 0 to a whopping 313
in 1976!
Thanks to all that participated and a special thanks to Kathy DeLara who
contacted the birders in Western Nebraska.
Date: 1/12/25 6:17 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Swan search
Nebraska birders,
My memory is not always reliable, but I do not have a check mark at Tundra
Swan on my life list. Boni has been having good luck finding them near
North Platte recently. You may have seen her excellent photos. I asked if
she could help me find one this weekend and she agreed. Checking the
weather forecast is always a high priority when you’re planning a birding
trip. Sunday looked a bit better so that was the plan. It was cold and
windy but that was better than freezing drizzle.
We started at a pond northwest of North Platte where Boni had seen some
Tundra Swans a few days ago. There were at least 40 swans, more than a
hundred Canada and Cackling Geese, Common Goldeneyes, Ring-necked Ducks, a
Common Merganser, Mallards and Redheads. We searched for about thirty
minutes but could not find a Tundra Swan. Many of the swans had their
heads tucked under a wing in sleep mode. As we left the spot, we saw a
Rough-legged Hawk.
Boni drove us to the next pond just a bit southwest and found two swans,
Mallards, Green-winged Teal and Ring-necked Ducks. Neither of the swans
were Tundras so we moved on. Along the way to the next pond, we saw a
beautiful Ferruginous Hawk and an American Kestrel. A few miles to the
west, we stopped at the next pond with swans and Canada Geese. There were
at least seventy swans on this pond. Many of them were in sleep mode and
despite rigorous searching, we could not find a Tundra. We did see a
Northern Harrier as we were leaving.
We went a few more miles west and then south on Hershey Road. We saw
another Rough-legged Hawk, a couple more American Kestrels, a few
Red-winged Blackbirds and a large flock of meadowlarks. We turned east
between the rivers to another large flock of swans but struck out again.
We went a few more miles east and found a flock of about 35 swans. Still
no luck.
Boni and I continued to the southeast and found a Northern Shrike. Then in
a feedlot, we saw a few hundred Great-tailed Grackles, several hundred
Red-winged Blackbirds, and two Brewer’s Blackbirds. A new county bird for
me. The blackbirds put on quite a show when they all took flight, swirled
around and landed again. Also in that area between the rivers, we saw a
couple male Northern Harriers, a Prairie Falcon, an adult Bald Eagle and a
couple American Crows.
In the afternoon, we revisited the ponds and fields where we had seen
Trumpeter Swans. We still could not find a Tundra Swan. The cold north
wind was discouraging.
As we drove along highway 30 in the northeast part of North Platte, we
counted eight Wilson’s Snipe in the wet ditch near Wilson Ave. An
appropriate location to find snipes. Our last stop was the sewage lagoon,
where we saw a lot of waterfowl but nothing new for the day. It was a good
day to be out birding with a friend. I’ll need to go back soon to make
another attempt at finding Tundra Swans.
All of the birds that we saw will be on ebird.
Date: 1/12/25 1:38 pm From: Donna and Bruce Walgren via groups.io <Piranga...> Subject: [NEBirds] Harrison CBC
Harrison Christmas Bird Count Review for 2024
The Harrison CBC was conducted January 2, 2025. The day was cold, cloudy,
but mostly windless making for a pleasant day out in the field. The drought
was evident by the lack of snow (except for some in the ditches and under
the ponderosas) and the dry vegetation. This count was first done in 2004
and has been cancelled 3 times due to inclement weather, so we appreciated
the nice weather. This was the 17th time this count has been conducted.
With seven observers in the field, the job of counting the circle was
completed shortly after noon. 661 (a bit over the average of 603)
individual birds representing 37 species (tying the high from 2 previous
years) were tallied.
New Count Species: Winter Wren
High Counts: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Eurasian
Collared-Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Black-billed Magpie, White-breasted
Nuthatch, Lapland Longspur, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. We particularly
enjoyed our Sharp-tailed Grouse encounter. We initially saw seven grouse
roosting in the tops of juniper trees in a shelterbelt. As we slowly drove
along the row we ended up counting 46 birds!
Low Counts: Wild Turkey - only one bird seen, the first since 2017 - they
used to be numerous. House Finch, American Goldfinch and House Sparrows
were hard to find-partially because there weren't any people feeding birds
in town that we could find. No Common Redpoll or Pine Siskin were found
this year.
Notable Sightings: A Belted Kingfisher was found for just the 2nd time.
Common Ravens were found for the 2nd year in a row. We travel the road
between Casper, WY and Hay Springs, NE often enough that we've noticed
through the years that we have been seeing more Ravens along the route.
We really appreciate the interest and the time the volunteers continue to
have in this count - Thank You!
Date: 1/8/25 6:07 pm From: Mary Clausen via groups.io <mkclausen...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] gynandromorph cardinal
Thanks to Phil Swanson for allowing me to spend a couple hours at his place
today to photograph this unusual bird.
Mary Clausen
La Vista, NE
[image: image.png]
On Tue, Jan 7, 2025 at 10:47 PM Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
>
> I had posted my shots from Sunday and Phil replied on Facebook today
> (1/7/25) with this amazing picture.
>
> "The bird is still here. Anyone is welcome to come and see it."
>
> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>
>
> --
> Paul L. Pearson, PhD
> Omaha, NE
>
>
>
Date: 1/7/25 8:47 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] gynandromorph cardinal
I had posted my shots from Sunday and Phil replied on Facebook today (1/7/25) with this amazing picture."The bird is still here. Anyone is welcome to come and see it."Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Date: 1/7/25 7:10 pm From: Ross Silcock via groups.io <silcock...> Subject: [NEBirds] gynandromorph cardinal
Phil Swanson asked me t forward the following videos regarding a "both-sex" Northern Cardinal.
I have a half male/ half female Cardinal that has been showing up in my yard for the last few weeks. The technical term for this bird is gynandromorph and it is very rare. I have links to my pond cameras below. One camera faces west and one faces east and they record at the same time. So, if you watch both videos you will see the female side in one and the male side in the other. Please excuse the small amount of blurriness on one of the videos. The birds splashed some water on the lens.
Phil Swanson
Papillion
Date: 1/7/25 6:41 am From: Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
I think this is a better picture. Thank you to all who are helping me confirm this.
Laurel
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura...>
Sent: Tuesday, January 7, 2025 8:29 AM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.
You're probably right. It honestly didn't match the yellow-bellied or red-naped really well, I finally came to the marginal conclusion of red-naped. I will try and get a closer look at it when I get home from work. I only saw it twice yesterday and managed to snap very low quality photos, mostly because it hung around on the back side of the feeder. Sneaky sucker!
Laurel
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...>
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 3:24 PM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.
It's difficult to tell definitively from these photos, but I think Yellow-bellied sapsucker is much more likely. Males will have a red crown and a red throat. In the second photo, it appears that the black stripe on the "jawline" is complete. In red-naped sapsuckers, this will be broken with the red leaking in. Nice find anyway, sapsuckers are great!
Tobin Brown
Lancaster county
On Mon, Jan 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM Badura, Laurel via groups.io<http://groups.io/> <laurel_badura...><mailto:<fws.gov...>> wrote:
I have had quite a few woodpeckers at my feeders yesterday and today including:
Date: 1/7/25 6:29 am From: Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
You're probably right. It honestly didn't match the yellow-bellied or red-naped really well, I finally came to the marginal conclusion of red-naped. I will try and get a closer look at it when I get home from work. I only saw it twice yesterday and managed to snap very low quality photos, mostly because it hung around on the back side of the feeder. Sneaky sucker!
Laurel
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...>
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 3:24 PM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.
It's difficult to tell definitively from these photos, but I think Yellow-bellied sapsucker is much more likely. Males will have a red crown and a red throat. In the second photo, it appears that the black stripe on the "jawline" is complete. In red-naped sapsuckers, this will be broken with the red leaking in. Nice find anyway, sapsuckers are great!
Tobin Brown
Lancaster county
On Mon, Jan 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM Badura, Laurel via groups.io<http://groups.io/> <laurel_badura...><mailto:<fws.gov...>> wrote:
I have had quite a few woodpeckers at my feeders yesterday and today including:
Date: 1/6/25 1:24 pm From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Sapsucker
It's difficult to tell definitively from these photos, but I think
Yellow-bellied sapsucker is much more likely. Males will have a red crown
and a red throat. In the second photo, it appears that the black stripe on
the "jawline" is complete. In red-naped sapsuckers, this will be broken
with the red leaking in. Nice find anyway, sapsuckers are great!
Tobin Brown
Lancaster county
On Mon, Jan 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura=
<fws.gov...> wrote:
> I have had quite a few woodpeckers at my feeders yesterday and today
> including:
>
> Red-naped woodpecker
> Downy woodpecker
> Hairy woodpecker
> Red-bellied woodpecker
>
> Attached is the photo of the red-naped. At least I think it is. It’s been
> on the back side of the feeder so I can’t get a good look at it.
>
> Laurel Badura
> Hall County
>
>
> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> >
>
>
Date: 1/6/25 9:56 am From: Jorgensen, Joel via groups.io <Joel.Jorgensen...> Subject: [NEBirds] Lower Platte River CBC
The 8th edition of the Lower Platte River CBC was held Friday, 3 January. It was cloudy with temps in the upper 20s, but winds were light. It was the last decent weather day before real winter hit. We tallied 81 species, which ties the record high achieved last year. There was goodly amounts of open water still present and this translated into high numbers and an excellent diversity of waterfowl. We tied the previous high despite having a number of misses. Below is the rundown.
New Count Species: Wood Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle and Eastern Towhee.
Big Misses: Great Horned Owl and Red-breasted Nuthatch (just not their year around here). Also missed Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Pine Siskin and Fox Sparrow.
High Counts (previous high in parentheses): 952 Cackling Goose (544 in 2021), 13 Trumpeter Swans (4 in 2021), 34 American Wigeon (19 in 2023), 73 Canvasback (9 in 2023), 9 Redhead (6 in multiple years), 57 Ring-necked Ducks (18 in 2021), 435 Common Mergansers (153 in 2023), 109 Ruddy Ducks (80 in 2023), 27 Ring-billed Gulls (7 in 2023), 235 Horned Larks (183 in 2017), 2470 European Starlings (1527 in 2021), 3520 Red-winged Blackbirds (346 in 2023), 1000 Brown-headed Cowbirds (12 in 2021), and 131 House Finches (98 in 2023).
Notable low counts: The 46 Black-capped Chickadees was markedly lower than last year's record tally of 119, but close to the record low of 45 in 2017. Only a single White-throated Sparrow was found.
Other notes: Pileated Woodpecker was recorded for the third count in a row and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was found after a four year absence. The 23 Eastern Bluebirds was the most recorded in five years.
Thanks to the 11 participants who took part. See you next year.
Joel
___________________________________________________
Joel Jorgensen | Nongame Bird Program Manager
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
2200 N 33rd St. | Lincoln, NE 68503
<joel.jorgensen...><mailto:<joel.jorgensen...> | 402-471-5440
Date: 1/5/25 9:33 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] Eurasian Wigeon. NOT SEEN
A considerable amount of ice has formed along the edges of Lake Ogallala. Especially in the east arm the farther east, you go the more frozen it is. A good number of the birds on our congregating on the north side of the east portion of the lake still consider considerable amount of activity. 16 eagle today couple of green wing teal and some shoveler all the rest were pretty common to yesterday. It was fun, but not nearly as fun as finding the bird itself. It is quite cold today, although visibility is much better than yesterday. Still overcast but not quite as much haze/fog about 4 inches of snow. I am headed back to pick up my wife In Council Bluffs, and heading for my warm house in Sioux City. Thanks for all of those of you. Who gave me encouragement or gave me ideas as to where to look. God bless. Be safe and drive safely.
*Paul O. Roisen* *Woodbury County, IA* *Mobile 712-301-2817*
Date: 1/4/25 5:08 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] Eurasian Wigeon-Lake Ogallala NOT seen.
Greeting all from Ogallala NE; The hunt for the Eurasian Wigeon which has been seen rather regularly lately was not seen by me today. The temps were brutal with a very brisk wind. Ice formed on the windshield frequently but the view out the side window was acceptable until the fingers in my gloves began to complain (persistently). Most of the lake was not easy to view as the fog covered most of the lake at times. Best views were along Cedar Pt Drive between the gate and the east end of the road. Lots of birds out and about. Added all three of the scoters to my Keith list. Large numbers of Gads, AMWigeons, AmCoots and good numbers of many other species. The fog, wind, and freezing drizzle make for difficult and inconsistent viewing. Roads were icy with a number of accidents and a truck on its side slowed some drivers down but not others so it came as no surprise that I came upon at two vehicles who had raced by me and were now in the ditch with one of them tangle in the cables in the median. Will try again tomorrow AM for the EUWI. It would be a state bird. Sure hope the fog lifts so I can get a photo of something that looks like the bird in question and not some dark-shaped apparition surrounded by white. Today's checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S208042480 WOW I happened to look at my Keith County totals, Just in case I had added more than the scoters and was schoked to see I had added 14 not three. Surprising what happens when you go and bird a county you have not been in much at all since adding a Northern Shrike December 15th of 2021.
Hope the weather clears a little tomorrow so I can pick up my wife in Council Bluffs and head home to Sioux City,
Be Safe and God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen* *Woodbury County, IA* *Mobile 712-301-2817* *Paul O. Roisen* *Woodbury County, IA* *Mobile 712-301-2817*
Date: 1/3/25 3:56 pm From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Brant and odd songbirds - Kearney
Tacking onto the odd late birds thread, I found a Rock Wren today at Lake
Minatare in Scotts Bluff county! According to the birds of Nebraska
website, they are known to winter, but the only records of that are at Lake
McConaughy.
https://birds.outdoornebraska.gov/rock-wren/
NIce find with the Brant, Jacob! I hope to track it down tomorrow on my way
back home.
- Tobin Brown
Lancaster County
On Fri, Jan 3, 2025 at 11:44 AM Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2=
<unk.edu...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> Caroline and I celebrated the New Year by taking our dog out for a hike at
> Cottonmill. Checking Jonathan Nikkila's sparrow spot paid off, as we had
> one Fox Sparrow call back and had two Field Sparrows pop up in front of us.
> We had no Field Sparrows at this location during the CBC.
>
>
>
> We later headed up to the nice prairies of northwest Buffalo / northeast
> Dawson counties, where we had a Ferruginous Hawk on the Dawson side of the
> county line. Upon our return, we found a massive flock of geese west of
> Kearney and got several great glimpses of the Brant flying with the group
> and foraging in the cornfield. I'm hoping the Brant shows up at Cottonmill
> or Stoneridge again, where the views are much less distant.
>
>
>
> Yesterday, January 2, I heard an odd call from the bushes next to the
> Bruner Hall of Sciences entrance here on UNK’s campus. I was shocked when a
> warbler flew in briefly before retreating. I played a tape of
> Orange-crowned Warbler call, and thankfully it popped out again briefly,
> affording great views of a gray-headed individual. Today, in the same
> bushes, I was equally surprised to see another small flitty bird. I didn’t
> have my binoculars, but thanks to same pishing, I was able to get within 8
> feet of it to see that it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I tried to move
> around to get a better view, but the bird quickly retreated back into the
> cedars.
>
>
>
> Neither the warbler nor the kinglet seem to be staying in these bushes,
> but they both might be utilizing the bushes at some point during the day as
> they forage around the area. According to Robin Harding, there is a heat
> exhaust on this side of the building, and that may create a nice
> microclimate for these birds to use. I’ll be curious to see if the bushes
> get even more visitors in the coming cold snap.
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
>
>
> JC
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------
>
> *Jacob C. Cooper, PhD (he/him)*
>
> https://jacobccooper.github.io/ >
>
>
> *Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska at Kearney*
>
> Bruner Hall of Sciences, Room 321
>
> 2401 11th Avenue
> Kearney, NE 68849-1130
>
>
>
> *Research Associate, Division of Birds*
>
> Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum
>
> 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive
>
> Chicago, IL 60605
>
>
>
> *Citizen of the Cherokee Nation*
>
>
>
Date: 1/3/25 1:55 pm From: Jan Johnson via groups.io <janbirder...> Subject: [NEBirds] Harris’s Sparrows
Not a special report, but a high number of them in a group for this time of year. I’ve had three all fall and into winter. Yesterday and today I have 8 individuals feeding under and on the feeders. Other winters I hope one or two stay in the yard. I also have two White-crowned Sparrows.
Date: 1/3/25 9:45 am From: Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> Subject: [NEBirds] Brant and odd songbirds - Kearney
Hi all,
Caroline and I celebrated the New Year by taking our dog out for a hike at Cottonmill. Checking Jonathan Nikkila's sparrow spot paid off, as we had one Fox Sparrow call back and had two Field Sparrows pop up in front of us. We had no Field Sparrows at this location during the CBC.
We later headed up to the nice prairies of northwest Buffalo / northeast Dawson counties, where we had a Ferruginous Hawk on the Dawson side of the county line. Upon our return, we found a massive flock of geese west of Kearney and got several great glimpses of the Brant flying with the group and foraging in the cornfield. I'm hoping the Brant shows up at Cottonmill or Stoneridge again, where the views are much less distant.
Yesterday, January 2, I heard an odd call from the bushes next to the Bruner Hall of Sciences entrance here on UNKs campus. I was shocked when a warbler flew in briefly before retreating. I played a tape of Orange-crowned Warbler call, and thankfully it popped out again briefly, affording great views of a gray-headed individual. Today, in the same bushes, I was equally surprised to see another small flitty bird. I didnt have my binoculars, but thanks to same pishing, I was able to get within 8 feet of it to see that it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I tried to move around to get a better view, but the bird quickly retreated back into the cedars.
Neither the warbler nor the kinglet seem to be staying in these bushes, but they both might be utilizing the bushes at some point during the day as they forage around the area. According to Robin Harding, there is a heat exhaust on this side of the building, and that may create a nice microclimate for these birds to use. Ill be curious to see if the bushes get even more visitors in the coming cold snap.
Date: 1/2/25 6:57 pm From: Jason Thiele via groups.io <jasonthiele...> Subject: [NEBirds] Beaver Valley CBC results
The Beaver Valley Christmas Bird Count (near Petersburg) was held on December 30. A light, intermittent rain started mid-morning and developed into a steady rain later in the morning. With very little bird activity in the afternoon and snow headed our way, all counters were on their way home by 2:30 p.m. Despite challenging conditions and a short day, we managed to find 41 species. The list is below with a few comments.
Canada Goose 5
Mallard 105 (well below typical numbers, but we usually get our best count right around sunset as ducks come to roost)
Northern Pintail 1 (had not been recorded on this count since 1996)
Ring-necked Duck 3 (only the 2nd time recorded; previous time in 1998)
Northern Bobwhite 2
Ring-necked Pheasant 3
Greater Prairie-Chicken 13
Wild Turkey 12
Rock Pigeon 271 (new high count; previous record was 124 in 2022)
Eurasian Collared-Dove 61
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 17
Rough-legged Hawk 2
Great Horned Owl 7
Red-headed Woodpecker 1 (last recorded in 2018)
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 8
American Kestrel 4
Northern Shrike 4 (tied for high count with 1993 and 1994)
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 45 (has been recorded every year)
Black-capped Chickadee 1 (a consistently hard-to-find bird in this circle in recent years; however, counts of a few dozen were common on this CBC in the '80s and '90s)
Horned Lark 120
White-breasted Nuthatch 7 (has been recorded every year)
European Starling 693
Eastern Bluebird 6 (only the 4th time recorded)
American Robin 27
Cedar Waxwing 61
House Sparrow 137 (has been recorded every year)
American Goldfinch 29
American Tree Sparrow 123 (has been recorded every year)
Dark-eyed Junco 70
Harris's Sparrow 5
Western Meadowlark 112 (new high count; previous record was 45 in 2020)
Red-winged Blackbird 17
Northern Cardinal 8
Notable misses:
Trumpeter Swan - perhaps the biggest disappointment; this species has been recorded every year on count day since this circle was revived in 2018 (we did get it as a count week species)
Eastern Screech-Owl
Prairie Falcon - this species and/or Merlin have been fairly reliable on this count in recent years
Merlin
Red-breasted Nuthatch - we usually get this one in the Petersburg park, but it was raining hard by the time it got checked
House Finch - first time missed since count was revived in 2018; rain and very few filled feeders
Song Sparrow
other blackbird spp. besides Red-winged Blackbird
Thanks to those who helped! I wish everyone great birding in 2025!
Date: 1/2/25 6:03 pm From: Loren Padelford via groups.io <padelfordl...> Subject: [NEBirds] LaPlatte Bottoms, Sarpy County
This afternoon we stopped at LaPlatte Bottoms and found 25 trumpeter swans. As we were preparing to leave we saw small birds flying across the road. We determined they were horned larks. The more we looked the more we saw. Soon we were seeing lapland longspurs in the flock. There were hundreds of birds in a mixed flock of horned larks and lapland longspurs. We left the birds at 4:35.
Offutt base lake was about 50% open and there were about 30 common mergansers on the water.
Loren and Babs Padelford
Bellevue, NE
<padelfordl...>
We held the Scottsbluff CBC on December 14th. We had beautiful weather, up to 55 degrees, sunny and not much wind. Birding seemed kind of slow, maybe because the weather was so nice. Water birds were down some. There was still a lot of water open and they weren't concentrated on the ponds in the at the water treatment plants like they are most years. We only had one all time high, that was Western Meadowlarks at 233, previous high was 223. We had pretty high numbers of Red-tailed Hawks and Kestrels but they vary quite a bit each year. Kathy DeLaraMitchell, NE
Scottsbluff CBC December 14, 2024 6 participants in the field and 3 feeder watchers
Total: 62 species
Snow Goose 34 Greater White-fronted Goose 2 Cackling Goose 4148 high Canada Goose 3759 low Wood Duck 4 Northern Shoveler 28 Gadwall 17 American Wigeon 575 Mallard 1488 low Northern Pintail 5 Green-wing Teal 6 Canvasback 2 Redhead 16 Ring-necked Ducks 64 Lesser Scaup 8 Bufflehead 6 Common Goldeneye 115 Hooded Merganser 1 Wild Turkey 42 Ring-necked Pheasant 9 Rock Pigeon 551 Eurasian Collared-dove 487 White-winged Dove 1 rare but has been in Gering for months American Coot 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 4 Red-tailed Hawk 36 high Rough-legged Hawk 4 Great-horned Owl 8 high Belted Kingfisher 6 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 ( in Carter Canyon which is unusual) Downy Woodpecker 11 Hairy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 30 American Kestrel 30 high Prairie Falcon 4 high Northern Shrike 2 Blue Jay 52 Black-billed Magpie 3 American Crow 5 Black-capped Chickadee 28 Horned Lark 111 Pygmy Nuthatch 14 Red-breasted Nuthatch 16 Marsh Wren 1 European Starling 1180 Townsend’s Solitaire 16 American Robin 146 low House Sparrow 316 House Finch 59 low American Goldfinch 82 low American Tree Sparrow 68 Dark-eyed Junco 168 White-crowned Sparrow 135 Song Sparrow 5 Western Meadowlark 233, all time high, previous was 223 Red-winged Blackbird 24 Northern Cardinal 2
Misses , several which were see just outside of the count week. Great Blue Heron Killdeer Ferruginous Hawk Mourning Dove White-breasted Nuthatch Cedar Waxwing Red Crossbills Common Grackle
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Date: 12/30/24 7:59 am From: Ann Johnson via groups.io <aj...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] It’s that time of year!
I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding on using the website to renew your membership. You can renew online using either electronic payment or mailing a check and this is really the preferable way to do it since it keeps things more accurate and makes the treasurer’s job easier. You will be given the mailing address when you have completed the form and in a notification email. There is no need to print anything. Just make a note in the memo area of the check that it is for NOU membership dues, so the treasurer isn’t guessing.
Ann Johnson
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> On Behalf Of Gordon Warrick via groups.io
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2024 9:30 AM
To: <nebirds...>
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] It’s that time of year!
Still don't have a printer, but if you send me your address again, I will mail you a check. Thanks.
On Wednesday, December 25, 2024, 07:50:26 PM CST, Jan Johnson via groups.io <janbirder...> <mailto:<janbirder...> > wrote:
Memberships in NOU are from January 1st thru December 31st of each year. And since January 1st is fast approaching it’s time to think about renewing your membership or becoming a new member. You can go to our webpage noubirds.org and join there using your PayPal account or print out the membership form and mail it to me with your check made out to NOU.
Don’t delay or you may miss out on some important news!
Date: 12/30/24 7:30 am From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] It’s that time of year!
Still don't have a printer, but if you send me your address again, I will mail you a check. Thanks.
On Wednesday, December 25, 2024, 07:50:26 PM CST, Jan Johnson via groups.io <janbirder...> wrote:
Memberships in NOU are from January 1st thru December 31st of each year. And since January 1st is fast approaching it’s time to think about renewing your membership or becoming a new member. You can go to our webpage noubirds.org and join there using your PayPal account or print out the membership form and mail it to me with your check made out to NOU.
Don’t delay or you may miss out on some important news!
Calamus CBC took place yesterday (12/28/2024).
Five participants were able to find 57 species (thank you again to those who participated).
biggest oddities were a) virtually no wind for most of the day b) neither American Crow nor American Robin came close to four-digit numbers c) only one Downy Woodpecker (at least can still say it has been found every year of the 37-year history of the Calamus count)
Date: 12/25/24 5:50 pm From: Jan Johnson via groups.io <janbirder...> Subject: [NEBirds] It’s that time of year!
Memberships in NOU are from January 1st thru December 31st of each year. And since January 1st is fast approaching it’s time to think about renewing your membership or becoming a new member. You can go to our webpage noubirds.org and join there using your PayPal account or print out the membership form and mail it to me with your check made out to NOU.
Don’t delay or you may miss out on some important news!
Date: 12/24/24 8:36 am From: Gubanyi,Joe via groups.io <Joe.Gubanyi...> Subject: [NEBirds] Seward Branched Oak Lake CBC preliminary results - 88 species!
The Seward Branched Oak Lake CBC was held Saturday, December 21 after being postponed a week because of weather. Most of the data is in and we are at 88 species which ties the record for most species set in 1998. Prior to this year, we have only had three counts with more than 80 species. Surprisingly, given that there was not much open water, we ended up with 19 waterfowl species which is the main reason our count total was high. I will list a few highlights below.
Trumpeter Swan - only seen on 4 prior counts; 5 were seen this year at 2 locations
Greater Scaup only seen on one prior count
Bonapartes Gull - only seen on 2 prior counts
Thayers Gull - only seen on 2 prior counts
Red-headed Woodpecker only seen twice in last 10 years; 11 seen at 2 locations this year which is a new high; previous high was 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - only seen on 5 prior counts, all single birds same as this year
Given the record high number of species, there were not many misses. Two misses are listed below.
Great Blue Heron has been seen 6 of last 7 years
Carolina Wren has not been missed on a count in the last 12 years
I will send out a final report when all the data is in and compiled. Thanks to those who helped with the count.
Joe Gubanyi
Date: 12/23/24 4:42 pm From: Jon Strong via groups.io <jon.strong...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Cottonmill Lake
Robin, you might not remember me, but you and Lanny really helped me 25 years or so ago when I was actively birding in Nebraska. I always enjoyed your posts and comments on our listserv. AND I still enjoy your posts on birding!Jon StrongOmaha, NE
On Monday, December 23, 2024 at 04:42:10 PM CST, Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
December 23, I went to Cottonmill Park near Kearney to look for the Brant. There were not many geese present when I arrived, a little before 10:00am. I drove slowly and stopped a few times to look at the geese. Then I walked a bit. As I walked, I saw two large flocks of geese fly in and land on the water, mostly at the north end of the lake. I looked and looked more and looked again just to make sure, but I couldn’t find the Brant. I did see one Greater White-fronted Goose, one Snow Goose (blue morph), about fifty Cackling Geese, at least 300 Canada Geese, about eight Mallards and two Song Sparrows. I decided to leave when a guy began to put a small boat on the lake.
Early afternoon, I stopped in the Kearney cemetery to visit my late husband, Lanny. While I was there, I heard a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I got a quick glimpse of a Brown Creeper. I also heard an unfamiliar raptor. I tracked it down, and saw an adult Cooper’s Hawk. I listened to the hawk calls on my phone to confirm.
Date: 12/23/24 4:04 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Cottonmill Lake
I hope that is an easy promise to keep. Always nice to hear of Kearney and Cottonmill; so many good memories there.
On Monday, December 23, 2024, 04:42:10 PM CST, Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
December 23, I went to Cottonmill Park near Kearney to look for the Brant. There were not many geese present when I arrived, a little before 10:00am. I drove slowly and stopped a few times to look at the geese. Then I walked a bit. As I walked, I saw two large flocks of geese fly in and land on the water, mostly at the north end of the lake. I looked and looked more and looked again just to make sure, but I couldn’t find the Brant. I did see one Greater White-fronted Goose, one Snow Goose (blue morph), about fifty Cackling Geese, at least 300 Canada Geese, about eight Mallards and two Song Sparrows. I decided to leave when a guy began to put a small boat on the lake.
Early afternoon, I stopped in the Kearney cemetery to visit my late husband, Lanny. While I was there, I heard a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I got a quick glimpse of a Brown Creeper. I also heard an unfamiliar raptor. I tracked it down, and saw an adult Cooper’s Hawk. I listened to the hawk calls on my phone to confirm.
Date: 12/23/24 2:42 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Cottonmill Lake
Nebraska birders,
December 23, I went to Cottonmill Park near Kearney to look for the Brant.
There were not many geese present when I arrived, a little before 10:00am.
I drove slowly and stopped a few times to look at the geese. Then I walked
a bit. As I walked, I saw two large flocks of geese fly in and land on the
water, mostly at the north end of the lake. I looked and looked more and
looked again just to make sure, but I couldn’t find the Brant. I did see
one Greater White-fronted Goose, one Snow Goose (blue morph), about fifty
Cackling Geese, at least 300 Canada Geese, about eight Mallards and two
Song Sparrows. I decided to leave when a guy began to put a small boat on
the lake.
Early afternoon, I stopped in the Kearney cemetery to visit my late
husband, Lanny. While I was there, I heard a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I
got a quick glimpse of a Brown Creeper. I also heard an unfamiliar
raptor. I tracked it down, and saw an adult Cooper’s Hawk. I listened to
the hawk calls on my phone to confirm.
Date: 12/22/24 6:31 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Ames CBC
Sounds like a great count.
Best I could do yesterday was a Roadrunner
Headed to OKLAHOMA today to build my yearly list. There for two weeks.
Don and Shirley
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, 8:08 PM, Don & Janis Paseka via groups.io <paseka76...> wrote:
The 19th Ames CBC was done on Wednesday December 18th. By the numbers,
it was a fairly typical count with 63 species and 9,112 individuals,
but many of the usual species were hard to find or absent. The
highlight was definitely the first Red-shouldered Hawk which was found
at the Fremont State Lakes.
Fifteen species of waterfowl were observed which is three more than
the previous high number. Ring-necked Duck and Common Merganser set
new high counts, while Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead
and Hooded Merganser numbers tied with previous high counts.
Bald Eagle and American Kestrel set new high counts of 98 and 15
respectively. Singles of Short-eared Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker and
Pileated Woodpecker tied with previous high counts as did the three
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
Notable misses were: Northern Bobwhite, Red-breasted Nuthatch,
Kinglets, Longspurs, Yellow-rumps, and any sparrows other than Tree,
Harris's and a single Song Sparrow.
If anyone would like a full list of species and numbers, I would be
glad to share them.
My thanks goes out to all the participants and the landowners who
allow us access to their property.
Date: 12/22/24 6:25 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Couch's Kingbird
Thanks for your report.I really enjoy them.Headed to OKC today. There for two weeks. Hope to my yearly list with eastern birds.
Don Maas
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, 6:55 PM, Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
I traveled to North Platte on the morning of December 21 with hopes of finding the Couch’s Kingbird. The weather was decent, cold but sunny. I wasn’t in a big hurry since I was meeting Bonnie there around 11:30. When I arrived at the Nelson home, I was greeted by Christine. Her husband Bob was in their yard with Thane and Phil looking for the kingbird. It had been seen earlier in the morning.
We all wandered around their yard and the neighbor’s looking and hoping to see the bird. Randy, Paul and Bonnie arrived to help with the search. We were excited when we saw a yellowish kingbird fly by and disappear behind trees. It took forever to relocate it but finally Paul spotted it. Naturally, the sunlight was behind it so the view was not good. We watched it do its fly-catching maneuvers then it finally perched in a place with better lighting. We all watched it for probably thirty minutes.
The yellow breast and belly seemed brighter than a Western Kingbird and it extended up higher on its chest than it does on a Western Kingbird. There was more white on its throat. The tip of its tail was slightly notched. When I got a good look at its face, I could see the dark ear patch. It looked a bit like a mask. I couldn’t tell for sure if its back was greenish or grayish but I’m leaning towards greenish. I did not hear it make any sounds but others did.
I feel confident that it is either a Couch’s or Tropical Kingbird. I’m grateful to those who heard it and recorded it. The group effort definitely identified it as a Couch’s Kingbird. Personally, I think that I will count it on my lists with only a little hesitation.
Before heading back home, some of us stopped at the North Platte sewage lagoon. We found the Long-tailed Duck and Barrow’s Goldeneye along with many other ducks and geese. My personal tally is one life bird and two Lincoln County birds. It was great to bird with friends on this wonderful day!
Norfolk CBC occurred today. Hopefully, we might still pull a few species for count week, but here are today's results (yes, they are in an old order not the new order):
1 Greater White-fronted Goose
31 Snow Goose
2 Ross's Goose
26 Cackling Goose
2102 Canada Goose
*1 Wood Duck*
3 Gadwall
136 Mallard
1 Northern Shoveler
1 Redhead
11 Ring-necked Duck
2 Lesser Scaup
18 Common Goldeneye
6 Common Merganser
9 Ring-necked Pheasant
114 Wild Turkey
15 Northern Bobwhite
*4 Double-crested Cormorant*
1 Great Blue Heron
19 Bald Eagle
2 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Cooper's Hawk
34 Red-tailed Hawk
2 Rough-legged Hawk
10 American Kestrel
1 Merlin
285 Rock Pigeon
197 Eurasian Collared-Dove
3 Eastern Screech-owl
6 Great Horned Owl
3 Barred Owl
3 Belted Kingfisher
*1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker*
11 Red-bellied Woodpecker
9 Downy Woodpecker
7 Hairy Woodpecker
25 Northern Flicker
1 Northern Shrike
18 Blue Jay
*2 Black-billed Magpie*
51 American Crow
41 Horned Lark
24 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
38 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
8 Golden-crowned Kinglet
*1 Brown Thrasher*
11 American Robin
2880 European Starling
241 American Tree Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
2 Harris's Sparrow
132 Dark-eyed Junco
10 Lapland Longspur
31 Northern Cardinal
124 Red-winged Blackbird
250 Western Meadowlark
1 Common Grackle
2 Brown-headed Cowbird
57 House Finch
1 Pine Siskin
124 American Goldfinch
249 House Sparrow
(64 species)
David Heidt
Assistant Compiler Norfolk
Date: 12/21/24 7:08 pm From: Don & Janis Paseka via groups.io <paseka76...> Subject: [NEBirds] Ames CBC
The 19th Ames CBC was done on Wednesday December 18th. By the numbers, it was a fairly typical count with 63 species and 9,112 individuals, but many of the usual species were hard to find or absent. The highlight was definitely the first Red-shouldered Hawk which was found at the Fremont State Lakes.
Fifteen species of waterfowl were observed which is three more than the previous high number. Ring-necked Duck and Common Merganser set new high counts, while Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead and Hooded Merganser numbers tied with previous high counts.
Bald Eagle and American Kestrel set new high counts of 98 and 15 respectively. Singles of Short-eared Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker and Pileated Woodpecker tied with previous high counts as did the three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
Notable misses were: Northern Bobwhite, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Kinglets, Longspurs, Yellow-rumps, and any sparrows other than Tree, Harris's and a single Song Sparrow.
If anyone would like a full list of species and numbers, I would be glad to share them.
My thanks goes out to all the participants and the landowners who allow us access to their property.
Date: 12/21/24 5:55 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Couch's Kingbird
Nebraska birders,
I traveled to North Platte on the morning of December 21 with hopes of
finding the Couch’s Kingbird. The weather was decent, cold but sunny. I
wasn’t in a big hurry since I was meeting Bonnie there around 11:30. When
I arrived at the Nelson home, I was greeted by Christine. Her husband Bob
was in their yard with Thane and Phil looking for the kingbird. It had
been seen earlier in the morning.
We all wandered around their yard and the neighbor’s looking and hoping to
see the bird. Randy, Paul and Bonnie arrived to help with the search. We
were excited when we saw a yellowish kingbird fly by and disappear behind
trees. It took forever to relocate it but finally Paul spotted it.
Naturally, the sunlight was behind it so the view was not good. We watched
it do its fly-catching maneuvers then it finally perched in a place with
better lighting. We all watched it for probably thirty minutes.
The yellow breast and belly seemed brighter than a Western Kingbird and it
extended up higher on its chest than it does on a Western Kingbird. There
was more white on its throat. The tip of its tail was slightly notched.
When I got a good look at its face, I could see the dark ear patch. It
looked a bit like a mask. I couldn’t tell for sure if its back was
greenish or grayish but I’m leaning towards greenish. I did not hear it
make any sounds but others did.
I feel confident that it is either a Couch’s or Tropical Kingbird. I’m
grateful to those who heard it and recorded it. The group effort
definitely identified it as a Couch’s Kingbird. Personally, I think that I
will count it on my lists with only a little hesitation.
Before heading back home, some of us stopped at the North Platte sewage
lagoon. We found the Long-tailed Duck and Barrow’s Goldeneye along with
many other ducks and geese. My personal tally is one life bird and two
Lincoln County birds. It was great to bird with friends on this wonderful
day!
Date: 12/20/24 6:54 am From: Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> Subject: [NEBirds] Kearney CBC overview
Hi all,
We had a great CBC in Kearney here this year, with 79 species recorded. This breaks the previous record of 69 species last year and brings the all-time total to 104 species. This stands in stark contrast with pre-1975 CBCs in the area, which recorded a maximum of 47 species. These drastic changes are in no doubt due in large part to the changing landscape, with more gravel pits and woods available at the present, as well as more mild winters towards the present. In total, we had 16 participants covering the area, and we received permission from multiple private landowners to be able to access their properties. Thanks everyone for their hard work!
The full results will be available in the future (and are currently delayed due to finals grading!), but we had 12 new species for the count and recorded new high counts for 25 species. Almost all our new species were waterfowl, highlighting the mild temperatures keeping water open and the propensity of ducks and geese to winter further north at present than they did historically. The biggest rarities were Brant (likely the same individual as last winter!), Long-tailed Duck (one of only a few county records), Golden Eagle (scarce in these parts), and Rusty Blackbird (scarce in these parts). Interestingly, Rusty Blackbird was not a new bird for the count, with a flock of 50 being recorded in 1962. A few species tied previous high counts, like Sharp-shinned Hawk (5), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2), and Swamp Sparrow (1).
In addition to the new species below, a Kriders Red-tailed Hawk was also photographed on the count. This was likely a new population for the count, but I do not have super detailed subspecies information for past counts. Full list of noteworthy species below.
New species for the Kearney CBC (with number reported):
High counts (count; with previous record and year):
1. Snow Goose (31; 9 in 2023)
2. Cackling Goose (661; 163 in 2023)
3. Canada Goose (1707; 1512 in 2023)
4. Wood Duck (51; 1 in 2023)
5. Green-winged Teal (66; 7 in 2023)
6. Common Goldeneye (47; 15 in 2023)
7. Hooded Merganser (2; 1 in 2023)
8. Common Merganser (23; 3 in 1948)
9. Wild Turkey (240; 184 in 2023)
10. Greater Prairie-Chicken (14; 6 in 1939)
11. Mourning Dove (42; 26 in 1957)
12. American Coot (8; 4 in 2023)
13. Double-crested Cormorant (193; 10 in 2023)
14. Great Blue Heron (16; 9 in 2023)
15. Northern Harrier (9; 8 in 1960)
16. Eastern Screech-Owl (2; 1 in 1948, 2023; needs more effort!)
17. Short-eared Owl (6; 3 in 2023)
18. Belted Kingfisher (12; 7 in 1962)
19. Red-bellied Woodpecker (9; 3 in 1964)
20. American Kestrel (15; 9 in 2023)
21. Golden-crowned Kinglet (33; 13 in 1962)
22. Fox Sparrow (3; 1 in 1941, count week in 2023)
23. White-crowned Sparrow (124; 64 in 2023)
24. Western Meadowlark (655; 213 in 2023)
25. Red-winged Blackbird (10,069; 1500 in 1957)
Misses
A couple noteworthy misses include Trumpeter Swan, Northern Bobwhite, and Ring-necked Pheasant. We also had Spotted Towhee as a count week species again this year, just like last year.
Date: 12/19/24 9:57 pm From: Kellie H via groups.io <xxkhaydenxx...> Subject: [NEBirds] DeSoto Christmas Bird Count 2024 Summary
Hi all, please bear with me--if you belong to the Iowa and Nebraska bird
listservs you may get this email more than once.
The DeSoto NWR Christmas Bird Count this year was held on December 15. We
had great coverage with 35 participants in 20 traveling parties and 1
feeder watcher! We had very mixed weather conditions for birding, with
thick fog challenging our viewing conditions in the morning before things
cleared up in the afternoon. In spite of that, over 51,000 birds were
counted and 79 species were represented. This is one more species, and 6k
more birds, than last year!
Notable or missed sightings within our circle:
-
A Loggerhead Shrike was documented for the first time in our circle
during the CBC since 2010, and for only the second time ever (our data goes
back to 1997 for our circle)!
-
Brewer's Blackbirds were spotted for the first time since 2014!
-
Mallards were spotted in record numbers (36k+!)
-
Pileated Woodpeckers, Winter Wrens, American Coots, Ross' Goose, and
White-throated Sparrows are also at a record highs
-
Golden-crowned Kinglets are at their highest count since 2004
-
Bald Eagles this year were at a near-record high, beat out only by 99
sightings in 2018 and 98 sightings in 2017
-
We didn't count any Eurasian Collared Doves, which is an interesting
development given their expansion in recent years
-
We documented no Red-breasted Nuthatches again this year, potentially
beginning an unfortunate trend of this species being absent on our count
for the past 2 years (I hope I'm proven wrong next year!)
-
While not completely absent, Blue Jays were noticeably lower this year
with the lowest count for the species since 2017
-
Black-capped Chickadee sightings were almost halved this year compared
to last year's count of 297
-
Eastern Bluebird numbers tumbled back down from our recent high of 129
last year to only 26 this year
-
American Robin count is also noticeably low with only 70 individuals,
though based on our data their numbers vary widely from one year to the next
Thank you to our volunteers for their participation! This effort really
couldn’t be done without their continued involvement. I included our list
below for those interested.
Date: 12/19/24 8:55 am From: Jorgensen, Joel via groups.io <Joel.Jorgensen...> Subject: [NEBirds] Harlan County CBC results
The 15th edition of the storied Harlan County Christmas Bird Count was held Monday, 16 December 2024. We had ten participants and I thank each one of them for trekking down to Harlan County to help. Weather was good, as a predicted strong breeze of up to 22 mph apparently stayed in bed late and never really got going before dying off almost completely late in the day. Temperatures reached the mid-50s.
It looks like the CBC will end up at 82 species, which is the lowest total since 2014. We had several notable misses and other irruptive species (e.g., Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red Crossbill), just weren't around his year. We also did not have a Couch's Kingbird. A few takeaways:
New count species: Least Sandpiper and Northern Mockingbird
Other highlights/rarities: Red-shouldered Hawk (3rd time on CBC), Short-billed Mew Gull (4th time on the CBC)
Biggest miss: Great Blue Heron - we struggled to find one last year. A little baffling that this species wasn't found during a mild early winter (but see comments below).
Other misses: Northern Bobwhite, Greater Prairie-Chicken, American White Pelican, grebes, large gulls other than Herring and Lesser Black-backed, semi-hardy passerines such as Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Winter Wren.
Another observation of note that is a continuation of recent CBCs is how piscivorous bird numbers have changed since the reservoir "flooded" in the summer of 2019. A massive merganser flock between 10,000-50,000 was fairly reliable on this CBC prior to 2019 and along with it came hundreds of large gulls. This year we had about 4,000 Common Mergansers and only 33 Herring Gulls. These numbers are similar to other post-2018 CBCs. The changes in the fishery also probably explains the absence of Am. White Pelicans, any grebes and low numbers (3) of Double-crested Cormorants during a mild year. I don't fully understand what happened, just reporting what I'm seeing.
Thanks again to those who helped.
Joel
___________________________________________________
Joel Jorgensen | Nongame Bird Program Manager
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
2200 N 33rd St. | Lincoln, NE 68503
<joel.jorgensen...><mailto:<joel.jorgensen...> | 402-471-5440
Date: 12/18/24 6:32 pm From: Walker, thomas via groups.io <thomas.walker...> Subject: [NEBirds] North Platte CBC results
The North Platte Christmas Bird Count was held Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
We had 14 observers plus one feeder watcher.
Weather was pretty good overall - a dreary cloudy start to the day broke to a sunny, relatively calm and beautiful day before the winds kicked up about 3 PM.
We had a total of 83 species on the day, our second highest species count only to 2015 when we had 86 species.
Obviously the news of the day was the confirmation on the Couch's Kingbird, which first showed up in a North Platte residential area in late November (but only as an unidentified/likely Couch's or Tropical Kingbird). It showed back up in the same yard two days before our count and we were able to relocate in on the day of the count, get excellent photos and an audio recording to confirm the identification. This was the 141st species documented across all years of the North Platte CBC.
Much less exciting birds included the Long-tailed Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye that have been hanging out on the North Platte Water Treatment Pond for a while now.
Number of total individual birds reported (10,222) was actually considerably lower than most years - primarily due to much lower counts of Canada Goose and Mallard.
Some species notes:
Wood Duck - 11 (Tied record high)
Green-winged Teal - 465 (smashed the previous record high of 129)
Ring-necked Duck - 194 (smashed the previous record high of 95)
Long-tailed Duck - second record (second year in a row)
Barrow's Goldeneye - third count record (but becoming regular in the area in the winter)
Cooper's Hawk - 7 (record high with previous of 4)
Ferruginous Hawk - 3 (modern record high - were two "historic" years with 5)
Iceland Gull - second record, though the 2010 record was of a Thayer's Gull
White-winged Dove - first MISS of this species in 8 years
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - our one "count week" species this year - missed during the count
Merlin - 6 (doubled the previous record high of 3)
Couch's Kingbird - 1st state record.
Northern Shrike - 5 (beat previous record of 3)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2 (previous record of 1 - which had happened 6 times previously)
Northern Cardinal - 32 (beat previous high by 1)
Great-tailed Grackle - 592 (three large groups located in different areas plus some other stragglers - previous high was 235)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 12 (previous high of 2)
Disappointing misses - Ross's Goose (had very few Snow Geese), Northern Bobwhite, Virginia Rail, White-winged Dove, owls other than Great Horned, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird (we go Mountain), Lapland Longspur, Pine Siskin (third year in a row).
Thank you to those that participated! Much appreciated!
T. J. Walker
Assistant Division Administrator
Wildlife Division - Partners Section
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
308-530-7659
Date: 12/18/24 10:08 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] Couch’s Kingbird
The burden question was seen by nine or 10 people. Photos and audio
obtained. Long tailed duck at the water treatment plant was seen. The
Barrow’s Golden eye was NOT seen. The King bird was seen from 10:45 AM
until we left the siding at the water treatment plant was just before 12
o’clock noon.
A blessed Christmas to all.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817*
Date: 12/15/24 1:27 pm From: Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> Subject: [NEBirds] Brant, Long-tailed Duck -- Kearney CBC
Hi all,
I'm looking at an Atlantic Brant at Cottonmill Park in Kearney right now. Eugene Huryn and Cody McGregor just had a Long-tailed Duck and a Rusty Blackbird at a pond just west of the hike-bike trail parking area for walking under the interstate.
