1994 (Sixth) Report of the NOU Records Committee

The functions and methods of the NOU Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). The committee\u27s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. The official list of birds was last published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been appended three times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990 and Grenon 1991, Gubanyi 1996). This report includes accounts submitted during the calendar year of 1994 covering records with accession numbers 359-395, 411, and 412. All records mentioned here will be available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found in the latest issue of The Nebraska Bird Review

History of the Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count, 1993-2020

The Seward-Branched Oak Lake Christmas Bird Count (Seward-BOL CBC) began in 1993 and has been conducted every year since then except for 2010 for a total of 27 counts. Weather conditions prevented the count on the selected date in 2010 and a backup date could not be set up. The count was started for several reasons. The area west of Lincoln has a diversity of habitats including all or part of four public lakes (Branched Oak, Pawnee, Twin Lakes, and Meadowlark) as well as a diversity of terrestrial habitats on both public and private land. The circle is close to Lincoln, which has a large birding community from which to recruit volunteers to help on the count. It was also the intent to provide Seward residents who feed birds an opportunity to become involved. To accomplish these goals, the center of the 15-mile-diameter circle was located a half mile south and half mile east of Garland (Figure 1). The map shows the circle divided into blocks which are assigned to people helping with the count. Including both field observers and feeder watchers, over 145 people have participated in one or more counts since the count started. To date, all counts have been done between December 14-20 (the first week of the count period). This has been intentional because lakes in the count circle are more likely to have open water with water-associated bird species present. ... In conclusion, analyzing CBC data from a single count over 27 years turned out to be a challenging but informative task. There is always a sense that there is more to see and find if you look at the data a little more. For the most part, species that increased and species that decreased during the count history were consistent with data from other studies. In some cases, analyzing the data raises more questions than answers. For example, it is not clear why Red-Bellied Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers both increased and were correlated with each other, but neither Downy Woodpeckers nor Hairy Woodpeckers increased although they were correlated with each other. Eastern Screech-Owl is another species that has declined and could be studied to better understand possible population changes. I encourage other Nebraska CBC birdwatchers to analyze their data and see what the data reveals

1994 (Sixth) Report of the NOU Records Committee

The functions and methods of the NOU Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). The committee\u27s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. The official list of birds was last published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been appended three times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990 and Grenon 1991, Gubanyi 1996). This report includes accounts submitted during the calendar year of 1994 covering records with accession numbers 359-395, 411, and 412. All records mentioned here will be available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found in the latest issue of The Nebraska Bird Review

First Report of Ash-Throated Flycatcher (\u3ci\u3eMyiarchus cinerascens\u3c/i\u3e) Breeding in the Nebraska Panhandle Region

This report presents evidence of the breeding of Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) in mixed conifer woodland in the Nebraska Panhandle Region, 160 miles north of its nearest known breeding area. In addition, it presents the first photographic evidence and the second accepted record by the Nebraska Ornithologists\u27 Union Records Committee (NOURC) of the presence of Ash-throated Flycatcher in Nebraska. On 28 June 2007 Wayne Mollhoff observed an adult Ash-throated Flycatcher while conducting a survey in Priority Block K409 in Kimball County, Nebraska, for the Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas Project II. The bird was observed on private property in limber pine (Pinus flexilis) habitat from a county road approximately one mile south of Interstate 80 Exit I, and 1.2 miles east of the Wyoming state line. After obtaining permission from the landowner, the area was searched more extensively and a second observation of an Ash-throated Flycatcher was made about 400 yards farther east of the site of the initial observation. During the second sighting, the bird appeared to be carrying food in its beak. Attempts to relocate the bird(s) the following morning, both west and east of the site of the initial find, were unsuccessful. With only a single accepted record in the state (Mollhoff 1989), Mollhoff sent a written documentation of the sighting to the chair of the NOURC, Mark Brogie

Rare Dark American Kestrel – Melanistic or Sooty?

On April 13 in Seward County, we noticed a dark bird flying relatively low over fields east of Seward near 224th and Bluff Rd. Initially, because of its size, dark coloration and pointed wingtips, we were unsure of its identification and followed the bird to get better looks and identify it. We were able to observe and photograph the bird perched (Figure 1). We also observed the bird hovering and diving to the ground multiple times in search of prey. After better looks, based on size, wing shape, hooked beak, claws, and behavior (repeated hovering over field), we concluded the bird was an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). Joel and Camden returned later in the day and were able to relocate the bird. Camden got photos of the kestrel in flight showing additional details (Figure 2). We believe the observed bird was a female based on barring in the tail. As can be seen in the photos, the head and body patterns normally seen in American Kestrels are absent. Barring can be seen in both the underwings and the tail (Figures 1 and 2) while light-colored feathers are visible in the vent and belly. Both the cere and feet are yellow/orange normally seen in kestrels. Initially, we thought the bird was a melanistic American Kestrel. There is widespread misunderstanding about the causes of dark coloration in birds (Davis 2007; van Grouw 2017), so we shared the photos with people who had studied dark coloration in birds. Some believed the bird was melanistic and others believed it was soot-covered. We will discuss both below

Coyote Food Habits at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Coyote (Canis latrans) food habits were detennined from 490 scats collected from October 1994 to October 1995 at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), along the Nebraska/Iowa border. Mammals occurred most frequently, as measured by percent-of-scats (POS) , followed by vegetation, birds, and invertebrates. Mammals also constituted the largest portion of coyote diet, as determined by fresh weight correction factors. Within the mammalian category, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) occurred most frequently and constituted the largest portion of diet by fresh weight correction factors. White-tailed deer occurrence and importance in diet peaked in June, which corresponds to the fawning period of white-tailed deer at DNWR. Mammals occurred in greater than 75 POS in all months except July and August, when mammals occurred in 38 and 30 POS, respectively. In July and August, vegetation in coyote scats, primarily mulberries (Morus spp.), was highest at 88 and 83 POS, respectively. Invertebrate occurrence peaked in May and in September. Bird occurrence peaked in December, which corresponded with the snow goose (Chen caerulescens) migration, and May, which corresponded with the nesting period for several species of ground nesting birds

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska was last published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988). That list included 406 species whose occurrence in Nebraska had been documented to the satisfaction of the NOU Records Committee at that time, following the sequence and nomenclature as outlined by the American ornithologists\u27 Union (1983, 1985, 1987). The present list includes 427 species based on all changes to the Official List of the Birds of Nebraska as determined by the NOU Records Committee (Mollhoff 1989; Grenon 1990,1991; Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1997; Brogie 1997), as well as sequence and taxonomic changes made by the American ornithologists\u27 union (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995). Additionally, the list reflects changes in frequency of occurrence as determined by the NOU Records Committee, which reviewed records of bird occurrences in Nebraska for 1987-1996. Frequency of occurrence is indicated by the following terms (NOU Records Committee 1988): Regular - acceptably reported in 9-10 of the past 10 years Casual - acceptably reported in 4-7 of the past 10 years Accidental - acceptably reported in 0-2 of the past 10 years Extirpated - not acceptably reported in the past 50 years Extinct - no longer found alive anywhere in the world The frequency of occurrence for any species that was acceptably reported in 3 or 8 of the last 10 years was discussed by the committee and placed in a category felt most appropriate by the committee. The NOU Records Committee seeks documentation for all species of less than regular occurrence in Nebraska as well as for those species whose occurrence has not been documented in Nebraska. Documentations currently may be sent to Mark Brogie, Records committee Chair, 508 Seeley, Box 316, Creighton, NE 68729

1992, 1993 (Fifth) Report of the NOU Records Committee

The functions and methods of the NOU Records committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). The committee\u27s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. The official list of birds was last published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been appended three times (Mollhoff 1989, Grenon 1990, and Grenon 1991). This report includes accounts submitted in late 1991 as well as all records submitted during the calendar years of 1992 and 1993, covering records with accession numbers 295-358. All records mentioned here will be available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU librarian, Whose address can be found on the back cover. of the latest issue of The Nebraska Bird Review