Date: 5/18/25 8:21 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Weekend/Tri-state Meeting S. Sioux City, NE 5/16-5/18 (NEED YOUR CHECKLISTS)
What a great weekend we had at the Spring NOU weekend, combining forces with Iowa (IOU) and S. Dakota (SDOU) for a tri-state meeting at the Salvation Army Western Hills Camp near S. Sioux City, NE in Dakota County. ~180 registered, and most of those showed up. The venue was outstanding and a repeat of this event might be in the offing in a few years.
Many great birds were seen on the field trips to all three states, and birders added to their lists for the Birding Bowl (May), 2025, county, state and life birds. Popular NE destinations included Ponca State Park (Ponca, Dixon Co), Danish Alps SRA/Kramper Lake (Hubbard, Dakota Co) the former Ashford Scout Camp (privately owned; Homer, Thurston Co) and the Winnebago water treatment plant (Thurston Co). Despite that infamous N ebraska wind that both brought birds in and then pushed some out, highlights included: Neotropic Cormorant (all 3 days at Kramper Lake); Shorebirds: Red-necked Phalaropes, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover, Piping Plover, etc.; Surprises-Mississippi Kite (far northeast of its usual range in NE) and Lark Bunting (VERY far east + another found in Iowa). Passerines- including elusive thrushes like Gray-cheeked and Veery, as well as many species (and solid numbers)of the ever-popular specialty spring warblers like Chestnut-sided, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian and Mourning.
******For those of you that attended and have eBird checklists in the following counties for the weekend, please share them with so we can tally up the final weekend numbers ASAP.
Share with eBird account “pinkfooted” for the following counties. (If you don’t have/use eBird, please compile them electronically and send them directly to me right away.). If someone in your group was eBirding your trips, you don’t need to duplicate them.
Dakota, Dixon, Thurston (field trips) + the surrounding counties Cedar, Wayne, Cuming and Burt. Include those lists from the weekend and your travel in those counties.
Friday night we reprised NOU’s founding 126 years ago as primarily a scientific organization-a poster session featuring the work of 9 ornithological researchers from UN-Kearney, USD-Vermillion and Hitchcock Nature Center. The presenters were very busy talking to attendees throughout the social/light dinner. Comments from attendees were overwhelmingly positive, especially praising the quality of the projects. Thanks to Dr. Jacob Cooper from UNK, Dr. David Swanson from USD as well as the students who participated! We will publish their abstracts in a future issue of the Nebraska Bird Review , and I think it’s safe to say that research presentations will continue in some form at future meetings.
Following Sat. field trips, the annual business meeting/election of officers was held, dinner followed and we were treated to a visually AMAZING and emotionally moving presentation about Whooping Cranes by Nebraska photographer and author of “Into Whooperland” Michael Forsberg. If you have the opportunity to see him present or hold book signings…do it! You won’t be disappointed.
Our NOU fall meeting is scheduled for Sept 26-28 in Ogallala, NE. Save the date NOW, because we have a VERY SPECIAL keynote speaker to announce in the very near future!
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
