Date: 5/12/26 9:49 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Operation Antrostomus: Southeast County Listing
I'll tag along on here. Last weekend I headed down to Otoe and Nemaha
counties. I figured if Indian Cave and Fontenelle Forest are good migration
spots, why not try a place inbetween them?
I started in Nebraska City at Arboy Day Farm where I had 3 singing
Louisiana Waterthrushes. The warbler variety wasn't super impressive yet,
but maybe it was early in the day, so I headed over to Riverview Nature
Park which was excellent. I had first-of-year Pewees and a Magnolia
Warbler, along with a Red-shouldered Hawk and loads of Redstarts.
The best stop of the day in Otoe county turned out to be Hamburg Bend WMA.
I was hoping to check for some shorebirds to add to my county list and I
found a great variety, including a Piping Plover! The place was loaded with
warblers, mostly Yellow, but on the way out, I heard a Yellow-throated
Warbler and a Golden-winged Warbler singing from a tall sycamore tree.
On to Nemaha county, my first stop was the Steamboat Trace Trail in Peru.
The moment I stepped out of the car, a dozen singing Tennessee Warblers
greeted me. I also had my best ever looks at a Golden-winged Warbler at eye
level. The trail has been closed since a nearby wildfire last month so I
couldn't go far, but I still amassed quite a large list of migrants. On the
way to the boat ramp, I checked the WTP quickly and added Wilson's
Phalarope and Black Tern to my Nemaha list, along with a singing Blue
Grosbeak.
On my way back towards Lincoln, I stopped at the Buck Creek Lake on 735
Road and found a handful of new shorebirds for my county list, as well as a
singing Northern Mockingbird.
I ended the day adding 27 species to my Otoe list (127), and 21 to my
Nemaha list (141), not a bad day!
On Mon, May 11, 2026 at 8:39 PM Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> 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...>
>>
>>
>
>
