Date: 6/9/25 5:14 am From: Boni Edwards via groups.io <boniedwards...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Hooker bonanza
It was a great day. I ended up with 64 new Hooker County birds (I only
started with 6)!! Thank you Robin for the invite and the great write up of
our day!
Boni
On Mon, Jun 9, 2025, 6:49 AM Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> 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.
>
> Robin Harding
> Buffalo County
>
>
