Date: 6/3/26 4:20 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] NOU weekend
Nebraska birders,
The Nebraska Ornithologists' Union spring birding event in the northwestern corner of the State was a great time (May 29-31). It was preceded by a rare Painted Bunting in Gordon Warrick's yard near Valentine. A few lucky folks were able to see it.
My friend, Steve Morris and I traveled together. We birded a few spots along the way on Friday including the highway 97 bridge over the Middle Loup River. Highlights include a Bobolink and a Blue Grosbeak. Of course, every bird we saw has been entered onto ebird. The Warbling Vireo that I heard at that location was a new Hooker County bird for me.
In Grant County, we birded Doc Lake. Highlights include Trumpeter Swans, a Swainson's Hawk, Marsh Wrens and a Bobolink. The Bobolink was a new county bird for me. At the Hyannis cemetery, we heard a Common Nighthawk that sounded like it was in the top of a tree but, for the life of me, I could not see it. We drove around town listening for a Northern House Wren. When we heard one singing, I checked off the 92nd county in which I have seen or heard the species. Only one county left, Arthur.
We drove across southern Sheridan County and stopped at Willy Lake. Steve was pleased to see a couple of Western Grebes. There were also several Eared Grebes and Marsh Wrens. Lakeside Lake and the one just north a bit were extra special. There were Cinnamon Teal, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Long-billed Curlews with fledglings, a Willet and Green-winged Teal (new county bird for me).
The NOU event was based at Fort Robinson, a place with well preserved history and beautiful scenery. Everyone gathered together Friday evening, May 29 for a meal and presentations. One was about towhees and another about preventing birds from running into windows. So interesting and informative.
I chose to go with the field trip led by Kathy DeLara to Pants Butte Road, Sowbelly Canyon, Harrison sewage ponds, the town of Harrison, Henry Road, and Gilbert Baker WMA. What a wonderful day full of cool birds: Violet-green Swallows, Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Wood-Pewees, Red Crossbills, a magpie, chickadees, Yellow-breasted Chats, Black-headed Grosbeak, Ovenbirds, American Redstarts, Western Tanagers, Black Tern, shorebirds, a White-winged Dove, two young Great Horned Owls, Chestnut-sided and Thick-billed Longspurs, Lark Buntings, and a Golden Eagle. So many new county birds.
Saturday evening, we enjoyed a great presentation on an extensive towhee research project. Such an interesting species. Suring both presentations on towhees, we learned so much.
On Sunday, I went with Jacob Cooper to the Guadalcanal Memorial Prairie south of Harrison. This is a Prairie Plains Research Institute property from which Jacob obtained permission to explore. It's huge and awe-inspiring. We saw more Long-billed Curlews, Trumpeter Swans, Western Wood-Pewees, Say's Phoebes, Rock Wrens, Swainson's Thrushes, Lark Buntings, Brewer's Blackbirds nesting, Blue Grosbeak, and Lazuli Bunting (in the parking lot by the house). We also drove the Henry Road and found both longspurs, Brewer's Sparrow, and Lark Buntings. At the Harrison sewage ponds we found ducks, swallows and shorebirds.
Sunday afternoon, Steve and I drove back to Gilbert Baker and added Black and White Warbler to the list of great birds that we saw the day before. Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed the drive through Smiley Canyon. We also scouted the Mexican Canyon trailhead so that we could find it after dark. We saw a beautiful male Bullock's Oriole.
Sunday evening, Steve and I joined Tom Labedz for a walk on the White River trail near the campground. Among all of the great birds was a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. A female was nearby. Twenty minutes later, on the way back, we saw a Black-headed Grosbeak in nearly the same tree. Well, this is interesting. Will there be hybrids later this year? After sunset, the three of us went to the Mexican Canyon trailhead to listen for Common Poorwills. We were not disappointed and there was a Great Horned Owl hooting as well.
On Monday, June 01, Steve and I drove to Laing Park in Alliance. At the lake, there was a Wood Duck, providing me with a new county bird. We thought that we saw a Green Heron on the far shore but when we tried to get closer, it disappeared. We had heard that many birds had been seen at Central Park the day before so we looked for it. We didn't know that a Lesser Goldfinch had been seen there. We found the spot with the goldfinch just by accident. What an exciting bird.
Along the way home, Steve and I stopped at Neilson Lake in Arthur County. It's private property so we looked from highway 61. While we were looking, a woman who lives at the ranch stopped to talk. She graciously allowed us to drive along their road to get a better view of the wetland. I heard both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks. It's a beautiful place. When I entered the sightings onto ebird, I saw that it's a hotspot.
In the town of Arthur, we drove slowly with windows open, listening for a Northern House Wren. It was early afternoon, sunny and warm. It must have been bad timing. We drove on every street in town but could not hear a Northern House Wren. The 93rd county will have to wait for another day.
I added new county birds to seven different counties. Wonderful weekend! Great birds! It was good to see so many of you there.
Date: 6/2/26 7:50 am From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
No sign of it, but I keep hoping. Sorry you were not able to make the meeting.
On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 06:03:55 AM MDT, William Huser via groups.io <billfhuser...> wrote:
I see you were able to make the trip to Ft. Rob to take part in the NOU meeting. I wasn't able to myself. Have you seen your Painted Bunting since you have returned home?
Thanks for your posts.Bill Huser, South Sioux City
On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is better.
Date: 6/2/26 6:57 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
The painted Bunting was not seen the next day and has not been seen Since.
The IOU meeting was a great success despite the awful winds and some hail
on Saturday. 168 species of birds were seen at last report or some real
nice rarities.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Tue, Jun 2, 2026 at 7:03 AM William Huser via groups.io <billfhuser=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> I see you were able to make the trip to Ft. Rob to take part in the NOU
> meeting. I wasn't able to myself.
> Have you seen your Painted Bunting since you have returned home?
>
> Thanks for your posts.
> Bill Huser, South Sioux City
>
> On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus=
> <yahoo.com...> wrote:
>
>> [image: Inline image]
>>
>> On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io
>> <prubinus...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul
>> Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has
>> generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am
>> told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming
>> and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this
>> afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get
>> home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is
>> better.
>>
>>
>
>
Date: 6/2/26 5:04 am From: William Huser via groups.io <billfhuser...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
I see you were able to make the trip to Ft. Rob to take part in the NOU meeting. I wasn't able to myself. Have you seen your Painted Bunting since you have returned home?
Thanks for your posts. Bill Huser, South Sioux City
On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus= <yahoo.com...> wrote:
> [image: Inline image] > > On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io > <prubinus...> wrote: > > > It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul > Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has > generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am > told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming > and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this > afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get > home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is > better. > >
It seems we were wrong about the Cass County osprey nest. There is activity after all. The nest is on a cell phone tower next to a trucking firm along Beach Road.
Kathy and Duane Schwery
We were wrong about the osprey nest in Cass County.,There is activity after all. The nest is on a cell phone tower next to a trucking company on Beach Road.
Duane and Kathy Schwery
Date: 5/31/26 3:07 pm From: Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] NOU Crawford species update
Good afternoon All, I’m bad with eBird and will be trying to enter in Sunday mornings finds, but today some of the species I haven’t seen mentioned yet are: a Loggerhead shrike( pics) a sharptail grouse ( female, have pics) in two different areas, Hermit thrush ( pics), Cassins Kingbird ( pics). All seen in Sioux county, but different hotspots.
Shoutout to Mark Brogie for the assist to the Cassins!
And many thanks to a Kathy DeLara & group for having us tag along Sat.
And thanks to NOU group!
Thanks All, fun event & weekend.
Tana C
Douglas county
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
—HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
sent from my I-pad
Date: 5/31/26 12:09 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Wanted: Cuckoo Sightings
I was at the NOU meeting and heard your talk about the cuckoo surveys. This morning about 8:00 I heard and briefly saw a black-billed cuckoo about 4 miles NW of the Fort complex in Nebraska National Forest. The road to somebody Johnson Lake dead ends at two FS parking/camping areas. It was at the Middle/North Fork Trailheads that I detected the bird. Heard if for a couple of minutes, and walked in to look for it when it flew past me. From that I could see it was a cuckoo. I did not see white in the tail. Listening to the recording on my computer convinced me it was a black-billed. I have seen/heard them before but many decades ago. I hear the yellow-billed not uncommonly.
On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 10:42:54 AM MDT, Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> wrote:
Hi all,
Sawyer Therrien (a UNK undergrad) is spearheading a project to survey cuckoos in the state of Nebraska this summer. We will be doing playback surveys across the state for these species. Given that there are only so many areas that we can cover, the presence (or absence) of cuckoos at different spots would be very useful for us.
- If you have a cuckoo this summer, please email either myself or Sawyer Therrien (<therriens...>)
- If you do hear a cuckoo this summer and youdo not get visual confirmation of it, please check with us as well—there is a chance you may be hearing us doing surveys from a distance, and we can let you know if anyone was in that area.
Any help is appreciated, and we will be updating the Nebraska birding community with our findings this fall.
All the best,
JC
------------------------------------------
Jacob C. Cooper, PhD (he/him)
Lab Website |Book a meeting
Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Bruner Hall of Sciences, Room 321
2401 11th Avenue
Kearney, NE 68849-1130
Research Associate, Field Museum, ChicagoCitizen of the Cherokee Nation
Date: 5/29/26 5:20 am From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Meeting Listing Protocols and Field Trips
Sorry for the formatting issues in the previous message. Listing protocols are attached.
--
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 3:33 PM, Keet Redden via groups.io<keetredden...> wrote: I’m new to this so I don’t know how to do it correctly. Hopefully this helps.
It is in Stromsburg, NE in Polk County.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S348403824
On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM dt via groups.io <dtandelsie...> wrote:
Nice! What bridge? And where? Is there an associated ebird list?Diane
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM, Keet Redden via groups.io<keetredden...> wrote: Seen Two days in a row at the bridge overlooking the creek.
Date: 5/28/26 10:04 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: [NEBirds] NOU Spring Meeting Listing Protocols and Field Trips
As we are currently unable to update the listing protocols page on the website for this meeting, here are the counties that you should report your individual and group sightings. Sioux, Scotts Bluff, Dawes, Sheridan and Box Butte (if any field trips go outside of those counties, please let us know so we can also include them) For birding you are doing individually or as a small group from Thurs May 28-Sun May 31 (NOT with NOU field trips, see below) for those 5 counties can be shared with the NOU account “pinkfooted”. If you are birding in a small group or carpool, have ONE designated eBirder share each checklist to avoid duplication. NOU field trip groups on Sat/Sun should have ONE designated eBirder that will share each complete checklist with the NOU account “pinkfooted”. Any participants that want those group checklists need to share their eBird ID or eBird account email with the designated eBirder in your group. Individuals participating in NOU group field trips should NOT submit their own checklists from those group trips unless it is an incidental that other members of the field trip group did not see/report. Field trip locations, descriptions and morning meet-up sites will be communicated during the evening meeting on Friday and Saturday nights by the field trip leaders. Field trips are subject to change based on weather conditions and/or good sightings at the discretion of field trip leaders. Good luck and good birding! Paul L. Pearson, PhD President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Omaha, NE
Date: 5/28/26 2:20 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
Nothing since yesterday when Tobin saw it between 3 and 4 p.m. I will keep checking until I leave for the meeting tomorrow.
On Thursday, May 28, 2026, 02:11:05 PM MDT, Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> wrote:
I've seen multiple negative reports from a handful of birders on discord, who have been looking pretty much all morning :(
- Tobin
On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 3:07 PM Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem...> wrote:
Hello All, wondering if anyone has seen the Painted Bunting recently?
Thank youTana ClemensOmaha
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
—HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOWsent from my I-pad
Date: 5/28/26 1:11 pm From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
I've seen multiple negative reports from a handful of birders on discord,
who have been looking pretty much all morning :(
- Tobin
On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 3:07 PM Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hello All, wondering if anyone has seen the Painted Bunting recently?
>
> Thank you
> Tana Clemens
> Omaha
>
> *Kind hearts are the gardens,*
>
> *Kind thoughts are the roots,*
>
> *Kind words are the flowers,*
>
> *Kind deeds are the fruits.*
> *—HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW*
> sent from my I-pad
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/28/26 1:07 pm From: Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
Hello All, wondering if anyone has seen the Painted Bunting recently?
Thank you
Tana Clemens
Omaha
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
—HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
sent from my I-pad
Date: 5/27/26 3:50 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
*Onenever knows with BIRDS. Sometimes they stay on for quite some time and
sometimes there are a one-day wonder. Enjoy your trip up here.*
*God bless.*
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 3:46 PM Tana Clemens via groups.io <tanaclem=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> If only it could stay till early Friday afternoon ……..
>
> Thanks for the map and map helpful hints.
>
> Tana C
> Omaha Ne.
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/27/26 2:30 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
Suggestions: Get there as early as possible since the winds become
decisively brutal after about 7:00 AM. The pattern will continue
through at least Saturday.
BTH way, Box Butte County has been heavily birder the last 10 days or so.
Most recently May 23. Great birds have been seen in the county and most
specifically at Laing Park and Central Park in Alliance. I will be giving
whirl easily in the AM.
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 3:21 PM Paul Roisen <roisenp1950...> wrote:
> To get to Gordon's home: Enter the following address into you map app: 39834
> Borman Bridge Rd, Valentine, NE 69201, then go past the home about 20
> yards. On your right you will see a weathered wooden sign which says
> "Whispering Prairie". Turn right, go through the open gate and follow it
> to Gordon's home.
>
> God Bless.
> *Paul O. Roisen*
> *Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
> *Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
>
>
> On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 3:10 PM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>> I just saw the bird again at 3:45, Thank you Gordon for allowing us to
>> visit!
>>
>> Like Gordon said, GPS to get here was a little tricky. You need to go one
>> driveway past where it tells you to turn right, and continue down that
>> drive and turn right at the Whispering Prairie sign, then follow that all
>> the way down to his place.
>>
>> - Tobin Brown
>>
>> On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus=
>> <yahoo.com...> wrote:
>>
>>> [image: Inline image]
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via
>>> groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul
>>> Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has
>>> generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am
>>> told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming
>>> and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this
>>> afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get
>>> home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is
>>> better.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
Date: 5/27/26 2:25 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
To get to Gordon's home: Enter the following address into you map app: 39834
Borman Bridge Rd, Valentine, NE 69201, then go past the home about 20
yards. On your right you will see a weathered wooden sign which says
"Whispering Prairie". Turn right, go through the open gate and follow it
to Gordon's home.
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 3:10 PM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> I just saw the bird again at 3:45, Thank you Gordon for allowing us to
> visit!
>
> Like Gordon said, GPS to get here was a little tricky. You need to go one
> driveway past where it tells you to turn right, and continue down that
> drive and turn right at the Whispering Prairie sign, then follow that all
> the way down to his place.
>
> - Tobin Brown
>
> On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus=
> <yahoo.com...> wrote:
>
>> [image: Inline image]
>>
>> On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io
>> <prubinus...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul
>> Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has
>> generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am
>> told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming
>> and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this
>> afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get
>> home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is
>> better.
>>
>>
>
>
Date: 5/27/26 2:10 pm From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
I just saw the bird again at 3:45, Thank you Gordon for allowing us to
visit!
Like Gordon said, GPS to get here was a little tricky. You need to go one
driveway past where it tells you to turn right, and continue down that
drive and turn right at the Whispering Prairie sign, then follow that all
the way down to his place.
- Tobin Brown
On Wed, May 27, 2026, 8:38 AM Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> [image: Inline image]
>
> On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io
> <prubinus...> wrote:
>
>
> It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul
> Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has
> generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am
> told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming
> and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this
> afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get
> home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is
> better.
>
>
Date: 5/27/26 6:38 am From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: [NEBirds] Map to painted bunting near Valentine
On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 06:30:19 AM MDT, Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> wrote:
It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is better.
Date: 5/27/26 5:30 am From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: [NEBirds] update on painted bunting near Valentine
It was seen again this morning before sunrise (and photoed by Paul Roison?), then again at 7 a.m. I did not anticipate the interest it has generated. Anyone wanting to try and see it is welcome at my place. I am told GPS is not reliable to get you all the way here. Call me if coming and after your GPS takes you across the Borman Bridge. I am gone this afternoon. I will try and post if it is seen this evening when I get home. Email is not great for me as I have a flip phone. 402-760-1437 is better.
Date: 5/26/26 1:13 pm From: Jon Strong via groups.io <jon.strong...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] eBird Hotspot updates to Platte River SP and Neale Woods
Tobin, part of Nebraska is also in DeSoto NWR across the river in Iowa. The line is actually across some water on the refuge on the Iowa side. Jon S. Omaha, NE
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 09:37:44 AM CDT, Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> wrote:
Nebraska eBirders,
(especially Cass and Douglas County birders)
I've made a couple of hotspot additions that might be interesting and/or useful.
First, I've added several sub-hotspots to Platte River SP in Cass County, including the most commonly birded area: Stone Creek Falls. Since it is a large park, breaking it up into a few areas made sense to avoid the driving distance on checklists. It looks like some people are already using these more accurate locations, which is great!
Second (more important for county listers), I've added a second hotspot to Neale Woods. While Keegan and I were looking for Acadian Flycatchers yesterday in Douglas County, we realized we had actually hiked over the county line into Washington. I've added Neale Woods--Washington Co. to handle this. The majority of Raccoon Hollow (Acadian Flycatcher territory) is actually in Washington County. The attached map shows roughly where the county line is.
P.S. As always don't hesitate to reach out with questions or suggestions, or suggest your personal locations as hotspots. We've added quite a few in the last few months, and it's cool to see the map filling out.
----Tobin BrownLincoln, NE
eBird Hotspot Editor, Nebraska
Date: 5/26/26 7:37 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: [NEBirds] eBird Hotspot updates to Platte River SP and Neale Woods
Nebraska eBirders,
(especially Cass and Douglas County birders)
I've made a couple of hotspot additions that might be interesting and/or useful.
First, I've added several sub-hotspots to Platte River SP <https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1192641/hotspots> in Cass County, including the most commonly birded area: Stone Creek Falls <https://ebird.org/hotspot/L66776043>. Since it is a large park, breaking it up into a few areas made sense to avoid the driving distance on checklists. It looks like some people are already using these more accurate locations, which is great!
Second (more important for county listers), I've added a second hotspot to Neale Woods <https://ebird.org/hotspot/L649790>. While Keegan and I were looking for Acadian Flycatchers yesterday in Douglas County, we realized we had actually hiked over the county line into Washington. I've added Neale Woods--Washington Co. <https://ebird.org/hotspot/L67778825> to handle this. The majority of Raccoon Hollow (Acadian Flycatcher territory) is actually in Washington County. The attached map shows roughly where the county line is.
Date: 5/26/26 4:59 am From: Matt Shurtliff via groups.io <mmscornhusker...> Subject: [NEBirds] Crescent Lake NWR - fire recovery
Hi all - I went to Crescent yesterday, which has been my favorite place in the state since Dr. Johnsgard took us there in Field Ornithology in the summer of 1989. This is my first look post-fire. I entered from the south via Oshkosh and exited to the NE via the road to Lakeside.
The vastness of the vire was definitely shocking, and it's fire-scarred in all directions as far as the eye can see. The fence posts are burned for large lengths, and in the worst areas there are long sections where the wooden posts have been replaced. The few trees that are out there took a beating. One entire windbreak plant on the road up from Oshkosh was fully burned. The old dead trees in a few spots on the marsh are charred. The fire came close to the HQ area and nearby trees, but none of that burned.
That said - I was very encouraged to see plenty of signs of recovery. There's a lot of devastation to be sure, but even in the very worst areas, there is some green grass and sage brush beginning to sprout. You don't have to look to hard to see it. In many other areas, there was much more grass, and the new sage were > 6 inches high, with the yucca were beginning to grow new sprouts. Even saw a few wildflowers. These areas were greener than areas that hadn't been burned. As a good friend told me, the prairie is resilient and is doing it's thing.
The wet meadows are as green as ever, and there are plenty of birds there. Large numbers of Ibis, Avocet, and Phalaropes yesterday. More Phalaropes than I've ever seen at once. On the drive in there were several Curlews feeding in charred areas with new grass growth.
Water levels are LOW. I've been there on days where there was water lapping over the roads, now it's > 100 yards away.
I took quite a few pictures, if any of you have interest, just email me offline and I'll send you some.
Date: 5/25/26 10:59 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] Burrowing Owls in Alliance, NE (Box Butte County)
Looking for a little bit of help. 4 Burrowing Owls were posted on a May 19, 2026 checklist in Alliance, NE by Jaxson and Caleb Craiglow. They are not members of the NOU so on contact information. Does anyone have information on where (town of Alliance) these owls have been seen. Being in town, it seems to me that they may have an established territory. If you have any information regarding the wonderful birds, please respond to this email or call me at 712-301-2817
God Bless. *Paul O. Roisen* *Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA* *Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
Date: 5/25/26 6:50 am From: Paul Hubert via groups.io <paulhubert123...> Subject: [NEBirds] YB sapsuckers male & female, omaha
For the past week I have had a male and a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker eating suet in my backyard. Hopefully I will see some fledglings in a few weeks. Chip Hubert Omaha
Date: 5/24/26 11:52 am From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Plegadis ibis
Nebraska birders,
In the past, I assumed that every dark ibis I saw in Nebraska was
White-faced. I've learned that is not the case so if I can't identify
them to species, I report them as Plegadis sp.
Robin Harding
Shelton, Nebr.
On Sun, May 24, 2026 at 12:46 PM Rick Wright via groups.io <birdaz=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
On Sun, May 24, 2026 at 1:57 PM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi Rick,
>
> I think people are seeing flocks and assuming Glossy, either because they
> are inexperienced with the ID or from the East where Glossy outnumbers
> White-faced.
>
> Lots of new birders out for the Birding Bowl as well!
>
> - Tobin Brown
>
>
> On Sun, May 24, 2026, 12:46 PM Rick Wright via groups.io <birdaz=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>> In anticipation of leading a group in the Panhandle next month, I've been
>> reading the eBird alerts for Nebraska. What's with checklists that tally
>> numerous glossy and no white-faced ibis? Has something changed?
>> Best wishes to all,
>>
>> *Rick Wright, Birds and Art <https://ventbird.com/rick-wright> *tours
>> with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours <https://ventbird.com/> >>
>> Books and book chapters
>> <https://smile.amazon.com/Rick-Wright/e/B00HDUI4H6?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1637440375&sr=8-1> >>
>>
>>
>
>
Date: 5/24/26 10:57 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Plegadis ibis
Hi Rick,
I think people are seeing flocks and assuming Glossy, either because they
are inexperienced with the ID or from the East where Glossy outnumbers
White-faced.
Lots of new birders out for the Birding Bowl as well!
- Tobin Brown
On Sun, May 24, 2026, 12:46 PM Rick Wright via groups.io <birdaz=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
Date: 5/24/26 10:46 am From: Rick Wright via groups.io <birdaz...> Subject: [NEBirds] Plegadis ibis
In anticipation of leading a group in the Panhandle next month, I've been reading the eBird alerts for Nebraska. What's with checklists that tally numerous glossy and no white-faced ibis? Has something changed? Best wishes to all,
Date: 5/23/26 8:00 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 5 Summary
What a great season and some nice pics of the warblers.
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Sat, May 23, 2026 at 6:33 PM Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io
<oliviademarchi7...> wrote:
> Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 5 (May 19-23) Summary
>
> Spring migration banding has wrapped up at Ash Hollow and it proved to be
> an exciting and bittersweet ending. We ended the week with 136 newly banded
> birds and 37 recaptures of 25 species. The week started off strong with an
> Eastern Screech-owl finding its way into a net early Tuesday morning. This
> was an adult female with a brood patch, so she probably had a nest nearby
> and was out hunting before the sun peeked over the hill. The owl was
> already plenty exciting, so imagine my surprise later that same morning
> when I found a beautiful male Scarlet Tanager in a net. This bird was
> spotted by birders a couple days later, so he may be sticking around for
> some time. Other highlights from the week include recapturing the same
> female Hooded Warbler from last Saturday 3 times over 3 days and then
> capturing a male Hooded Warbler this Saturday. The male was singing loud
> and proud before getting caught and if the female is still around Ash
> Hollow, I hope they find each other. Lastly, we also managed to capture a
> pretty male Chestnut-sided Warbler in alternate plumage on Thursday. This
> was one species I was crossing my fingers for after Merlin picked up one
> singing around the station. Other odd warblers heard and seen around the
> station this week include Bay-breasted Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler, so
> it's safe to say Ash Hollow is a great place to spot some eastern vagrants.
>
> It's been a fantastic season and I want to thank all of the visiting
> school groups and the Birdy Blitz program participants for coming out to
> learn about bird banding. Migration banding at Ash Hollow will be up and
> running again next spring, and if you are interested in scheduling a school
> field trip please contact Delanie Bruce at
> <delanie.bruce...> or 308-633-1013. See you next year!
>
>
>
> *May 19-23, 2026 Banding Totals:*
> Northern House Wren 4, 7 recaps
> Yellow Warbler 3, 4 recaps
> Common Yellowthroat 3
> American Redstart 2, 1 recap
> Hooded Warbler 1, 3 recaps
> Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
> Ovenbird 2, 2 recaps
> Least Flycatcher 4
> Trail's Flycatcher 1
> Unknown Warbling Vireo 1, 1 recap
> Red-eyed Vireo 7, 1 recap
> Lincoln's Sparrow 2 recaps
> Lark Sparrow 3
> Spotted Towhee 1
> Swainson's Thrush 78, 11 recaps
> Veery 2
> Hermit Thrush 1
> Brown Thrasher 2
> Gray Catbird 8, 4 recaps
> Yellow-breasted Chat 2
> Orchard Oriole 3
> Northern Cardinal 2, 1 recap
> Scarlet Tanager 1
> American Robin 1
> Eastern Screech-owl 1
>
> Olivia DeMarchi
> Bander, Ash Hollow
> Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
>
>
>
Date: 5/23/26 4:33 pm From: Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io <oliviademarchi7...> Subject: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 5 Summary
Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 5 (May 19-23) Summary
Spring migration banding has wrapped up at Ash Hollow and it proved to be an exciting and bittersweet ending. We ended the week with 136 newly banded birds and 37 recaptures of 25 species. The week started off strong with an Eastern Screech-owl finding its way into a net early Tuesday morning. This was an adult female with a brood patch, so she probably had a nest nearby and was out hunting before the sun peeked over the hill. The owl was already plenty exciting, so imagine my surprise later that same morning when I found a beautiful male Scarlet Tanager in a net. This bird was spotted by birders a couple days later, so he may be sticking around for some time. Other highlights from the week include recapturing the same female Hooded Warbler from last Saturday 3 times over 3 days and then capturing a male Hooded Warbler this Saturday. The male was singing loud and proud before getting caught and if the female is still around Ash Hollow, I hope they find each other. Lastly, we also managed to capture a pretty male Chestnut-sided Warbler in alternate plumage on Thursday. This was one species I was crossing my fingers for after Merlin picked up one singing around the station. Other odd warblers heard and seen around the station this week include Bay-breasted Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler, so it's safe to say Ash Hollow is a great place to spot some eastern vagrants.
It's been a fantastic season and I want to thank all of the visiting school groups and the Birdy Blitz program participants for coming out to learn about bird banding. Migration banding at Ash Hollow will be up and running again next spring, and if you are interested in scheduling a school field trip please contact Delanie Bruce at delanie.bruce@birdconservancy. org ( <delanie.bruce...> ) or 308-633-1013. See you next year!
Date: 5/23/26 8:41 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting.
Thanks, Paul. Appreciate it plan on seeing you at the meeting.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Fri, May 22, 2026 at 11:08 PM Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> The homeowner has been watching but it hasnt reappeared. My guess is that
> it moved on. She did send me a pic of a nice male Indigo x Lazuli, but
> that’s not a PABU substitute. If it shows up again before next week, I’m
> sure she’ll let me know.
>
>
> Paul L. Pearson, Ph.D.
> President, Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
>
>
>
> --
> Paul L. Pearson, PhD
> President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
> Omaha, NE
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/22/26 9:08 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting.
The homeowner has been watching but it hasnt reappeared. My guess is that it moved on. She did send me a pic of a nice male Indigo x Lazuli, but that’s not a PABU substitute. If it shows up again before next week, I’m sure she’ll let me know.
Paul L. Pearson, Ph.D.
President, Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
--
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
Date: 5/21/26 3:42 pm From: Richard Eades via groups.io <golferick.re...> Subject: [NEBirds] Scarlet tanager
Happy to see a beautiful scarlet tanager on my walk home from work. First one i have seen in my neighborhood and possibly a new Lancaster County species. I'll have to check later.
Date: 5/21/26 2:57 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] Cerulean and worm eating warblers
Search for 2 1/2 hours with no luck but I heard the cerulean faintly but no
follow up. God bless. Have a great day.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Thu, May 21, 2026 at 6:40 AM Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Greeting from Sioux City, IA
>
> * Ross Silcock-Co-editor Birds of Nebraska Online*, sent the
> following to the Nebraska listserv sometime May 2026 regarding this article
> from Ted Floyd, a well-known birder from Colorado who first introduce me to
> birding by ear rather and just looking for birds with eyes and bins during
> one of my very early IOU Spring Meeting for which Ted Floyd was our Keynote
> speaker.
>
> This was long before *there was any talk of “two warbling-vireo”
> becoming full species according to current science, and both of them are
> here in the Front Range metro region of Colorado.*
>
>
> * David Suddjian reminds us that the songs of Eastern and Western
> warbling-vireos are distinct, and I don't disagree. But I am wary of our
> ability to tell them apart, especially where they overlap, as here. Do they
> differ, to our human ears, between Nevada and New Jersey? Sure. Between San
> Miguel Co., Colo., and New Jersey? Yes, I would say so. But all up and down
> the I-25 corridor, from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and beyond, where most of us
> live and bird, I'm not convinced of that. I've been studying these birds'
> songs intensively for close to 20 years now, and I simply don't trust my
> ears, or, let's be honest, my brain all that much. I think it's probably
> true that there are some, well, no-brainers in the mix. But birds on
> migration? Birds exposed to the "wrong" Vireo song? Hybrids or intergrades,
> perish the thought? I imagine there's an awful lot of that going on
> here. But can we, please, pretty please, agree on one thing? "Merlin"
> isn't adequate for the ID. It really isn't. And please keep in mind: I am
> one of the loudest champions of Merlin. It's a magnificent guide,
> pedagogically brilliant, informing and inspiring millions of peeps who
> might not otherwise notice birds. Merlin is all those things. It really is.
> But, again, Merlin is, in the first and final analysis, a guide. A
> suggestion, a recommendation. And so, as the old saying goes, we "trust but
> verify." Merlin wonderfully outputs spectrograms, and saves the audio, for
> every single bird it provisionally identifies for you. When Merlin says
> "Eastern Warbling-Vireo", great—but you'd better be prepared to produce the
> goods: the spectrogram for your friendly neighborhood eBird reviewer. *
>
> _____________________________
>
> A very large percentage of people who bird Nebraska can look forward to
> the opportunity to add a Western Warbling Vireo to their state list. Interestingly,
> as of my search at Macaulay Library.org, there is only ONE recorded record
> of a Western Warbling Vireo (WEWV) from Nebraska.
>
>
>
> *Your friend the Spectrogram: Courtesy of MacaulayLibrary.org.*
>
> *Eastern Warbling Vireo (EAWV)**.*
>
>
>
> [image: image.jpeg]
>
> *Eastern Warbling Vireo*
>
> - *The Melody:* Sounds like a continuous, breezy, and pleasant string
> of notes, sometimes described as a "happy drunk making a conversational
> point".
> - *The Pitch:* Lower-pitched and highly "sing-songy". Most of the
> beginning notes stay in the same octave.
> - *The Ending:* The most distinctive feature is that it usually ends
> on an emphatic, accented high note.
>
> *IMHO**: The (EAVA) has a much more pleasant and enthusiastic singing
> voice than the (WEWV).*
>
> *you will note a considerable difference between the spectrogram of an
> Eastern Warbling Vireo and a Western Warbling Vireo. *
>
> · *The Melody:* The song gives a more fragmented, "choppy" feel
> because it lacks a continuous flow.
>
> · *The Quality:* Described as "burry," squeaky, or slightly
> raspier—more like a finch.
>
> · *The Pitch:* Contains higher-pitched notes peppered evenly
> throughout the entire song, rather than saving the highest note for the end.
>
>
> *Western Warbling Vireo**. Far West Ventura, California *
>
> [image: image.jpeg]
>
> *Below* is the only WEWV Spectrogram I could find for Nebraska. Recorded
> by Steven Mlodinow June 1, 2022 at Oliver Reservoir in Kimball County.
>
> [image: image.png]
>
> Please note the difference between the Ventura California recording
> and the Kimball County, Nebraska recording. Similar but clearly a huge
> difference in vocalization as you go further west.
> Sure enough, one day after I wrote about only having one WEWV
> audio/spectrogram for Nebraska, Stephen Brenner and Brady Krag turned in a
> checklist with two audio/spectrograms supporting Western Warbling Vireo.
> From 1 one spectrogram to 3.
>
> #1 [image: image.png] #2[image: Western Warbling Vireo - Stephen Brenner]
> #1 Looks very much like the S. Mlodinow recording from 2022. Recording
> #2 seems quite different and I had trouble hearing WEWV but suspect it is
> the portion circled in red.
>
>
> Regardless, this bodes well for possibly hearing one or two next
> weekend at the NOU.
>
>
> [image: image.jpeg]
>
> The Nebraska map above (*from Bird of Nebraska Online*) shows a
> best guess, based on current thinking, that the further west you go in the
> Panhandle the more likely you are to have the opportunity to run into a
> (WEW). It is very possible that Nebraska birders will either confirm the
> theory or disprove it once we start adding more and more audio
> (spectrograms) to solidify a more accurate map of the areas the Western
> Warbling Vireo cross during the annual migration journeys.
>
> There other things you need to consider as you go searching for
> Warbling Vireos are the “Migration Dates”.
>
> *Western Warbling Vireo*:
>
> *Spring Migration: *May 8 through the middle of June.
>
> * Fall Migration: *August 30th through September 15.
>
>
>
> Very much looking forward to the Fall NOU meeting and expecting to
> get some decent opportunities for a new Nebraska bird for my list. *But
> NOT without a decent spectrogram*. We need some decent audio to pass the
> test!
>
> Maybe more info will be shared with us on Friday or Saturday at the
> meeting.
>
>
>
> In closing, I would like to thank Ross Silcock and Mark Brogie for
> providing me with good information and food for thought. An extra thanks
> to Ross for giving me some corrections on my thinking. I hope this
> version is more accurate than the one I first shared with Ross.
>
>
> P.S. I have attached a copy in case you wish to print it out for some
> reason or other.
>
>
>
> God Bless,
>
> Paul Roisen
>
>
>
Date: 5/21/26 9:29 am From: Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> Subject: [NEBirds] Fish Crow
Incredible, there is still one Fish Crow on the nest in Fairbury. She was moving around a bit; hopefully the eggs or young survived. As Bill reported, there is an unbelievable amount of downed timber in the town.
Date: 5/21/26 4:40 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: [NEBirds] The Twp Warbling Vireos: Follow up
Greeting from Sioux City, IA
* Ross Silcock-Co-editor Birds of Nebraska Online*, sent the
following to the Nebraska listserv sometime May 2026 regarding this article
from Ted Floyd, a well-known birder from Colorado who first introduce me to
birding by ear rather and just looking for birds with eyes and bins during
one of my very early IOU Spring Meeting for which Ted Floyd was our Keynote
speaker.
This was long before *there was any talk of “two warbling-vireo”
becoming full species according to current science, and both of them are
here in the Front Range metro region of Colorado.*
* David Suddjian reminds us that the songs of Eastern and Western
warbling-vireos are distinct, and I don't disagree. But I am wary of our
ability to tell them apart, especially where they overlap, as here. Do they
differ, to our human ears, between Nevada and New Jersey? Sure. Between San
Miguel Co., Colo., and New Jersey? Yes, I would say so. But all up and down
the I-25 corridor, from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and beyond, where most of us
live and bird, I'm not convinced of that. I've been studying these birds'
songs intensively for close to 20 years now, and I simply don't trust my
ears, or, let's be honest, my brain all that much. I think it's probably
true that there are some, well, no-brainers in the mix. But birds on
migration? Birds exposed to the "wrong" Vireo song? Hybrids or intergrades,
perish the thought? I imagine there's an awful lot of that going on
here. But can we, please, pretty please, agree on one thing? "Merlin"
isn't adequate for the ID. It really isn't. And please keep in mind: I am
one of the loudest champions of Merlin. It's a magnificent guide,
pedagogically brilliant, informing and inspiring millions of peeps who
might not otherwise notice birds. Merlin is all those things. It really is.
But, again, Merlin is, in the first and final analysis, a guide. A
suggestion, a recommendation. And so, as the old saying goes, we "trust but
verify." Merlin wonderfully outputs spectrograms, and saves the audio, for
every single bird it provisionally identifies for you. When Merlin says
"Eastern Warbling-Vireo", great—but you'd better be prepared to produce the
goods: the spectrogram for your friendly neighborhood eBird reviewer. *
_____________________________
A very large percentage of people who bird Nebraska can look forward to the
opportunity to add a Western Warbling Vireo to their state list.
Interestingly,
as of my search at Macaulay Library.org, there is only ONE recorded record
of a Western Warbling Vireo (WEWV) from Nebraska.
*Your friend the Spectrogram: Courtesy of MacaulayLibrary.org.*
*Eastern Warbling Vireo (EAWV)**.*
[image: image.jpeg]
*Eastern Warbling Vireo*
- *The Melody:* Sounds like a continuous, breezy, and pleasant string of
notes, sometimes described as a "happy drunk making a conversational point".
- *The Pitch:* Lower-pitched and highly "sing-songy". Most of the
beginning notes stay in the same octave.
- *The Ending:* The most distinctive feature is that it usually ends on
an emphatic, accented high note.
*IMHO**: The (EAVA) has a much more pleasant and enthusiastic singing
voice than the (WEWV).*
*you will note a considerable difference between the spectrogram of an
Eastern Warbling Vireo and a Western Warbling Vireo. *
· *The Melody:* The song gives a more fragmented, "choppy" feel
because it lacks a continuous flow.
· *The Quality:* Described as "burry," squeaky, or slightly
raspier—more like a finch.
· *The Pitch:* Contains higher-pitched notes peppered evenly
throughout the entire song, rather than saving the highest note for the end.
*Western Warbling Vireo**. Far West Ventura, California *
[image: image.jpeg]
*Below* is the only WEWV Spectrogram I could find for Nebraska. Recorded
by Steven Mlodinow June 1, 2022 at Oliver Reservoir in Kimball County.
[image: image.png]
Please note the difference between the Ventura California recording
and the Kimball County, Nebraska recording. Similar but clearly a huge
difference in vocalization as you go further west.
Sure enough, one day after I wrote about only having one WEWV
audio/spectrogram for Nebraska, Stephen Brenner and Brady Krag turned in a
checklist with two audio/spectrograms supporting Western Warbling Vireo.
From 1 one spectrogram to 3.
#1 [image: image.png] #2[image: Western Warbling Vireo - Stephen Brenner] #1
Looks very much like the S. Mlodinow recording from 2022. Recording #2
seems quite different and I had trouble hearing WEWV but suspect it is the
portion circled in red.
Regardless, this bodes well for possibly hearing one or two next
weekend at the NOU.
[image: image.jpeg]
The Nebraska map above (*from Bird of Nebraska Online*) shows a best
guess, based on current thinking, that the further west you go in the
Panhandle the more likely you are to have the opportunity to run into a
(WEW). It is very possible that Nebraska birders will either confirm the
theory or disprove it once we start adding more and more audio
(spectrograms) to solidify a more accurate map of the areas the Western
Warbling Vireo cross during the annual migration journeys.
There other things you need to consider as you go searching for
Warbling Vireos are the “Migration Dates”.
*Western Warbling Vireo*:
*Spring Migration: *May 8 through the middle of June.
* Fall Migration: *August 30th through September 15.
Very much looking forward to the Fall NOU meeting and expecting to
get some decent opportunities for a new Nebraska bird for my list. *But
NOT without a decent spectrogram*. We need some decent audio to pass the
test!
Maybe more info will be shared with us on Friday or Saturday at the
meeting.
In closing, I would like to thank Ross Silcock and Mark Brogie for
providing me with good information and food for thought. An extra thanks
to Ross for giving me some corrections on my thinking. I hope this
version is more accurate than the one I first shared with Ross.
P.S. I have attached a copy in case you wish to print it out for some
reason or other.
Date: 5/20/26 7:33 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting in Crawford, Dawes Co?
I spoke to the homeowner today and the Bunting hadnt been seen. If it shows up tomorrow she will let me know and I'll head up there in the afternoon from CO. She's a first time Birding Bowl participant and first year eBirder. She wasnt aware and surprised that it might cause people to contact her or show up unexpectedly, so it's good we made contact before that potentially happened. Fingers crossed...Sent from my Galaxy -------- Original message --------From: "Paul L. Pearson via groups.io" <Propearson...> Date: 5/20/26 2:57 PM (GMT-07:00) To: <NEBirds...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting in Crawford, Dawes Co? Thanks to TJ-the Game and Parks folks up there made contact and I have her #. PABU was around yesterday pretty much all day, but today is rainy and not much activity on feeders.I'm going to call her this afternoon to assess and gauge her interest for potential visitors so please refrain from trying to contact her until I report back. If it sticks around, we dont want to overwhelm or spook her allowing access obviously.if she sees it tomorrow AM I should be able to be there by late afternoon.thanks all-will report backPaul P-------- Original message --------From: "Paul L. Pearson via groups.io" <Propearson...> Date: 5/19/26 10:00 PM (GMT-07:00) To: <NEBirds...> Subject: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting in Crawford, Dawes Co? Does anyone know Marie Osborn in Crawford or in the area and could attempt to contact her?
Since we will be there next week for NOU, it would be amazing if the bird stuck around on the feeder and everyone could see it. Selfishly, I am coming back through panhandle on Thurs/Fri and would gladly head up there and ‘verify’ it in person. ;) (male PABU is basically my already reported NE dream bird)
-- Paul L. Pearson, PhD President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ UnionOmaha, NE
-- Paul L. Pearson, PhD President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ UnionOmaha, NE
Date: 5/20/26 1:57 pm From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting in Crawford, Dawes Co?
Thanks to TJ-the Game and Parks folks up there made contact and I have her #. PABU was around yesterday pretty much all day, but today is rainy and not much activity on feeders.I'm going to call her this afternoon to assess and gauge her interest for potential visitors so please refrain from trying to contact her until I report back. If it sticks around, we dont want to overwhelm or spook her allowing access obviously.if she sees it tomorrow AM I should be able to be there by late afternoon.thanks all-will report backPaul PSent from my Galaxy -------- Original message --------From: "Paul L. Pearson via groups.io" <Propearson...> Date: 5/19/26 10:00 PM (GMT-07:00) To: <NEBirds...> Subject: [NEBirds] Painted Bunting in Crawford, Dawes Co? Does anyone know Marie Osborn in Crawford or in the area and could attempt to contact her?
Since we will be there next week for NOU, it would be amazing if the bird stuck around on the feeder and everyone could see it. Selfishly, I am coming back through panhandle on Thurs/Fri and would gladly head up there and ‘verify’ it in person. ;) (male PABU is basically my already reported NE dream bird)
-- Paul L. Pearson, PhD President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ UnionOmaha, NE
Date: 5/20/26 11:31 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: [NEBirds] Fledgling Pileated Woodpecker in Crete
Nebraska birders,
This morning I birded Tuxedo Park in Crete hoping to find a few interesting warblers (which I did find), but the highlight of the walk was a family of Pileated Woodpeckers on the walking trail on the east side of the park. Both adults were present and calling right above my head, while a fledgling female foraged nearby!
I know they've been working their way up the Big Blue River for a few years now, but it was encouraging to see evidence of breeding in that area. I didn't find a nest, but there were plenty of foraging holes in many large trees in the area, especially cottonwoods.
Date: 5/20/26 8:14 am From: Thomas Labedz via groups.io <telabedz...> Subject: [NEBirds] Conestoga warblers
Pine, Bay-breasted, Tennessee, Yellow, Yellow-rumped warblers, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-breasted Chat were on the north side of Conestoga Lake SRA this morning. All but the yellow-rumped were in or near the grove of old cedar trees near the jetty point southwest of the main campground. 54 species total reported through ebird. Thomas Labedz, Lincoln
Since we will be there next week for NOU, it would be amazing if the bird stuck around on the feeder and everyone could see it.
Selfishly, I am coming back through panhandle on Thurs/Fri and would gladly head up there and ‘verify’ it in person. ;) (male PABU is basically my already reported NE dream bird)
--
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
Date: 5/19/26 6:19 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: [NEBirds] lots lazuli buntings
"Lots" being a relative term. About 5 or 6 at present around my feeders at my house SE of Valentine. Some number has been present for the last 5 days or so. Probably the most I have seen in the 6 years I have been in this location. Three males in the first photo below. A female in the second. One male indigo is here, but I am not confident I have IDed a female indigo here yet this spring.
Date: 5/19/26 4:49 pm From: Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io <oliviademarchi7...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 Summary
Hi Tobin,
According to the Pyle guide there are slight differences in bill size and
very subtle plumage differences between Eastern and Western Warbling
Vireos. I'm recording bill width, depth, and nares to tip measurements on
all of them, but my boss told me since the differences are so subtle and
there is quite a bit of overlap in the measurements to record all the WAVIs
as UNWV. Western Nebraska is such an interesting place to study WAVIs since
the split since theoretically we could get both at Ash Hollow and I have
questions about possible intergrades which just makes everything more
muddled and confusing. From the data I've gathered from the WAVIs captured
so far, they seem to line up more with the Eastern species, which makes
sense since we're more on the edge of the Western's range. I'm not an
expert at distinguishing their songs, but I do seem to hear more of the
Eastern species' song as well. Possibly in the future we will understand a
better way to distinguish them, but that's all I know for now! I am also
collecting feather samples from all the WAVIs to send off to the Bird
Genoscape Project in hopes they can learn more. Hope that answers your
question and thanks for reaching out!
Olivia
On Tue, May 19, 2026 at 11:32 AM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi Olivia,
>
> Incredible week! I'm curious about the Warbling Vireos. I'm assuming since
> you have them as "unknown" there isn't enough measurement data or anything
> to separate them? I'm sure you're collecting lots of data on them, I'm just
> curious if you had any insights into how those might be differentiated in
> the future, besides DNA.
>
> Thanks!
>
> p.s. I heard you had a Scarlet Tanager today, that's a great bird out
> there!
>
> ----
> *Tobin Brown*
> Lincoln, NE
> eBird Hotspot Editor, Nebraska
> Editor Seasonal Reports, Nebraska Bird Review
>
>
>
Date: 5/19/26 3:51 pm From: jandb532 via groups.io <jandb532...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Fish Crows in Fairbury
Took a short side trip to the Fairbury city park to check on the Fish Crows. The park is filled with fallen tree limbs but roads are clear. I did spot 2 crows who were kind enough to give a raspy nasal call and I'm confident they were Fish Crows. One flew to their nest in a sycamore tree near the shelter in the center of the park. I did not get pics of the birds but I did get some good looks at the nest and did not notice any activity. The adult only spent about 10 seconds on the nest before flying. I checked the ground below the tree but did not find any evidence of dead or injured young.
Date: 5/19/26 10:32 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 Summary
Hi Olivia,
Incredible week! I'm curious about the Warbling Vireos. I'm assuming since you have them as "unknown" there isn't enough measurement data or anything to separate them? I'm sure you're collecting lots of data on them, I'm just curious if you had any insights into how those might be differentiated in the future, besides DNA.
Thanks!
p.s. I heard you had a Scarlet Tanager today, that's a great bird out there!
Date: 5/18/26 10:13 pm From: Keet Redden via groups.io <keetredden...> Subject: [NEBirds] Interested in Polk County Lazuli Bunting
I noticed a report on eBird of a Lazuli Bunting in Polk County at someone’s home. I am interested and was just wanting to see if I could somehow see it. Please respond if that might be possible.
Date: 5/18/26 5:40 pm From: William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Fish Crows in Fairbury
I visited Fairbury this afternoon (May 18), hoping to find the Fish Crows. Unfortunately, Fairbury was hit very hard by a storm the night before last (May 16/17). There're big branches down all over the place, and some large trees have completely been snapped off or uprooted. I fear the worst for the Fish Crow nest, and for the crows themselves.
Tommy Childers reported them on eBird on May 16, so they were there at the time. Unless we're fortunate, he may have been the last to see them. I'm staying in Fairbury tonight, and plan to search for them again tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic: even if the adults survived the storm, they might have abandoned Fairbury in hopes of finding a calmer nesting site.
Date: 5/18/26 9:04 am From: Paula Dittrick via groups.io <pmdittrick...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Need ID help with photo
Thanks, others also say that it's common yellowthroat. What a great spring migration.
On Monday, May 18, 2026 at 10:36:39 AM CDT, Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura...> wrote:
Paul:
This looks like a female common yellowthroat.
LaurelFrom: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Paula Dittrick via groups.io <pmdittrick...>
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2026 5:19 PM
To: NEBIRDS <nebirds...>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [NEBirds] Need ID help with photo
|
This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.
|
I took this photo on the morning of May 9 east of Doniphan at a USDA conservation easement right next to a gravel road. Can anybody please help me identify this bird? I only got two photos of it and a leaf covered part of the head in the other photo.ThanksPaula DittrickHastings
Date: 5/18/26 8:36 am From: Badura, Laurel via groups.io <laurel_badura...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Need ID help with photo
Paul:
This looks like a female common yellowthroat.
Laurel
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Paula Dittrick via groups.io <pmdittrick...>
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2026 5:19 PM
To: NEBIRDS <nebirds...>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [NEBirds] Need ID help with photo
This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.
I took this photo on the morning of May 9 east of Doniphan at a USDA conservation easement right next to a gravel road. Can anybody please help me identify this bird? I only got two photos of it and a leaf covered part of the head in the other photo.
Thanks
Paula Dittrick
Hastings
Date: 5/17/26 6:52 pm From: DuaneS via groups.io <djschw...> Subject: [NEBirds] Hwy 75/Platte River Eagle Nest
We checked the eagle nest along the Platte River today. The young eagles are good sized already. We also checked on the osprey nest that is on the cell phone tower at Beach Road by the trucking company. There is a nest on the tower but in the half hour we were watching it, there was no activity.
Duane & Kathy Schwery
Cass county
Date: 5/17/26 4:10 pm From: flyingcarlini via groups.io <flyingcarlini...> Subject: [NEBirds] Mississippi Kite nest tree mutilation
Hello birders,
Today we checked the Woodsdale Blvd. oak tree where MIKIs have been know to nest the past 3 years and found that formerly magnificent big full tree has been mercilessly pruned during the city's current tree-chopping rampage and is now a bare skinny unrecognizable skeleton of its former self, no nest visible so presumably that branch was chopped off and big horizontal branch that adults always preened on is gone - a giant branch fell last summer during insane 91 mph winds but that's no justification to turn that grand tree into a largely leafless sprig.
Date: 5/16/26 6:19 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 Summary
That is a super week. A good number of species I do not have in that
county.
Great to head the good news!
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Sat, May 16, 2026 at 4:28 PM Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io
<oliviademarchi7...> wrote:
> Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 (May 12-16) Summary
>
> Greetings! It was another productive week of banding at Ash Hollow with
> 184 newly banded birds and 13 recaptures. About half of the total birds
> banded this week were Swainson's Thrush, so I am deeming the Swainson's
> Thrush the emblem of Ash Hollow. Despite SWTH ruling the station, the
> diversity of birds has really kicked up in the last week with a total of 27
> species captured, including some very exciting warblers. Saturday brought a
> handful of species typically only seen in the eastern United States. I was
> shocked to find both a Hooded Warbler and a Worm-eating Warbler in our nets
> on the same net run. Both individuals, as well as the Magnolia Warbler from
> last week were second-years, or birds that hatched last year, which
> supports my running theory that young birds are more likely to get
> off-track during migration. I haven't dug into the literature on this
> topic, but it makes sense that birds with a little less life experience are
> more likely to find themselves in unfamiliar territory. On Saturday I also
> heard a Northern Parula singing high in the cottonwoods, so I'm sure there
> will be more strange vagrants popping up next week.
>
> Other highlights from the week include a stunning after second-year male
> Lazuli Bunting, an Orchard Oriole, and a Yellow-breasted Chat. The Gray
> Catbirds have also started coming in droves, so I hope to see many more
> next week. Next week is the last week of banding for our spring migration
> season, so if you are interested in seeing bird banding come on out! The
> best time to come is early morning between 6-8, but there are plenty of
> birds around all morning.
>
>
> *May 12-16, 2026 Banding Totals:*
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
> Northern House Wren 12, 1 recap
> Orange-crowned Warbler 2
> Yellow Warbler 9, 4 recaps
> MacGillivray's Warbler 1
> Common Yellowthroat 3
> American Redstart 1, 1 recap
> Ovenbird 6, 3 recaps
> Hooded Warbler 1
> Worm-eating Warbler 1
> Least Flycatcher 5
> Willow Flycatcher 1
> Unknown Warbling Vireo 4
> American Goldfinch 1
> Lazuli Bunting 1
> White-breasted Nuthatch 1
> Lincoln's Sparrow 2
> Spotted Towhee 1 recap
> Spotted Towhee x Eastern Towhee 1
> Swainson's Thrush 93, 2 recaps
> Veery 6
> Hermit Thrush 1
> Gray-cheeked Thrush 2
> Brown Thrasher 2
> Gray Catbird 24
> Yellow-breasted Chat 1
> Orchard Oriole 1
>
> We are open to the public and encourage visitors to come check out bird
> banding Tuesday-Saturday sunrise to 6 hours after sunrise, weather
> permitting, until May 23rd. We are located at Ash Hollow State Historical
> Park off of highway 26 near Lewellen, NE. If coming north on highway 26,
> take a right onto Rd 42 following signs for the visitor center, then take
> the first left after crossing the stream. Ahead there is a picnic area with
> a small parking lot and a bathroom. The banding station is located in the
> grove of trees on the west edge of the parking lot. We hope to see you
> there!
>
> Olivia DeMarchi
> Bander, Ash Hollow
> Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
>
>
>
Date: 5/16/26 2:28 pm From: Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io <oliviademarchi7...> Subject: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 Summary
Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 4 (May 12-16) Summary
Greetings! It was another productive week of banding at Ash Hollow with 184 newly banded birds and 13 recaptures. About half of the total birds banded this week were Swainson's Thrush, so I am deeming the Swainson's Thrush the emblem of Ash Hollow. Despite SWTH ruling the station, the diversity of birds has really kicked up in the last week with a total of 27 species captured, including some very exciting warblers. Saturday brought a handful of species typically only seen in the eastern United States. I was shocked to find both a Hooded Warbler and a Worm-eating Warbler in our nets on the same net run. Both individuals, as well as the Magnolia Warbler from last week were second-years, or birds that hatched last year, which supports my running theory that young birds are more likely to get off-track during migration. I haven't dug into the literature on this topic, but it makes sense that birds with a little less life experience are more likely to find themselves in unfamiliar territory. On Saturday I also heard a Northern Parula singing high in the cottonwoods, so I'm sure there will be more strange vagrants popping up next week.
Other highlights from the week include a stunning after second-year male Lazuli Bunting, an Orchard Oriole, and a Yellow-breasted Chat. The Gray Catbirds have also started coming in droves, so I hope to see many more next week. Next week is the last week of banding for our spring migration season, so if you are interested in seeing bird banding come on out! The best time to come is early morning between 6-8, but there are plenty of birds around all morning.
We are open to the public and encourage visitors to come check out bird banding Tuesday-Saturday sunrise to 6 hours after sunrise, weather permitting, until May 23rd. We are located at Ash Hollow State Historical Park off of highway 26 near Lewellen, NE. If coming north on highway 26, take a right onto Rd 42 following signs for the visitor center, then take the first left after crossing the stream. Ahead there is a picnic area with a small parking lot and a bathroom. The banding station is located in the grove of trees on the west edge of the parking lot. We hope to see you there!
Olivia DeMarchi
Bander, Ash Hollow
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Date: 5/16/26 12:09 pm From: Ross Silcock via groups.io <silcock...> Subject: [NEBirds] Merlin and warbling-vireos- Ted Floyd
This is an excerpt from a Feb 2026 post to COBIRDS by Ted Floyd, with some snipping by me. Some challenging thoughts re ID even with audio. I suspect the Nebraska Panhandle has a mix not unlike the CO Front Range.
The two warbling-vireos are indeed full species, according to current science, and both of them are here in the Front Range metro region. David Suddjian reminds us that the songs of Eastern and Western warbling-vireos are distinct, and I don't disagree. But I am wary of our ability to tell them apart, especially where they overlap, as here. Do they differ, to our human ears, between Nevada and New Jersey? Sure. Between San Miguel Co., Colo., and New Jersey? Yes, I would say so. But all up and down the I-25 corridor, from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and beyond, where most of us live and bird? I'm not convinced of that. I've been studying these birds' songs intensively for close to 20 years now, and I simply don't trust my ears, or, let's be honest, my brain all that much. I think it's probably true that there are some, well, no-brainers in the mix. But birds on migration? Birds exposed to the "wrong" vireo's song? Hybrids or intergrades, perish the thought? I imagine there's an awful lot of that going on here.
But can we, please, pretty please, agree on one thing? "Merlin" isn't adequate for the ID. It really isn't. And please keep in mind: I am one of the loudest champions of Merlin. It's a magnificent guide, pedagogically brilliant, informing and inspiring millions of peeps who might not otherwise notice birds. Merlin is all those things. It really is. But, again, Merlin is, in the first and final analysis, a guide. A suggestion, a recommendation. And so, as the old saying goes, we "trust but verify." Merlin wonderfully outputs spectrograms, and saves the audio, for every single bird it provisionally identifies for you. When Merlin says "Eastern Warbling-Vireo", great—but you'd better be prepared to produce the goods: the spectrogram for your friendly neighborhood eBird reviewer.
Ross
Ross Silcock
6810 Tournament Drive,
Houston, TX 77069
Date: 5/15/26 6:25 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: [NEBirds] two species of buntings
This morning at my feeder about 1.5 miles SE of Valentine, NE, an indigo bunting and later a lazuli bunting (both males). FOY. Yesterday, warbling vireo singing at Merritt Reservoir, Cherry County.
Date: 5/15/26 3:24 pm From: Mike Johnson via groups.io <12johnsonm93...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Cerulean Warbler - Lancaster county
Cerulean still present
On Fri, May 15, 2026 at 14:57 flyingcarlini via groups.io <flyingcarlini=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> Thank you Tobin for sharing your incredible find!!! A group of 5
> assembled and after about an hour he started singing overhead for just a
> couple minutes but long enough for us to glimpse his necklace and cap.
> Didn't hear or see him for the hour following but he was still on the 3711
> Washington property and last seen in the oak closest to 37th although there
> was movement afterwards in the biggest oak behind the house where he was
> earlier in the day.
>
> -Shari Schwartz & John Carlini, Lincoln
>
> On Friday, May 15, 2026 at 10:10:16 AM CDT, Tobin Brown via groups.io
> <tobinjbrown...> wrote:
>
>
> Seems content in the oak tree at 3711 Washington. Preening and singing
> occasionally.
>
> - Tobin
>
> On Fri, May 15, 2026, 9:41 AM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
> A singing male at 37th and Washington in Lincoln!
>
> https://discord.com/channels/1246125374824513566/1504852455655997460 >
>
>
>
>
> - Tobin Brown
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/15/26 3:20 pm From: Paula Dittrick via groups.io <pmdittrick...> Subject: [NEBirds] Need ID help with photo
I took this photo on the morning of May 9 east of Doniphan at a USDA conservation easement right next to a gravel road. Can anybody please help me identify this bird? I only got two photos of it and a leaf covered part of the head in the other photo.ThanksPaula DittrickHastings
Date: 5/15/26 12:57 pm From: flyingcarlini via groups.io <flyingcarlini...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Cerulean Warbler - Lancaster county
Thank you Tobin for sharing your incredible find!!! A group of 5 assembled and after about an hour he started singing overhead for just a couple minutes but long enough for us to glimpse his necklace and cap. Didn't hear or see him for the hour following but he was still on the 3711 Washington property and last seen in the oak closest to 37th although there was movement afterwards in the biggest oak behind the house where he was earlier in the day.
-Shari Schwartz & John Carlini, Lincoln On Friday, May 15, 2026 at 10:10:16 AM CDT, Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> wrote:
Seems content in the oak tree at 3711 Washington. Preening and singing occasionally.
- Tobin
On Fri, May 15, 2026, 9:41 AM Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> wrote:
Date: 5/15/26 10:22 am From: Phil Swanson via groups.io <pswanson19...> Subject: [NEBirds] New arrivals
The yard got busy today with new year birds. One male and one female Golden-winged Warbler, one male Blackpoll, a first spring male and adult male Orchard Oriole, and a female Indigo Bunting.
Date: 5/14/26 8:32 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Splat!
Goes on the What Bird Did That Lisr.Check the Field Guide
Don MaasMesa, AZMaricopa County
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 1:31 PM, Keith Geluso via groups.io <gelusok1...> wrote:
#yiv7251586236 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}Hi all, Being a professional mammalogist, I think Robin is safe from Hantaviruses with this exposure as I'm only aware of this virus in mammals and not birds. Now I really am sending this message to those of you that might be checking "bird boxes" such as blue birds, as mice will sometimes colonize them. Back in the 90s when the first "known" outbreak of hantavirus occurred and formally documented, it seemed that there were some bird enthusiasts that contracted hantaviruses from breathing in aerosolized fecal or urine matters when checking bluebird boxes. Might want to consider wearing a mask if there might be mice in those boxes. Love the posts, as always, Robin! keith
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Keith GelusoProfessor
Department of Biology
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849
<gelusok1...>
308 865-8982
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Don & Janis Paseka via groups.io <paseka76...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 2:20 PM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Splat!
| | Caution: Non-NU Email |
Robin,
Watch out for Hantavirus!
Don
On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 1:53 PM Robin Harding viagroups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
Bill and I were looking for birds at the Pender sewage lagoons recently. I was entering the birds that I saw on the ebird mobile app when ... SPLAT! Bird poop on the screen. We looked around and noticed that we were standing directly below a powerline with swallows perched upon it. I wonder if it was intentional or just luck. We moved out of harm's way. We'll need to be more careful next time.
Robin HardingShelton, NE
Date: 5/14/26 8:27 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Thanks for the report.
Really enjoy more people using NEBirds.
Value the experience along with the birds.
Don MaasMesa AZMaricopa County
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 6:24 PM, William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile...> wrote:
Fellow NEBirders— May 10 was the fourth and final day of Robin's and my joint expedition to northeastern Nebraska. For this last day, we joined Jan Johnson, who's recently moved to Wayne, and who guided us to some fine birding sites in Wayne and southern Dixon counties. We started the day in Wayne city, on the nature trail that runs through the Wayne State College campus. The prize there was a Blue-headed Vireo: rather shy and tending to hide behind branches and foliage, but we all eventually got some good looks at it, near eye level. The same or a different Blue-head sang from the upper branches. The song perplexed us for a while: not quite right for Red-eyed, and not raspy enough for Yellow-throated. Other nice birds included a Cooper's Hawk that flew across the trail, fleeing a mob of Blue Jays; we only saw the bird for about half a second, but during that half-second it uttered a "kek kek kek" call that enabled us to identify it with confidence. The oddest behavior was displayed by an American Crow that we saw hanging upside down, clinging to a branch with one foot. We wondered whether it might be tangled in a piece of string, the way that we've all too often seen dead water birds dangling from the fishing line in which they've become snarled. However, once this bird was through with this bout of gymnastics, it let go of the branch and flew off in the usual fashion. We made brief stops at the ponds in the park on the south side of Wayne (at the former site of the sewage ponds), and at the entrance to Ike's Lake (not being Izaak Walton members, we couldn't go in). Nothing remarkable at either location, and we didn't stay long. Just northwest of Ike's Lake, on the north side of 861 between 573 and 574, we birded Dog Town Creek Prairie & Arboretum. This is a piece of private land, but it's open to the public from March 1 to October 1, according to the sign at the entrance. I've created an eBird hotspot for it, so it can be found on the map that way. We birded the eastern part of the preserve, following a mown trail generally northward along the edge of the woods, then cutting eastward to check out a very small pond before returning to the car. The western part, which we didn't visit, apparently consists of prairie. It was around noon now, and the bird activity was dropping off somewhat. We didn't see anything remarkable, but had a decent suite of birds, including at least three Eastern Bluebirds and two Cedar Waxwings. Jan led us on into Dixon County. At the crossing of an unnamed creek on Hwy 116 just north of county road 861, we found a bit of puddle and mudflat with some shorebirds: Killdeer, Baird's, Least, White-rumped, and Pectoral Sandpipers. A bird that we almost missed was a single Savannah Sparrow standing in the water among the Least Sandpipers. Of course, we hadn't thought to bring my scope or Jan's, so the three of us spent lots of time changing places at Robin's scope. Our last stop was at the tree dump and sewage ponds in Allen. According to the signs, some years ago several high-school classes made a project of planting trees there. It looks as though the original two sewage ponds have been turned into park ponds, and a new large pond's been installed just over the low hill to the southwest. Our sightings included Blue-winged Teal, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Black Tern, and Purple Martin. I've created an eBird hotspot for the site. It was getting warm, and we were getting hungry, so we called it a day. Returned chez Johnson, picked up Richard, and the four of us checked out the Wayne dining scene. I logged three new birds in Wayne County: Blue-headed Vireo, Bank Swallow, and Clay-colored Sparrow. Five of our birds were new for my Dixon list: Baird's Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, and Clay-colored Sparrow. I've now got 149 species for each of the two counties. Robin added Rock Pigeon, Spotted Sandpiper, Black Tern, Cooper's hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-headed Vireo, Purple martin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler to her Wayne list, for a new total of 78 species. Baird's Sandpiper was new for her in Dixon County, giving her 127 species for the county. William Flack
Kearney
Date: 5/13/26 6:24 pm From: William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Fellow NEBirders—
May 10 was the fourth and final day of Robin's and my joint expedition to northeastern Nebraska. For this last day, we joined Jan Johnson, who's recently moved to Wayne, and who guided us to some fine birding sites in Wayne and southern Dixon counties.
We started the day in Wayne city, on the nature trail that runs through the Wayne State College campus. The prize there was a Blue-headed Vireo: rather shy and tending to hide behind branches and foliage, but we all eventually got some good looks at it, near eye level. The same or a different Blue-head sang from the upper branches. The song perplexed us for a while: not quite right for Red-eyed, and not raspy enough for Yellow-throated. Other nice birds included a Cooper's Hawk that flew across the trail, fleeing a mob of Blue Jays; we only saw the bird for about half a second, but during that half-second it uttered a "kek kek kek" call that enabled us to identify it with confidence. The oddest behavior was displayed by an American Crow that we saw hanging upside down, clinging to a branch with one foot. We wondered whether it might be tangled in a piece of string, the way that we've all too often seen dead water birds dangling from the fishing line in which they've become snarled. However, once this bird was through with this bout of gymnastics, it let go of the branch and flew off in the usual fashion.
We made brief stops at the ponds in the park on the south side of Wayne (at the former site of the sewage ponds), and at the entrance to Ike's Lake (not being Izaak Walton members, we couldn't go in). Nothing remarkable at either location, and we didn't stay long.
Just northwest of Ike's Lake, on the north side of 861 between 573 and 574, we birded Dog Town Creek Prairie & Arboretum. This is a piece of private land, but it's open to the public from March 1 to October 1, according to the sign at the entrance. I've created an eBird hotspot for it, so it can be found on the map that way. We birded the eastern part of the preserve, following a mown trail generally northward along the edge of the woods, then cutting eastward to check out a very small pond before returning to the car. The western part, which we didn't visit, apparently consists of prairie. It was around noon now, and the bird activity was dropping off somewhat. We didn't see anything remarkable, but had a decent suite of birds, including at least three Eastern Bluebirds and two Cedar Waxwings.
Jan led us on into Dixon County. At the crossing of an unnamed creek on Hwy 116 just north of county road 861, we found a bit of puddle and mudflat with some shorebirds: Killdeer, Baird's, Least, White-rumped, and Pectoral Sandpipers. A bird that we almost missed was a single Savannah Sparrow standing in the water among the Least Sandpipers. Of course, we hadn't thought to bring my scope or Jan's, so the three of us spent lots of time changing places at Robin's scope.
Our last stop was at the tree dump and sewage ponds in Allen. According to the signs, some years ago several high-school classes made a project of planting trees there. It looks as though the original two sewage ponds have been turned into park ponds, and a new large pond's been installed just over the low hill to the southwest. Our sightings included Blue-winged Teal, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Black Tern, and Purple Martin. I've created an eBird hotspot for the site.
It was getting warm, and we were getting hungry, so we called it a day. Returned chez Johnson, picked up Richard, and the four of us checked out the Wayne dining scene.
I logged three new birds in Wayne County: Blue-headed Vireo, Bank Swallow, and Clay-colored Sparrow. Five of our birds were new for my Dixon list: Baird's Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, and Clay-colored Sparrow. I've now got 149 species for each of the two counties. Robin added Rock Pigeon, Spotted Sandpiper, Black Tern, Cooper's hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-headed Vireo, Purple martin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler to her Wayne list, for a new total of 78 species. Baird's Sandpiper was new for her in Dixon County, giving her 127 species for the county.
Date: 5/13/26 5:13 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Nebraska birders,
Bill Flack and I continued our birding marathon in Thurston County on May
09. We started in Pender at the sewage ponds. We were able to see the
ponds from the top of the berm on the other side of the road. We saw
seventeen species including 12 Hudsonian Godwits, a few Black Terns, Bank
Swallows and I saw one Yellow-headed Blackbird fly by. New county birds
for me were the Godwits, Wilson's Phalaropes, Black Terns, Northern
Rough-winged Swallows, Western Meadowlark and Yellow-headed Blackbird.
That's where a bird pooped on my phone. The previous day, in Burt County,
we saw more Godwits but were unable to identify them to species.
We walked the edge of the Thurston sewage ponds and around the tree dump.
We saw 25 species including some shorebirds and sparrows. Bill spotted a
Green Heron that was standing at the edge of a pond beside some tall
plants. It was hard to see clearly even with a scope but we could not see
its head. It wasn't moving at all. Maybe it was sleeping. New county
birds for me were Blue-winged Teal, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs,
Least Sandpiper, Chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, and Harris's Sparrow.
We birded a couple of Omaha Creek bridges near the intersection of county
roads 26 and G. We found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a Black and White
Warbler, a Swainson's Thrush and a nice variety of the usual species. New
county birds for me were Swainson's Thrush, Song Sparrow, and Black and
White Warbler. Sometimes those county road creek crossings have some great
birds.
Our next stop was at the Winnebago sewage lagoons. We walked all the way
around them, which was tiresome because of the steep slope. We found 37
species including twelve species of shorebirds. Among the shorebirds was a
Semipalmated Plover, three Hudsonian Godwits, and both yellowlegs. It was
nice to see such a variety. I still get confused sometimes but it was good
to compare them side by side. It gives me a little more confidence. A few
Franklin's Gulls and Black Terns flew over while we were there. I heard a
Least Flycatcher but could not see it, although seeing it may not have
helped. New county birds for me were American Coot, Semipalmated Plover,
Greater Yellowlegs, Baird's Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral
Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Bald Eagle, Least Flycatcher, Eastern
Kingbird, and Savannah Sparrow. The Eastern Kingbird was a new 93 county
bird for me. I'm up to lucky number thirteen species seen in all 93
counties.
Mid afternoon, we walked almost a mile at Big Bear Park, an easier walk
since it was all on level ground. We found 25 species including a couple
more Swainson's Thrushes, an Orchard Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We
saw a nice variety of sparrows as well. New county birds for me were
Lincoln's Sparrow, and Orchard Oriole.
Bill's new county birds for the day were Semipalmated Plover, Hudsonian
Godwit, Baird's Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper,
Greater Yellowlegs, Swainson's Thrush, Clay-colored Sparrow and Black and
White Warbler. His new total for the county is 153 species.
I suppose you can tell that I haven't been birding in Thurston County very
often. Bill, on the other hand, has birded in every Nebraska county many
times. My new total for Thurston County is 102.
Robin Harding
Shelton, Nebraska
On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 6:24 PM William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> Fellow NEBirders—
>
> On May 8, Day 2 of Robin's and my expedition to northeastern Nebraska, we
> worked Burt County.
> Rather tuckered out by the previous day's birding, we got off to a
> somewhat late start from West Point. We began our birding in the park at
> the western edge of Oakland. There was a track meet going on in the
> western portion of the park, so we didn't go that way; but the eastern
> part, including the small stream that runs in near the southeastern corner,
> was quiet and productive. We found sparrows of six species (Chipping,
> Clay-colored, White-crowned, Harris's, White-throated, and Lincoln's) in
> considerable abundance; and saw a Black-and-white Warbler nuthatching its
> way along a branch.
>
> The prize there was a Louisiana Waterthrush working upstream along the
> edge of the creek. At that point, the creek runs between steep banks 3–6
> feet high, so although we had quite a lengthy look at the bird, it was all
> from above: we could clearly see the tail-wagging and the upperparts, but
> couldn't get great looks at the underparts. The supercilium didn't
> obviously narrow toward the rear, but neither did it obviously widen. The
> underparts had a whitish background, with no obvious yellowish tinge: such
> yellowish would've been diagnostic for Northern, but its absence doesn't
> rule Northern out. We couldn't see the throat, nor could we really assesss
> the density of the streaking on the underparts. Our identification was
> based on the leg color: bright pink, even when the bird was in deep shade,
> and almost luminous when hit by the sun. No vocalizations.
>
> The Black-and-white and the Louisiana were the only unusual warblers we
> found all day. We saw Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow, and
> Yellow-rumped in various places, but none of the less-common migrants that
> we'd expect at this time of year, and not even Orange-crowned. This was
> our experience throughout the trip: Orange-crowns on other days, but not in
> any kind of numbers, and almost nothing else beside those four most common
> species.
>
> After Oakland, we spent considerable time at Summit Lake. First, we
> parked in the lot by the gate just southwest of the archery range, and
> walked trails: along the boundary between woods and grassland, then on
> trails that wandered through the woods toward the marshy ponds. There was
> a decent variety of birds, including the Swainson's Thrush that I wanted
> for my Burt County list, but no surprises. We then continued driving on
> the park road to its end on the west side of the southern arm of the lake.
> In the small parking lot there, we heard repeated descending staccato
> "pit-a-tuck" calls from a deciduous tree, which I recognized from Arizona
> experience as Summer Tanager. With a little effort, we found the bird: all
> red, without a cardinal's black face or crest or red triangular bill, and
> with a wing only a little darker than the body plumage, quite unlike a
> Scarlet Tanager's black wing.
>
> It was mid-afternoon by this time, so we repaired to Tekamah for lunch at
> the Tipsy Pig. We then drove to the east side of the southern arm of the
> lake, crossed on the berm with no serious misadventures on the step-stones,
> and did a loop that took us up to the edge of the horse farm. We had a
> decent variety of birds, including seven sparrow species, but nothing
> surprising; and the only warbler was a single Northern Yellow.
>
> From Summit Lake, we betook ourselves to Pelican Point RA. Our experience
> there was similar to what we'd had at Summit: nice variety of sparrows, but
> only a single warbler, a Common Yellowthroat.
>
> There was plenty of daylight left when we finished there, and had we been
> younger and stronger and less worn-out, we'd have gone on to check out the
> park at Decatur. However, it'd been an enjoyable but a long day, and we
> had to make our way to Pender before we could rest. We started northwest,
> but had only got two or three miles when we saw what looked like two
> good-sized shorebirds flying to land in a plowed field. We quickly stopped
> and put the scopes on the birds which, fortunately, showed no inclination
> to fly off. They turned out to be two Pluvialis plovers; however, they
> were in mid-molt, which made identification challenging. There appeared to
> be some brown in the back and wings, which suggested American Golden-
> rather than Black-bellied Plover, but we couldn't be sure of that. There
> was still lots of white in the underparts, and in any case the birds
> weren't giving us good looks at the undertail coverts. Finally, I
> suppressed my conscience and marched out into the field in an intimidating
> fashion to flush the birds, which showed brown tails in flight: American
> Golden-Plovers.
>
> Eight of the birds we found were new for my Burt County list, bringing it
> to a total of 156 species: Northern Bobwhite, American Golden-Plover,
> Solitary Sandpiper, Swainson's Thrush, Clay-colored Sparrow, Louisiana
> Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, and Summer Tanager.
>
> Robin had only birded Burt County on two previous occasions, so her list
> of new birds was considerably longer than mine: [deep breath] American
> Wigeon, Northern Bobwhite, Chimney Swift, American Golden-Plover, Spotted
> Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Franklin's Gull, Black Tern, Osprey,
> Red-headed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Warbling
> Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Purple Martin, Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren,
> Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird,
> Swainson's Thrush, American Goldfinch, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow,
> Harris's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Louisiana
> Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow
> Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Rose-breasted
> Grosbeak. Her new total for the county was 102 species. Burt was the last
> county in which she hadn't seen American Goldfinch, making it her 12th
> 93-county bird.
>
> Tomorrow: Thurston County
>
> William Flack
> Kearney
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/13/26 4:24 pm From: William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Fellow NEBirders—
On May 8, Day 2 of Robin's and my expedition to northeastern Nebraska, we worked Burt County.
Rather tuckered out by the previous day's birding, we got off to a somewhat late start from West Point. We began our birding in the park at the western edge of Oakland. There was a track meet going on in the western portion of the park, so we didn't go that way; but the eastern part, including the small stream that runs in near the southeastern corner, was quiet and productive. We found sparrows of six species (Chipping, Clay-colored, White-crowned, Harris's, White-throated, and Lincoln's) in considerable abundance; and saw a Black-and-white Warbler nuthatching its way along a branch.
The prize there was a Louisiana Waterthrush working upstream along the edge of the creek. At that point, the creek runs between steep banks 3–6 feet high, so although we had quite a lengthy look at the bird, it was all from above: we could clearly see the tail-wagging and the upperparts, but couldn't get great looks at the underparts. The supercilium didn't obviously narrow toward the rear, but neither did it obviously widen. The underparts had a whitish background, with no obvious yellowish tinge: such yellowish would've been diagnostic for Northern, but its absence doesn't rule Northern out. We couldn't see the throat, nor could we really assesss the density of the streaking on the underparts. Our identification was based on the leg color: bright pink, even when the bird was in deep shade, and almost luminous when hit by the sun. No vocalizations.
The Black-and-white and the Louisiana were the only unusual warblers we found all day. We saw Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow, and Yellow-rumped in various places, but none of the less-common migrants that we'd expect at this time of year, and not even Orange-crowned. This was our experience throughout the trip: Orange-crowns on other days, but not in any kind of numbers, and almost nothing else beside those four most common species.
After Oakland, we spent considerable time at Summit Lake. First, we parked in the lot by the gate just southwest of the archery range, and walked trails: along the boundary between woods and grassland, then on trails that wandered through the woods toward the marshy ponds. There was a decent variety of birds, including the Swainson's Thrush that I wanted for my Burt County list, but no surprises. We then continued driving on the park road to its end on the west side of the southern arm of the lake. In the small parking lot there, we heard repeated descending staccato "pit-a-tuck" calls from a deciduous tree, which I recognized from Arizona experience as Summer Tanager. With a little effort, we found the bird: all red, without a cardinal's black face or crest or red triangular bill, and with a wing only a little darker than the body plumage, quite unlike a Scarlet Tanager's black wing.
It was mid-afternoon by this time, so we repaired to Tekamah for lunch at the Tipsy Pig. We then drove to the east side of the southern arm of the lake, crossed on the berm with no serious misadventures on the step-stones, and did a loop that took us up to the edge of the horse farm. We had a decent variety of birds, including seven sparrow species, but nothing surprising; and the only warbler was a single Northern Yellow.
From Summit Lake, we betook ourselves to Pelican Point RA. Our experience there was similar to what we'd had at Summit: nice variety of sparrows, but only a single warbler, a Common Yellowthroat.
There was plenty of daylight left when we finished there, and had we been younger and stronger and less worn-out, we'd have gone on to check out the park at Decatur. However, it'd been an enjoyable but a long day, and we had to make our way to Pender before we could rest. We started northwest, but had only got two or three miles when we saw what looked like two good-sized shorebirds flying to land in a plowed field. We quickly stopped and put the scopes on the birds which, fortunately, showed no inclination to fly off. They turned out to be two Pluvialis plovers; however, they were in mid-molt, which made identification challenging. There appeared to be some brown in the back and wings, which suggested American Golden- rather than Black-bellied Plover, but we couldn't be sure of that. There was still lots of white in the underparts, and in any case the birds weren't giving us good looks at the undertail coverts. Finally, I suppressed my conscience and marched out into the field in an intimidating fashion to flush the birds, which showed brown tails in flight: American Golden-Plovers.
Eight of the birds we found were new for my Burt County list, bringing it to a total of 156 species: Northern Bobwhite, American Golden-Plover, Solitary Sandpiper, Swainson's Thrush, Clay-colored Sparrow, Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, and Summer Tanager.
Robin had only birded Burt County on two previous occasions, so her list of new birds was considerably longer than mine: [deep breath] American Wigeon, Northern Bobwhite, Chimney Swift, American Golden-Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Franklin's Gull, Black Tern, Osprey, Red-headed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Purple Martin, Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren, Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Swainson's Thrush, American Goldfinch, Clay-colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Her new total for the county was 102 species. Burt was the last county in which she hadn't seen American Goldfinch, making it her 12th 93-county bird.
Date: 5/13/26 1:52 pm From: Gordon Warrick via groups.io <prubinus...> Subject: [NEBirds] L waterthrush
Two this morning along Fort Falls Creek on Fort Niobrara NWR. Also FOY black-headed grosbeak, but I have not been in good habitat for a while. Yesterday, further upriver a mile or two was a rose-breasted grosbeak. Both singing males.
Date: 5/13/26 1:31 pm From: Keith Geluso via groups.io <gelusok1...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Splat!
Hi all, Being a professional mammalogist, I think Robin is safe from Hantaviruses with this exposure as I'm only aware of this virus in mammals and not birds. Now I really am sending this message to those of you that might be checking "bird boxes" such as blue birds, as mice will sometimes colonize them. Back in the 90s when the first "known" outbreak of hantavirus occurred and formally documented, it seemed that there were some bird enthusiasts that contracted hantaviruses from breathing in aerosolized fecal or urine matters when checking bluebird boxes. Might want to consider wearing a mask if there might be mice in those boxes. Love the posts, as always, Robin! keith
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keith Geluso
Professor
Department of Biology
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849
<gelusok1...>
308 865-8982
________________________________
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Don & Janis Paseka via groups.io <paseka76...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 2:20 PM
To: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Splat!
Bill and I were looking for birds at the Pender sewage lagoons recently. I was entering the birds that I saw on the ebird mobile app when ... SPLAT! Bird poop on the screen. We looked around and noticed that we were standing directly below a powerline with swallows perched upon it. I wonder if it was intentional or just luck. We moved out of harm's way. We'll need to be more careful next time.
Date: 5/13/26 12:20 pm From: Don & Janis Paseka via groups.io <paseka76...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Splat!
Robin,
Watch out for Hantavirus!
Don
On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 1:53 PM Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Nebraska birders,
>
> Bill and I were looking for birds at the Pender sewage lagoons recently.
> I was entering the birds that I saw on the ebird mobile app when ...
> SPLAT! Bird poop on the screen. We looked around and noticed that we were
> standing directly below a powerline with swallows perched upon it. I
> wonder if it was intentional or just luck. We moved out of harm's way.
> We'll need to be more careful next time.
>
> Robin Harding
> Shelton, NE
>
>
>
Date: 5/13/26 11:53 am From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Splat!
Nebraska birders,
Bill and I were looking for birds at the Pender sewage lagoons recently. I was entering the birds that I saw on the ebird mobile app when ... SPLAT! Bird poop on the screen. We looked around and noticed that we were standing directly below a powerline with swallows perched upon it. I wonder if it was intentional or just luck. We moved out of harm's way. We'll need to be more careful next time.
Date: 5/12/26 10:39 pm From: William Huser via groups.io <billfhuser...> Subject: [NEBirds] Ponca State Park birds
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Ponca S.P. footbridge area
*Prothonotary Warbler*, male Very rare this far west and north (Jacob Yoder find 2 days previous) Blackpoll, male Cape May Warbler, female N. Waterthrush, 1
Date: 5/12/26 9:23 pm From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Way to go you two. Congrats on the new county birds.
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Sioux City, IA 51106 **Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817 **<roisenp1950...> <roisenp1950...>*
On Tue, May 12, 2026 at 9:23 PM Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
>
> Nebraska birders,
>
> Bill Flack and I did a birding marathon recently. We birded four days in
> a row in five counties. I know, for most people, this would not be like a
> marathon but for us it was. We started on May 07 in West Point at
> Wilderness Park. It's a beautiful place. We saw 36 species in three hours
> of hiking. Highlights include a Blue-headed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee,
> Swainson's Thrush, several species of sparrows, Black and White Warbler and
> Rose-breasted Grosbeak. New county birds for me were Hairy Woodpecker,
> Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Harris's Sparrow,
> Lincoln's Sparrow, Black and White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler and
> Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Bill's new county bird was the Blue-headed Vireo.
>
> We enjoyed an hour at the bridge over the Elkhorn River near Beemer. We
> were able to get a good look at some shorebirds on the sandbars.
> Identifying shorebirds is tough sometimes but we were able to record both
> Yellowlegs, Solitary, Baird's and Least Sandpipers. We also saw
> Clay-colored, White-crowned, Harris's and Lincoln's Sparrows. Another
> highlight was a couple of Swainson's Thrushes. New county birds for me
> were the Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Northern
> Rough-winged Swallow, Clay-colored Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow.
>
> The Wisner River Park is a nice place for birding. We saw 25 species
> including Franklin's Gulls, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Least
> Sandpipers, Chipping, Clay-colored, Harris's, White-throated and Lincoln's
> Sparrows. New county birds for me were the Semipalmated Plover and Spotted
> Sandpiper. Bill's new county bird was the Semipalmated Plover.
>
> Also in Cuming County, we birded Black Island WMA. We saw or heard 23
> species including Bank Swallow, Sedge Wren, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Field,
> Lark, Harris's and White-throated Sparrows. New county birds for me
> included Mallard, Bank Swallow, and Sedge Wren. I have birded the county
> several times over the years but had not seen a Mallard until this day. My
> new total is 104 and Bill's is 160.
>
> Robin Harding
> Shelton, Nebraska
>
>
>
Date: 5/12/26 7:23 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Birding Marathon
Nebraska birders,
Bill Flack and I did a birding marathon recently. We birded four days in a row in five counties. I know, for most people, this would not be like a marathon but for us it was. We started on May 07 in West Point at Wilderness Park. It's a beautiful place. We saw 36 species in three hours of hiking. Highlights include a Blue-headed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Swainson's Thrush, several species of sparrows, Black and White Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. New county birds for me were Hairy Woodpecker, Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos, Swainson's Thrush, Harris's Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Black and White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Bill's new county bird was the Blue-headed Vireo.
We enjoyed an hour at the bridge over the Elkhorn River near Beemer. We were able to get a good look at some shorebirds on the sandbars. Identifying shorebirds is tough sometimes but we were able to record both Yellowlegs, Solitary, Baird's and Least Sandpipers. We also saw Clay-colored, White-crowned, Harris's and Lincoln's Sparrows. Another highlight was a couple of Swainson's Thrushes. New county birds for me were the Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Clay-colored Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow.
The Wisner River Park is a nice place for birding. We saw 25 species including Franklin's Gulls, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpipers, Chipping, Clay-colored, Harris's, White-throated and Lincoln's Sparrows. New county birds for me were the Semipalmated Plover and Spotted Sandpiper. Bill's new county bird was the Semipalmated Plover.
Also in Cuming County, we birded Black Island WMA. We saw or heard 23 species including Bank Swallow, Sedge Wren, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Field, Lark, Harris's and White-throated Sparrows. New county birds for me included Mallard, Bank Swallow, and Sedge Wren. I have birded the county several times over the years but had not seen a Mallard until this day. My new total is 104 and Bill's is 160.
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...>
>>
>>
>
>
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...>
>
>
>
Date: 5/11/26 10:47 am From: David Cunningham via groups.io <gopacgodc...> Subject: [NEBirds] NOU Spring 2026 Fort Robinson
A friendly reminder that the drop dead date for registration to the NOU Spring meeting at Fort Robinson is this Friday, 15 May. The date is needed by the caterer. Great speakers and topics are lined up for Friday and Saturday. The area is amazing. Please join us May 29-31 at Fort Rob. I hope to see you there.
Date: 5/10/26 6:40 pm From: Don and Shirley Maas via groups.io <snowbirds2012...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Black-headed Grosbeak photo
Dittto.
Really enjoy the posts and the sharing of the experience.
Don Maas
Mesa, AZ
M
>
> On May 10, 2026 at 4:46 PM, <Paul Roisen via groups.io (mailto:<roisenp1950...>)> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Ebird checklist from Erin Kroger: https://ebird.org/checklist/S336685063 (Loup County)
>
> Great find and very nice photo, Erin.
>
>
>
> Really nice to see more people posting to ebird with photos.
>
>
>
> God Bless.
>
>
>
> Paul O. Roisen
> Sioux City, IA 51106 Woodbury County, IA
> Mobile 712-301-2817 <roisenp1950...> (mailto:<roisenp1950...>)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 5/9/26 1:26 pm From: Olivia DeMarchi via groups.io <oliviademarchi7...> Subject: [NEBirds] Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 3 Summary
Ash Hollow Banding Station Week 3 (May 5-9) Summary
Greetings! Spring migration is in full swing in western Nebraska and the third week of banding at Ash Hollow was quite exciting with many species just arriving at the station within the last week and several fun captures. New species observed within the last week include Western Kingbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Bullock's Oriole. I'm crossing my fingers a few of these will find their way into our mist nets next week. Some highlights for captured birds are several species of warbler such as Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Northern Yellow Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, and one beautiful second-year Magnolia Warbler. We've been hearing Yellow Warblers singing all around the station for the past week, and finally caught one on Saturday, but the rest of the warblers were total surprises, especially the Magnolia. The last recorded sighting of a Magnolia Warbler in Garden County was in 2002, so this was a very special bird to see here!
Another highlight was an unknown Warbling Vireo-- Warbling Vireo was recently split into separate species for its Eastern and Western counterparts and the two are incredibly difficult to separate in the hand as the morphological differences are very subtle. Because of this and the fact that we could potentially get either in our nets, we played it safe and called it an Unknown Warbling Vireo. We are submitting feather samples to the Bird Genoscape Project in hopes they can tease out which species our bird belongs to, but it's likely the Eastern variety as that is the song type we've been hearing around Ash Hollow.
The next couple weeks should be equally as exciting as more migrants make their way north and some birds that breed in the area arrive and stick around.
We are open to the public and encourage visitors to come check out bird banding Tuesday-Saturday sunrise to 6 hours after sunrise, weather permitting, until May 23rd. We are located at Ash Hollow State Historical Park off of highway 26 near Lewellen, NE. If coming north on highway 26, take a right onto Rd 42 following signs for the visitor center, then take the first left after crossing the stream. Ahead there is a picnic area with a small parking lot and a bathroom. The banding station is located in the grove of trees on the west edge of the parking lot. We hope to see you there!
Olivia DeMarchi
Bander, Ash Hollow
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Date: 5/8/26 9:18 am From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: [NEBirds] Black-bellied Whistling Ducks-Omaha
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Lake Cunningham marina in Omaha. visible from parking lot near walking bridge to campground. 3rd willow to the Northeast.
--
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
Date: 5/8/26 8:28 am From: Walker, thomas via groups.io <thomas.walker...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Brady NE WMA question
Dave,
Brady WMA is an "Interstate Lake" - so a former "borrow" sandpit lake that the removed soil was used to build the overpass at that interchange - the lake itself CAN occasionally have some decent waterbirds (but we are kind of past that migration) and the south side of the lake (along a gravel road) occasionally has decent sparrows and other birds. This is worth a visit, but don't have too high of expectations...
I would recommend you go slightly farther south and then a couple miles west to Chester Island WMA. There are two parking lots - east and west - I recommend you go to the west lot, park there and then walk in - there will likely still be clear trails there (from the anglers that fish the ponds) (it's been a few years since I have been out there). There has also been quite a bit of cedar/invasive tree work since I have been out there last I think....but with that said, this is a neat little property with a mixture of habitats. Multiple sandpit lakes with wetland edges in spots, the South Channel of the Platte River runs along the north edge of the property, good variety of trees and shrubs scattered around the property. It is just a few minutes farther from Brady (where I lived for 15 years...).
If you have any questions about other spots...feel free to ask...if you haven't ever spent time in the Sandhills (start on the north edge of Brady - you can see them from the School parking lot) or the Loess Canyons (south of Brady) and you have time for a drive - I would recommend checking out the Jeffrey Lake area a bit, and if you have time to go further either the Sandhills or Canyons can have some birds worth looking for - I will add though that the "Cottonwood" wildfire burned about half of the canyons landscape back in March, hopefully it is greening up now though. If you are an "early bird" and you have a free morning - you can start hearing Greater Prairie-chickens "booming" just a few miles north of Brady if you can be up there at or before sunrise - getting a little late in the season but if it is a "nice" morning they will be out there somewhere doing their thing...
T. J. Walker
Assistant Division Administrator - Habitat Partners Section
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
308-530-7659
From: <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> On Behalf Of Dave Pantos via groups.io
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2026 10:09 AM
To: <NEBirds...>
Subject: [NEBirds] Brady NE WMA question
Graduation festivities will be taking me to Brady, NE this weekend. I am hoping to bird Brady WMA. Does anyone have any recommendations about this particular site? The ebird checklists are scant.
Date: 5/8/26 8:09 am From: Dave Pantos via groups.io <davepantos...> Subject: [NEBirds] Brady NE WMA question
Hello group!
Graduation festivities will be taking me to Brady, NE this weekend. I am hoping to bird Brady WMA. Does anyone have any recommendations about this particular site? The ebird checklists are scant.
Date: 5/8/26 8:01 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Operation Antrostomus: Southeast County Listing
Thanks for the report.
Still on schedule to get back to NE in June It’s been way too long still I added NE birds to my list
Don MaasMesa,AZMaricopa County
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato
“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, 9:08 PM, Keegan Brown via groups.io <keegqbrown...> 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!
Date: 5/7/26 9:09 pm From: Keegan Brown via groups.io <keegqbrown...> Subject: [NEBirds] Operation Antrostomus: Southeast County Listing
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!
Date: 5/7/26 11:20 am From: Paul L. Pearson via groups.io <Propearson...> Subject: [NEBirds] *no sighting* NOU Meeting Registration Reminder-May 10 deadline for meals!
Just a friendly reminder to register for the NOU meeting at Ft Robinson SP on May 29-31. Deadline to register with meals is rapidly approaching-May 10. You can register up until the week of the meeting, but if you want meals do it now. There are 50+ already registered for meals both nights, so we’ll have a great group.
The UNK ornithology folks have lined up access to the Guadalcanal Memorial Prairie Reserve ( https://www.prairieplains.org/preserves/guadalcanal-memorial-prairie-ranch.html ) and we have many other field trips to those great Pine Ridge hotspots planned including Chadron Area, Ft Rob Area, Sowbelly Canyon, Gilbert-Baker, Sioux County, and Western Sandhills.
We will have our annual business meeting on Fri night and one of the important topics will be the future of our signature publication, the Nebraska Bird Review. Plus, we have three very interesting talks lined up for our evening programs. If you want to know more about Towhees in western Nebraska…we’ve definitely got you covered.
*Towhee Taxonomy and other mysteries in the Nebraska Panhandle*
*Stephen J Brenner-Audubon Great Plains and Joel G Jorgensen-Nebraska Game and Parks*
Featured Guest Lecture (Sat)
*Bird-Window Collisions: Science and Solutions*
*Kaitlyn Parkins, M.S. Glass Collisions Program Coordinator, American Bird Conservancy*
Keynote Address (Sat).
*Genomics of Towhee Contact Along the Niobrara River, Nebraska*
*Lucas DeCicco, Ph.D.-Ornithology Collections Manager - University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute*
Hope to see you all in the Pine Ridge!
--
Paul L. Pearson, PhD
President-Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union
Omaha, NE
I’ve attached a flyer in case anyone wants to donate per-bird or read more about our program, but turning in things back to me is not necessary to support the program.
Thanks to all who have donated in the past or supported our students in any other way,
Date: 5/7/26 8:49 am From: Tobin Brown via groups.io <tobinjbrown...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Otoe county birding
This is great, congrats!
I'm actually considering going to Nebraska City this weekend to look for
warblers and build my county list. Are the Arbor Day lodge trails open to
the public? I see one place is like a hotel, just want to make sure I don't
accidentally trespass.
On Thu, May 7, 2026 at 10:17 AM Ruth Stearns via groups.io <ruthstearns=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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!
>
> Ruthie Stearns
> Lincoln NE
>
>
>
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Ruthie StearnsLincoln NE
Date: 5/6/26 9:18 am From: flyingcarlini via groups.io <flyingcarlini...> Subject: [NEBirds] confusing new Wilderness Pk. Hotspot name
Hello NEBirders,
Heads up that newly named eBird Hotspot "Wilderness Park--1st St." is NOT the same as the Epworth access at 1st & Calvert Streets where the Northern Parula lives. That eBird Hotspot previously named "Wilderness Park--1st & Calvert South" has been renamed "Wilderness Park--Epworth" and all previously reported checklists from that Hotspot have been automatically changed to that new name. The newly named eBird Hotspot "Wilderness Park--1st. St." is off the beaten path and accessed via Old Cheney Rd.
-Shari Schwartz, Lincoln
