Date: 4/20/24 6:15 pm From: Jacob C. Cooper via groups.io <cooperj2...> Subject: [NEBirds] Buffalo County Migrants
Hi all,
Cody McGregor & I went out for what was supposed to be a short jaunt today, but ended up staying out too long as we kept encountering interesting birds.
We started out SW of Gibbon, where we found a surprise flock of 40 Savannah Sparrows and, not far away, a group of 45 American Pipits. Continuing onto Kilgore Road W of Hwy 10, we had four Loggerhead Shrikes – including one bird carrying nesting material.
We then visited the Kearney Hike-Bike Trail, where Barbara Brown and Colleen Childers had previously reported Long-billed Dowitchers and Wilson’s Phalaropes, and we successfully found both. While heading to a nearby gas station for some much-needed food, we saw a “weird” group of pigeons flying along the Platte River that ended up being a group of American Golden-Plovers (40-ish) flying with some actual Rock Pigeons. Unfortunately, these birds disappeared quickly and we were unable to refind them. Visiting the Bassway Gravel Ponds, we located several Baird’s Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a single Piping Plover.
From here, we picked up Cody’s sister, Kyla (may be misspelled), and headed north on Gibbon Road. Here, we had three Swainson’s Hawks and Cody spotted two Ferruginous Hawks as they quickly headed off to the north. Perhaps the best hawk on this road, however, was a beautiful roadside “Krider’s” Red-tailed Hawk. We also had good looks at a Say’s Phoebe at the Prairie-Dog town on this road.
Elsewhere in northeastern Buffalo County, we chanced upon a few other good birds like a pair of Bobwhite, a far-off flying flock of 8 Sandhill Cranes (our only cranes all day!), a Great Horned Owl on the nest (great spot by Cody!), 10 Greater Prairie-Chickens, and a few other migrants like Orange-crowned Warbler, Spotted Towhee, and Field Sparrow.
Here’s hoping the west winds tomorrow push some more good birds our way,
