Date: 5/7/26 8:17 am From: Ruth Stearns via groups.io <ruthstearns...> Subject: [NEBirds] Otoe county birding
After finally getting 125 birds in Richardson County, I thought bringing Otoe County numbers up was an obvious next choice, as it was closer to home. I'd birded bit in the county in early April, and got a few new birds, so yesterday morning early I headed out with 91 species on my list. What had drawn me to get on this now was that eBird was giving me alerts with lots of species that shouldn't be hard to find at all in May. A big thank you to all the Otoe county birders, your lists helped get me out the door and the information I needed to draw up a game plan.for the day.  Â
I first headed to Arbor Lodge, to walk the conservation trail all around the entire park. It was I think a 2 maybe 3 mile round trip, and got lots of woodland birds I needed...the best being the Blue-headed Vireo on the southwest side of the trail, and delighted to find a Clay-colored Sparrow up on a north part of the trail near the apple orchards. Not too much in the way of warblers, but did have Yellow-rumps, Nashville's, Tennessee, Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned and an FOY Northern Parula.  I texted Mike, that I was now at 104 species, and headed east a bit.
I tried to figure out how to bird the North Table Creek Trail but decided my feet needed a rest, and instead headed to the Lewis and Clark Center, where a Broad-winged Hawk flew overhead and a Wood Thrush was making it's snappy call just down the trail. Now up to 109! Time to change the habitat. Â
I'd enjoyed wandering around various gravel roads north of Syracuse and Dunbar the month before, and essentially repeated all those stops. One favorite stop was a lovely property on G Road northwest of Dunbar, where their road deadends at a bridge out location. The pond had some shorebirds, including Hudsonian Godwits, and oh my, heard the Bobolinks! A little grove along the way netted a singing Bell's Vireo and some Northern Bobwhite calling. I texted Mike, 118!
Now headed to Syracuse, and up to the ponds along F road just west of Hwy 50, my favorite being just beyond 28th road, where I had several more shorebirds, including the Hudsonians and Long-billed Dowitchers and Wilson's Phalaropes twirling around. Best of all it was along a quiet (and dry) minimum maintenance road so the peace and quiet was wonderful. Text to Mike 125!!! And I had two more stops to go. Up 28th road to a pond on the east side of the road with lots of swallows, and oh my, Black Terns! Now I was at 127. One stop to go. Â
I'd read that there was a Western Kingbird at the WTP in Syracuse, so I decided to give that place a try. Yes! Right away had both an Eastern and a Western Kingbird at the main pond, sitting on the wire, and there were also loads of swallows in the warm afternoon sun. The Purple Martins were my last new bird for the county....I ended the day with 130 species including 11 FOY's for Nebraska. Â
A big thank you to all the birders who posted their birds to eBird, which ultimately helped give me a road map for the day. Mike wasn't sure I'd hit 125, and I agreed that getting 34 county birds was going to be a challenge, but I ended up with 39 after about 8 hours of birding around the county. Here's the trip report.  https://ebird.org/tripreport/513198  So woodland walking, and county road farm ponds and wetlands and roadside thickets, topped off with a sewage lagoon did the trick for the day! Â
Ruthie StearnsLincoln NE
