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.
