Date: 3/29/25 10:34 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Sandhills adventure
Never tire of reading your adventures Robin
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 Friday, March 28, 2025, 7:32 PM, Rita Cunha via groups.io <rita23cunha...> wrote:
Robin, what an adventure! So happy to hear you added more birds to your county lists. Reading your exciting write-up now has me itching for a road trip around the Sandhills…
Rita CunhaValley County
On Fri, Mar 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
I enjoy county listing because it motivates me to go birding in new and different places. I’d been looking at my lists and noticing that I was woefully deficient of waterfowl species in McPherson and Hooker Counties. That was almost enough to get me inspired to go but the clincher was Bill Flack’s offer to show me the bodies of water that he was familiar with.
I took a little time off from work so that we could bird in Grant and Arthur Counties as well. Maybe even Thomas County on the way home. I always love birding in the Sandhills. It’s beautiful countryside. There is so much to see and those one lane blacktop roads are a real adventure. After seeing nobody for several miles, you almost hope to bump into someone to talk with.
Bill and I started in McPherson County on March 20. We drove west from Tryon on highway 92 and found a small roadside pond with a few ducks. We continued to Schick Lake and found it covered with at least a dozen different species of waterfowl. Next was Diamond Bar Lake, where there was another impressive group of waterfowl. We were unable to identify many of the waterfowl because of distance and poor lighting. Then we went to Dry Lake and Sand Beach Lake. I didn’t even have Canada Goose in McPherson county until this day. Bill had already seen 140 species in the county. New county birds for me also included Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, American White Pelican, Northern Pintail, Ring-billed Gull, and Common Goldeneye.
In Hooker County, that first evening, we found some Greater Prairie-Chickens, which was a new county bird for me. As the sun set, we arrived at a North Fork Dismal River crossing. We heard some clucking sounds and found some Wild Turkeys roosting up in the trees (another new county bird). When it was almost dark, we were standing on the bridge enjoying the calm, comfortable weather when we heard the whinny of an Eastern Screech Owl. It was a new county bird for both of us. The next morning, we started at the Mullen sewage lagoon then drove west along highway 2. We stopped at a couple ponds near mile markers 168 and 169. Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Bufflehead and Canvasback were new Hooker County birds for me.
We continued into Grant County, stopping in the parking lot of a church with a nice view of Doc lake. There, we saw two Sharp-tailed Grouse on the lawn, which was rather odd. They were new county birds for me. There was a fair number of ducks out on the lake. Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck were new county birds. We drove to Carr Lake which is bisected by the Grant/Hooker County line. On the Hooker side, I added American Coot and Green-winged Teal to my county list. Back in Grant County at Avocet WMA, we saw more waterfowl including a Common Merganser which was a new county bird. There were waterfowl everywhere including Frye Lake and Long Lake in Grant County. Hooded Merganser was a new county bird for both of us. Bill’s new total is 149 and mine is 103.
We drove south into Arthur County and then back to the north on Whitman Road. We found even more waterfowl at Box Lake and Swan Lake. Again, we were unable to identify many of the waterfowl because of distance and poor lighting. I was able to add many to my county list including Bufflehead, Canvasback, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Pheasant and Bald Eagle. My Arthur County list is up to 73.
From Swan Lake, we crossed back into northwestern McPherson County and saw Cackling Geese which was a new county bird for both of us. We also saw Trumpeter Swans, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and American Wigeon which were new county birds for me. Bill’s new total is 141 and mine is 97.
We drove back up into Hooker County to find East Cody Lake. Trumpeter Swan and Common Merganser were new county birds for me. A little to the west, we found a Lesser Yellowlegs which was new for both of us. Then we drove back into Grant County, stopping at the headwaters of the North Fork Dismal River. Greater Prairie-Chicken was a new county bird for me at that location.
The morning of March 22, we found ourselves in Hyannis. I stepped outside early in the morning and heard a Great Horned Owl. It was a new Grant County bird. Bill has seen or heard the owl in all 93 counties. Just makes you sick, doesn’t it? He has seen more than sixty species in all 93 counties. We walked around town a bit and found a bird feeder with a Dark-eyed Junco. It was another new county bird for me. We drove back to Frye Lake and saw many ducks and a Bald Eagle. The eagle and Common Goldeneye were new county birds for me. We visited the cemetery in Hyannis and then back out to Avocet WMA and Doc Lake. There were still many waterfowl to be seen including a beautiful Hooded Merganser. We walked in the town of Whitman and saw five Sharp-tailed Grouse.
We drove back into Hooker County and visited the Mullen sewage lagoon again. My new total for Hooker County is 81 and Bill’s is 150. Then we moved on to Thomas County and birded the Seneca area. There are ponds just east of town where we saw many ducks. I added eight species to my county list and Bill got none. That’s too bad. His total remains at 135. Mine is 141. We also stopped in Thedford and found a few Greater Prairie-Chickens booming between the golf course and the river. We also walked around the campground in the National Forest near Halsey. We saw a few chickadees and a bunch of Cedar Waxwings.
Everything has been entered onto ebird.
You’re probably tired of reading by now but it was quite an adventure. It reminded me of years ago when the NOU held fall meetings at the 4-H camp in the Forest.
