Not very good pictures looking into the sun. I put a couple more on ebird.
On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 4:40 PM Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Great trip! Sounds like a wonderful day. Id love to see any of the golden
> eagle pics??
>
> Tana C
> Douglas county
>
> On Jun 9, 2025, at 6:49 AM, Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>
> Nebraska birders,
>
> I’ve been inspired by my friend Bill to work on seeing each bird species
> in all of Nebraska’s 93 counties. I discovered that I had seen Barn
> Swallows in 92 counties. The only one left was Hooker. That should be
> easy this time of the year. I asked my friend Boni if she would like to go
> birding in Hooker County this weekend.
>
> We started early on Saturday, June 07. We drove north to Tryon in
> McPherson County to look for Rock Pigeons since it was along the way. I
> still haven’t seen one in the county. You’d think that the grain elevator
> would host Rock Pigeons but not on this day.
>
> We birded at a marsh north of Tryon along highway 97. We saw twenty
> species including waterfowl, ibis and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I smile
> when I hear the blackbirds and remember a friend who thought they sounded
> like they were being strangled.
>
> Boni and I birded the highway 97 Dismal River crossing in Hooker County.
> We saw and heard eighteen species. Among them was a Great Crested
> Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat and (Hooray!)
> a Barn Swallow. The weather was pleasant for a change so we walked across
> the bridge. As we were preparing to leave, a couple fellows arrived with
> their young daughters. They were taking the girl’s on their first ever
> fishing trip.
>
> Further north along highway 97, we birded the ebird hotspot at milepost
> 47. There is a beautiful wetland beside the road. We saw and heard many
> of the same species as the previous marsh. In addition, we heard the
> kiddick sound of a Virginia Rail.
>
> We birded a couple gravel roads going southwest of highway 97 to the
> Dismal River. The first one turned out to be an un-posted private road and
> the other went to a golf course. We could not get down to the river at
> either. Oh well, we moved on to Mullen. We birded the Mullen WTP, the
> town and the Middle Loup River crossing north of Mullen. Highlights
> include a Common Nighthawk, a Black Tern, an Eared Grebe, Yellow-billed
> Cuckoos, and Bobolinks.
>
> We birded along Dismal River Road southwest of Mullen to the river
> crossing and then south to East Cody Lake. We stopped at the Dismal River
> crossing but didn’t stay long because there were a couple guys shooting
> targets nearby. We were there long enough to hear and see a Western
> Wood-Pewee which was a treat. Boni got some good photos. There was also a
> Red-eyed Vireo singing. Between the river crossing and East Cody Lake, we
> saw an adult Golden Eagle perched on a fence post preening. We were able
> to see it well from different angles without spooking it. Boni took some
> pictures.
>
> At East Cody Lake, we saw seven Trumpeter Swans, a Forster’s Tern and a
> couple Western Grebes. We also heard a Willow Flycatcher, a Song Sparrow
> and a Yellow-breasted Chat. We birded to the south of East Cody Lake into
> McPherson along Soddy Road. We drove a loop to the west, stopping at Sand
> Beach Lake and Dry Lake. Near the beginning of that loop, we saw a pair of
> Lark Buntings. Also along the way, we saw a Long-billed Curlew. At Sand
> Beach Lake, we saw Wilson’s Phalaropes, White-rumped Sandpipers, an
> American Bittern, and both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks were singing.
>
> We drove south into Lincoln County, stopping at several spots. We drove
> very slowly along West North River Road because Boni had heard a Western
> Wood-Pewee a few days before. We were not disappointed. We also heard a
> Bell’s Vireo, a Red-eyed Vireo and a couple of Blue Grosbeaks. After
> supper, we birded the North Platte cemetery and heard a Red-breasted
> Nuthatch. We also drove around town and found a few Mississippi Kites.
>
> At sundown, we went down South Box Elder Canyon Road, listening for
> poorwills and owls until after 10pm. We heard Common Poorwills is a couple
> places. We could not find any owls. It was not our intension to do a big
> day, but it turned into one. We ended with 95 species. We both added many
> to our Hooker County lists and some to the other two counties.
>
> Robin Harding
> Buffalo County
>
>
>
>
