Date: 6/9/25 4:49 am From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Hooker bonanza
Nebraska birders,
I’ve been inspired by my friend Bill to work on seeing each bird species in
all of Nebraska’s 93 counties. I discovered that I had seen Barn Swallows
in 92 counties. The only one left was Hooker. That should be easy this
time of the year. I asked my friend Boni if she would like to go birding
in Hooker County this weekend.
We started early on Saturday, June 07. We drove north to Tryon in
McPherson County to look for Rock Pigeons since it was along the way. I
still haven’t seen one in the county. You’d think that the grain elevator
would host Rock Pigeons but not on this day.
We birded at a marsh north of Tryon along highway 97. We saw twenty species
including waterfowl, ibis and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I smile when I
hear the blackbirds and remember a friend who thought they sounded like
they were being strangled.
Boni and I birded the highway 97 Dismal River crossing in Hooker County.
We saw and heard eighteen species. Among them was a Great Crested
Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat and (Hooray!)
a Barn Swallow. The weather was pleasant for a change so we walked across
the bridge. As we were preparing to leave, a couple fellows arrived with
their young daughters. They were taking the girl’s on their first ever
fishing trip.
Further north along highway 97, we birded the ebird hotspot at milepost
47. There is a beautiful wetland beside the road. We saw and heard many
of the same species as the previous marsh. In addition, we heard the
kiddick sound of a Virginia Rail.
We birded a couple gravel roads going southwest of highway 97 to the Dismal
River. The first one turned out to be an un-posted private road and the
other went to a golf course. We could not get down to the river at
either. Oh well, we moved on to Mullen. We birded the Mullen WTP, the
town and the Middle Loup River crossing north of Mullen. Highlights
include a Common Nighthawk, a Black Tern, an Eared Grebe, Yellow-billed
Cuckoos, and Bobolinks.
We birded along Dismal River Road southwest of Mullen to the river crossing
and then south to East Cody Lake. We stopped at the Dismal River crossing
but didn’t stay long because there were a couple guys shooting targets
nearby. We were there long enough to hear and see a Western Wood-Pewee
which was a treat. Boni got some good photos. There was also a Red-eyed
Vireo singing. Between the river crossing and East Cody Lake, we saw an
adult Golden Eagle perched on a fence post preening. We were able to see
it well from different angles without spooking it. Boni took some pictures.
At East Cody Lake, we saw seven Trumpeter Swans, a Forster’s Tern and a
couple Western Grebes. We also heard a Willow Flycatcher, a Song Sparrow
and a Yellow-breasted Chat. We birded to the south of East Cody Lake into
McPherson along Soddy Road. We drove a loop to the west, stopping at Sand
Beach Lake and Dry Lake. Near the beginning of that loop, we saw a pair of
Lark Buntings. Also along the way, we saw a Long-billed Curlew. At Sand
Beach Lake, we saw Wilson’s Phalaropes, White-rumped Sandpipers, an
American Bittern, and both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks were singing.
We drove south into Lincoln County, stopping at several spots. We drove
very slowly along West North River Road because Boni had heard a Western
Wood-Pewee a few days before. We were not disappointed. We also heard a
Bell’s Vireo, a Red-eyed Vireo and a couple of Blue Grosbeaks. After
supper, we birded the North Platte cemetery and heard a Red-breasted
Nuthatch. We also drove around town and found a few Mississippi Kites.
At sundown, we went down South Box Elder Canyon Road, listening for
poorwills and owls until after 10pm. We heard Common Poorwills is a couple
places. We could not find any owls. It was not our intension to do a big
day, but it turned into one. We ended with 95 species. We both added many
to our Hooker County lists and some to the other two counties.
