Date: 6/16/25 1:39 pm From: Ross Silcock via groups.io <silcock...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Hay Springs USGS BBS Summary
Interesting discussion. I defer to Joel, but a couple thoughts.
I think since it's a Breeding Bird Survey, any birds seen and heard that are within their known breeding ranges (see BONO) should be reported as part of the BBS, as Tobin assumed. I don't think BBS is designed to delineate breeding ranges, but rather to estimate numbers.
Where it gets murky, and I think this is why BBS wants "non-breeding" birds noted, is to keep migrants or vagrants outside their presumed/known breeding ranges separate, like a Philadelphia Vireo in Dundy County.
And, of course, occasionally a BBS route might find a species meeting criteria for breeding outside its previously known range, for example a range expansion or isolated breeding event. I'm not sure how BBS wants this handled, but I suspect it would be reported during the survey as a "non-breeder" but noted as a possible breeder and subsequently investigated. Joel?
Ross
Ross Silcock
Co-editor Birds of Nebraska Online
Editor Seasonal Reports, Nebraska Bird Review.
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of David Cunningham via groups.io <gopacgodc...>
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2025 3:06 PM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Hay Springs USGS BBS Summary
Joel,
Thanks for the corrective instruction to my approach. I will fix in the online input.
No one will detect all birds present at a stop. Hundreds of birds will be present but not active during each 3-minute count, and you must not try to guess how many you are missing. Report only those birds actually seen or heard during the prescribed 3-minute stops. Be careful not to count any individuals known or strongly suspected to have been counted at a previous stop. Any bird suspected to be a representative of another breeding population (i.e., a late migrant, a summer vagrant, etc.) should be included in the count but marked as a ‘non-breeder’ on the data sheet.
So, yes, I think it is reasonable to include Common Yellowthroat and Blue Jay as breeders even though I understand David’s logic. The BBS staff probably does some data tweaking as well for what are and what are not non-breeders, so I would not be too worried about how these were classified.
Appreciate everyone tackling BBS routes and sharing results. I’ve done the Benkelman and Liberty BBS routes so far this year. Benkelman is usually reliable for a few Cassin’s Sparrows but I had none this year on the route. I know a small number have been reported elsewhere in the state this summer, but it certainly does not appear to be a banner year for the species. I also had more Swainson’s Hawks (mostly first year birds) and Burrowing Owls (4, thanks to a prairie dog colony that has grown over the years) on this route than ever before, but the Ferruginous Hawk nest that was active for a few years was again inactive this year. Another highlight was having both a male Baltimore and a male Bullock’s Oriole in the same cottonwood trees on one of the few stops where there are a grove of large trees. The Liberty route didn’t have a ton of highlights but a lot of birds. American Crows seemed omnipresent, which hasn’t always been the case in the post-WNV world. Yellow-throated Vireo was a new addition to the route.
I went the other way with my assumption. When I encountered Yellow Warbler, Greater Prairie Chicken, Black-necked Stilt, and Cinnamon Teal at Crescent Lake, I labeled them as breeders. If the Common Yellowthroat was singing, that could be considered evidence of breeding? The blue jay makes sense though, it could just be passing through from a nearby area not on the count.
Great question. I used the term "non-breeder" in this case as used by USGS where it is not listed in their breeder list. USGS permits me to select between the breeder and non- breeder for "additional" species. This is the first year that these species were identified for this survey. There was no evidence of breeding. Therefore, I used the USGS default of non-breeding.
All that said, I hope the expert orinithologists can confirm or correct my interpretation and selection.
Thanks again for the question. I'm still learning.
Thanks for the update on Hay Springs. It has been a while since I have been in Sheridan County. Sorry for the silly question, but I was confused by your comment that the Blue Jay and the Common Yellowthroat were the only NON-breeders on the list. I jumped to the conclusion that this meant that there was no evidence of breeding?
I completed the Hay Springs BBS on 7 Jun 2025. The biggest missing species was Bobolink. I paused on 3 stops to use the binoculars and specifically listen for them, but none heard or seen. This is the fastest I completed the route, mostly due to the good weather. This year's counts are consistent with past years going back to 2018 (first year). The average number of species is approximately 42 with about 985 for the individuals count. The lone Blue Jay and Common Yellowthroat were the only non-breeders observed.
