Date: 5/11/26 6:39 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Operation Antrostomus: Southeast County Listing
Hello all,
Followed up on Keegan Brown et al. run through Richardson County with a
trip of my own for Richardson county and Nemaha Co (if I did not run out of
steam). Left Council Bluffs at 4:30AM on Saturday May 11. NO Eastern
Whip but tons of Thrush species dropped in along with some decent warblers.
Very few shorebirds. Spent most of my time in Indian Cave State park
(found out, purely by accident, that if you start your checklist at the
entrance, you are not actually in Richardson but rather in Nehmaha. That
worked out ok since I spent the entire day birding (Mostly Richardson
County but a good chunk of the PM in Nemaha. Only place with a diversity
of shorebirds was Buck Creek late in the afternoon.
Maybe the best birding day in many years though some of the steep
trails in Indian Cave SP did take its toll on my 75 year old legs.
Not having birded in either county since 2017 and having a low
county total it was pleasing to see how many birds I add in each county.
Missed RSHA and PIWO. Picked up a Swainson's Hawk just west of Stella NE.
and a Cooper's hawk dive-bombed something just ahead of me on 712RD just
before Hwy 75. NO Franklin's or Ring-billed gulls.
Two each Summer and Scarlet Tanagers. 5 Kentucky (nice photos not posted
yet).
Brownville WTP provided some nice birding but I was unable to locate the
Trace Trail until it was too late east of Brownville along 748A Ave. Not
in good shape but looked to be quite "birdy" 73 species in Richardson.
Have not checked county "ticks" for either county much less process my
photos. Got some nice audio of 5 birds then managed to somehow not
download the files properly to my computer (cannot locate them) before
erasing my Sony recorder files.... no idea how I managed that kind of
stupid move. Had some nice recordings of Kentucky, Ovenbird, Scarlet
Tanager and Eastern Peewee.
Wondering how the Otoe County birding went for those of you who covered
that on Saturday.
Good Bless.
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Thu, May 7, 2026 at 11:08 PM Keegan Brown via groups.io <keegqbrown=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Last weekend I had the pleasure of birding Southeast Nebraska with Jacob
> Cooper, Paul Pearson, Tobin Brown, Eli Weber, Brody Biberdorf, and Addie
> Teet. By the end of a busy Sunday, our group had 45 checklists in 7
> counties and recorded 138 species!
>
> The day started at 4am as Paul, Jacob, and I rolled out of Omaha well
> before dawn. With a heavy push of migrating birds forecasted, we headed to
> Indian Cave SP in search of nightjars and warblers. There we met up with
> Tobin, Eli, Brody, and Addie and got our first target of the day: Eastern
> Whip-poor-will. We continued around the park birding St. Deroin, Trail 9,
> and Trail 6. Highlights included a Yellow-throated Warbler, a handful of
> Kentucky Warblers, an extremely cooperative Gray-cheeked Thrush, endless
> Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and a few Broad-winged Hawks.
>
> After Indian Cave, we began making our way toward Table Rock to try for
> Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Along the way, we stopped at Kirkmans Cove RA in
> Richardson County where we found the 1st county record of Piping Plover!
> Other notable birds included a distant Peregrine Falcon, a large and noisy
> group of Forster's Terns, and two early Dickcissels. At Klapka-Mendenhall
> Grassland in Pawnee County, we spotted a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers
> in their usual spot on the radio tower.
>
> Next, we were off to Fairbiry to see the Fish Crows! On the way, we
> stopped at Big Indian RA and Diamond Lake WMA (both in Gage County).
> Nothing out of the ordinary here other than Diamond Lake having only 3
> individual birds and 2 species. We didn't stay there long. In Fairbury we
> saw 2 Fish Crows. One was on the nest and the other was calling nearby. At
> this point, the group split up a bit, but Jacob, Paul, and I continued
> birding. We visited Crystal Springs Park in Jefferson County where we had a
> large group of Long-billed Dowitchers, a Marbled Godwit, and the 1st county
> record of Hudsonian Whimbrel!
>
> With the adrenaline provided by a Whimbrel sighting, we decided we might
> as well check out Conestoga Lake SRA in Lancaster on the way home. Here we
> observed a variety of shorebirds including 3 Sanderlings, 2 White-rumped
> Sandpipers, and the continuing Snowy Plover. With that, we headed back
> toward Omaha.
>
> All in all it was an epic day of birding and I was up for ~21 hours
> straight. A big thank you to everyone involved, to Jacob for being our
> checklist/trip report keeper, and to that Whimbrel for making my day!
>
> Trip Report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/510109 >
> Happy birding,
>
> Keegan Brown
> <keegqbrown...>
>
>
>
