Date: 6/23/26 7:42 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Chasing birds in Chase Co.
Nebraska birders,
I took a little detour on my way to Colorado last week. My total number of bird species in Hayes County was at 123. I wanted to get it up to that magic number 125. I birded a dead end road near Hamlet on June 15 in the evening. It was a location that Lanny and I had been to many years ago and marked it on our map as a good birding spot. Shortly after I arrived on this daye, I heard a Field Sparrow singing. That was a new county bird. Other highlights included a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Bell's Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat and Black-headed Grosbeak but none of them were new county birds. Further down the road, I heard an unfamiliar song. I finally got my eyes on the songster and it was a Towhee. It was not a typical Towhee song, although it was two identical notes and then a trill, like a Spotted Towhee. It probably was a weird Spotted Towhee but I wasn't sure if I should count it as a new county bird.
The next morning, I went to Hayes Center WMA. It was a beautiful, cool and calm morning. I walked along the road on the east side of the lake. I heard a Northern Bobwhite, which was a new county bird. Other highlights included a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole, Northern Cardinal and Dickcissel. I also saw an Eastern Bluebird which was another new county bird. My new Hayes County total is 127. It's nice to have a little cushion.
In the afternoon of June 16, I drove to Imperial to try my luck at locating the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. The weather was sunny and hot. I couldn't find the right pond and was not able to find the ducks. Oh well. It was worth a try.
On my way back from Colorado on June 23, I did a little more birding in Chase County. As I was driving from Haigler to Benkelman it rained hard. By the time I got to Imperial, the rain had stopped. I finally found the Frenchman Valley Produce pond but the only ducks I saw were Mallards. I was disappointed but I thought that I might as well look at the other ponds in the area. I checked a couple other nearby ponds but found no ducks. It was getting late and I needed to head for home. I stopped at the intersection of highway 61 and 3rd Street, looked to the right and saw a couple ducks in the flooded ditch. I took a quick look with my binoculars and, WOW, there were two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. I carefully moved the car into a parking lot and got out to get a better view. Beautiful ducks and not shy. They didn't fly away.
