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The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 1
Ainsworth Meeting Wrap-up
By Robin Harding, NOU Vice President
The Burrowing Owl Dedicated to the study, appreciation, and protection of birds
November
2018
A Publication of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
The Nebraska Ornithologists’
Union (NOU) held its annual
fall birding event and meeting
in Ainsworth on 14-16
September 2018. Attendees
birded their way to the
meeting on Friday and then
gathered to share sightings
and a meal. Many of us saw
hundreds of Monarch
butterflies on our way to
Ainsworth. The butterflies
must have been waiting for
the wind to shift to the north
so that they could continue.
Our Friday evening program
included a presentation by
Ross Silcock. He gave a
fascinating program about
bird hybrids that occur in
north-central Nebraska. There
are several species whose
breeding ranges overlap in
that area.
Saturday was all about birding.
We had three field trips guided
by excellent birders. Bill Flack,
Dave Heidt and Clem Klaphake
showed us some great birding
The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 2
areas and many wonderful birds. Some of the
highlights included: Red-naped Sapsucker, Horned
Grebe, American Bittern, Osprey, Broad-winged
Hawk, Sandhill Crane, American Golden-Plover,
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird,
Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Eastern and Western wood-
pewees, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Carolina
Wren, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, American Pipit,
Tennessee and Nashville warblers, and Lark Bunting.
The weather was challenging because of strong south
winds, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time.
Clem showed us around The Nature Conservancy’s
Niobrara Valley Preserve. It is a wonderful birding
area. There, we found both Eastern and Western
wood-pewees, an Osprey and a hummingbird. One of
the areas that Bill took his group to was Plum Creek
Wildlife Management Area where they unexpectedly
found a Red-naped Sapsucker (pictured, upper right).
Dave scouted many areas before the event, and it paid
off for his group. His trip included Adams Lake,
southeast of Bassett, where the group found an
American Bittern and White-faced/Glossy Ibis. They
also birded the Carns bridge area where they found a
Carolina Wren, Sandhill Cranes and an American
White Pelican. They also visited South Pine Wildlife
Management Area and found another American
Bittern and a Solitary Sandpiper. Late in the
afternoon, a group of birders went back to Adams Lake
and found a Horned Grebe among the waterbirds.
Tired but pleased with the day, we gathered for the
Saturday evening meal and a presentation by Luke
Hamilton. Luke has been working on a research
project involving migrating Baltimore Orioles in south
central Nebraska. His talk was great!
Sunday morning we mingled in the parking lot at the
motel before departing on field trips. We found more
really cool birds including Sedge Wrens, Marsh Wrens
and an American Bittern. It was hard to pull ourselves
away from the good birding, but it was time to depart
for home.
The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 3
Our group’s total number of bird species for the
weekend was 137. The complete list of birds can
be found online:
http://www.noubirds.org/Meetings/Past.aspx
Many thanks to the NOU board members, the field
trip leaders, the staff at the motel and the Elks
Lodge.
The next NOU birding event/meeting is planned
for May 17-19 May 2019 in Fairbury. There are
many great birding areas down there.
Many thanks to Rachel Hall for sharing her photos of meeting attendees birding and also the excellent photo of the Red-
naped Sapsucker found at Plum Valley Wildlife Management Area. Photo at the bottom of Page 2 shows Ross Silcock
presenting at the Elks Lodge Friday evening and the photo at the top of Page 3 shows Luke Hamilton presenting on
Saturday night - Editor
Christmas Bird Count Line-up
Christmas Birds Counts (CBCs) are only weeks away, and below are the dates and contacts for the ones we know
about.
Harlan County – 14 Dec; Contact: Joel Jorgensen, [email protected]
Seward/Branched Oak – 15 Dec; Contact: Joe Gubanyi, [email protected]
Norfolk – 15 Dec; Contact: Dave Heidt, [email protected]
Indian Cave – 15 Dec; Contact: Adam Jones, [email protected]
Grand Island – 15 Dec; Contact: Connie McCartney, 308-850-3084
Lincoln – 16 Dec; Contact: Jason St. Sauver. [email protected]
North Platte – 16 Dec; Contact: T.J. Walker, [email protected]
Ames – 18 Dec; Contact: Don and Janis Paseka, [email protected]
Omaha – 19 Dec: Contact: Rick Schmid, [email protected]
Calamus-Loup – 20 Dec; Contact: Dave Heidt, [email protected]
DeSoto – 22 Dec; Contact: Jerry Toll, [email protected]
Lower Platte River – 27 Dec; Contact: Joel Jorgensen, [email protected]
Scottsbluff – 28 Dec; Contact: Alice Kenitz, [email protected]
Lake McConaughy – 29 Dec; Contact: Stephen J. Dinsmore, [email protected]
Beaver Valley – 29 Dec; Contact: Jason Thiele, [email protected]
The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 4
Nebraska’s Second Anna’s Hummingbird
After an exciting spring and
early summer (see the August
edition of The Burrowing Owl),
the birding cooled down a bit
in mid-summer and early fall,
especially in regards to mega-
rarities. This is not to say good
birds weren’t being seen in
Nebraska. Birders venturing to
the west end of the state in
late August and September
found a number of western
specialties, and the Red-naped
Sapsucker found during the
NOU fall meeting was a heck of
a bird. Nebraska missed out
on the Roseate Spoonbill
bonanza that Missouri, Iowa
and even Minnesota enjoyed.
Swallow-tailed Kites sailed north of their usual range in late summer with one as close as Topeka, Kansas. Fork-tailed
Flycatchers, which are unrecorded in Nebraska, were documented in Colorado (two individuals) and Wyoming.
Nebraska’s brief dry streak of mega-rarities ceased when it was learned an adult male Anna’s Hummingbird was visiting a
feeder in northern Saunders County, just across the river from Fremont. The bird was first observed on 3 October and
was seen by a number of birders for a few days thanks to the graciousness of the homeowners. However, unlike other
vagrant hummingbirds, this one did not stick around for an extended period. It was last seen on 10 October.
This will be Nebraska’s second record of an Anna’s
Hummingbird pending acceptance by the NOU Records
Committee. The first record occurred less than 2 years
ago in late 2016 when a sub-adult female appeared at
the Manning’s feeder in Omaha. Anna’s Hummingbirds
have increasingly been detected away from their
primary range along the West Coast and Southwest, and
records are now littered across most eastern states (see
map from eBird.org). Adult males are unusual but do
occur on occasion with previous Midwest and Great
Plains records coming from Michigan, Ontario,
Wisconsin (two individuals) and Missouri. Nebraska will
likely have more records of Anna’s Hummingbird in the
future, especially as observers increasingly scrutinize
late season hummingbirds.
Future Meetings
Fairbury, May 17–19, 2019
Imperial, September 13-15, 2019
New Member Welcome Colin Craft of Gering
Moving? - If you are changing addresses or if you become
aware of the passing of a member, please let us know by
sending a note to Jan Johnson at [email protected].
The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 5
Two NOU Members Honored with Awards
Two very deserving NOU members recently received prestigious
awards for their ornithological and conservation work. Wayne
Mollhoff received the Richard G. Levad Award in Denver in mid-
October. The award is given out by the Bird Conservancy of the
Rockies (BCR; formerly Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory) and
given to a recipient who has made “distinguished service to the
ornithological community, made scholarly contributions to the
field of ornithology and/or has enthused others about conserving
birds and their habitats through sharing his or her personal
knowledge and experience.” Wayne, of course, has made
tremendous contributions with his work publishing two Nebraska
Breeding Bird Atlases, work on various species including Northern
Saw-whet Owls and Pinyon Jays, and through various roles with
the NOU. Wayne has also been very generous with his time in
sharing his personal knowledge about the state’s avifauna.
Wayne was nominated by the NOU Board and the Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission. The photo to the right shows
Wayne, with Karen Levad, receiving the award at BCR’s 2018
fundraiser (photo courtesy of BCR).
Paula Hoppe was awarded the Natural Legacy Conservation
Award at the Nebraska Natural Legacy Conference in Ainsworth
in mid-September. The award is given out by the
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to
individuals that have advanced the objectives of
the Natural Legacy Project, which is the state
wildlife action plan for Nebraska. Paula has
dedicated her free time to a number of different
projects over the years which include spearheading
a project to build a wildlife viewing platform at the
north end of Lake Wanahoo, surveying Bald Eagle
nests, and creation of a watchable wildlife
calendar. Paula has also served the NOU, most
recently on the Auditing Committee. The photo on
the right shows Paula (left) with Kristal Stoner,
former Wildlife Diversity Program Manager with
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,
receiving the award at the 2018 Natural Legacy
Conference (photo courtesy of Justin Haag,
NEBRASKAland magazine).
Congrats to both Wayne and Paula!
The Burrowing Owl | November 2018 6
Yellow-rumped Warblers are Increasing in Winter
Observers perceiving they are
seeing more Yellow-rumped
Warblers in winter may not be
just imagining things. A quick
look at Christmas Bird Count
(CBC) data from Nebraska
during the period 1980-2017
shows that the number of
Yellow-rumped Warblers
reported per party hour was
consistently small from 1980
to around 2000. Since 2000,
the number of “butter butts”
has increased dramatically
and the trend appears to be
picking up steam. Having accessible data collected over a long period to show trends such as this one is one of the benefits
of doing CBCs each year. Something to consider the next time you’re getting up early on a frigid winter morning to
participate in a CBC.
The Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Board
President and Burrowing Owl Editor:
Joel Jorgensen, 220 Bruce Drive, Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone:
402 533 0924
E-mail address
Vice President:
Robin Harding, 2028 34th Road, Minden, NE 68959
308 224 6449
Secretary:
Ruth Stearns, 3200 Laredo Drive, Lincoln, NE 68516
402 328 9859
Treasurer:
Jan Johnson, 86252 581 Avenue, Wakefield, NE 68784
402 369 3435
Directors:
(2014–17) William Flack, 415 W 24 Street #2, Kearney, NE 68845
(2015–18) Don Paseka, 1585 Co. Rd. 14 Blvd., Ames, NE 68621
(2016–19) T. J. Walker, 694 Grover Road, Milford, NE 68405
308 237 9873
402 727 9229
308 530 7659
Past Presidents:
Dan Leger, 6255 S. 82nd Street, Lincoln, NE 68516
Urban Lehner, 1125 NW Spring Street #A302, Newport, OR 97365
402 423 4512
402 301 6143
Editor of the Nebraska Bird Review:
Janis Paseka, 1585 Co. Road 14 Blvd., Ames NE 68621
402 727 9229
Librarian:
Anita Breckbill, 3237 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68503
402 438 1300
Seasonal Bird Report Compiler:
Ross Silcock, P.O. Box 57, Tabor, IA 51653
402 618 4933
Records Committee Chairman:
Mark A. Brogie, 508 Seeley, Box 316, Creighton, NE 68729
402 358 5675
