Date: 4/28/25 4:46 am From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Lolawakohtito
Nebraska birders,
I met Don and Janis Paseka at Buckley Park in Stromsburg on Sunday, April
27. The weather was foggy and misty at first, then the fog lifted but the
sky remained cloudy. There are many trees and bushes in the park, however,
there is a good deal of storm damage. We walked around the park for about
an hour and 45 minutes. We saw a few first of the year species, including
House Wrens, Clay-colored Sparrows, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Phoebe, Purple
Martin, and Warbling Vireo. There were some lingering Harris Sparrows. We
saw a Great Horned Owl flying through the park a few different times. The
last time we saw the owl, it was being chased by an accipiter.
After lunch, we drove to the highway 66 parking area for the Dark Island
Trail south of Central City. The trail starts in Hamilton County and goes
into Merrick County. As we were walking north on the Hamilton side, we saw
many Yellow-rumped Warblers, mostly males, moving through the trees to the
south. As we got closer to the river, we saw many Yellow-rumped Warblers
moving north through the trees. Were they the same individuals or not? On
our way back through the same part of the trail later in the day, we saw a
large group of Yellow-rumped Warblers including many females. We weren’t
sure how to estimate the total number. At least thirty, probably forty,
maybe more.
Also along our walk on the Dark Island Trail, we saw a Swainson’s Thrush,
many Forster’s Terns, a Broad-winged Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
White-throated Sparrow and Orange-crowned Warbler. All of this is on
ebird. It was a very pleasant walk.
There was a sign that gave the original name of the Dark Island Trail. It
is Lolawakohtito.
The Broad-winged Hawk was the only new county bird for me, bringing my
total in Merrick County to 168.
