Cassin’s Sparrow in Garden County

On 21 May 1986, while searching for evidence of breeding birds in atlas block 2G04 near Lisco, Garden County, Nebraska, I discovered a Cassin’s Sparrow (Aimophila cassinii). This sighting was at 5:20 PM Mountain Daylight Time, along the county road in the northeast corner of Section 11. I was driving slowly down the road and stopped to observe an odd sparrow. I nearly drove past, thinking it was another Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), which I had heard and seen all day. The sparrow, which appeared larger than a Grasshopper Sparrow, was perched on the low wire of a barbed wire fence along the road. In the few moments before the bird disappeared into the grass I observed that it was plain-breasted, had dark “whiskers” and tail, a grayish back, pinkish-yellow legs, and yellow at the bend of the wing. As it flew away into the grass it sang a short song. After I consulted my field guide I presumed this bird to be a Cassin’s Sparrow, but I wanted a second and better look. “Pishing,” owl imitations, squeaking, etc., failed to return the bird to view. Remembering the short song, I played Peterson’s field tapes in an attempt to match the song. When I played the recording of a Cassin’s Sparrow the bird flew overhead (about 10 feet high) and sang a matching song to the tape’s. I did this several times and the Cassin’s .Sparrow sat on the wire fence between the tape-playings, scolding me with sharp, short, rapid, chipping notes. During these sittings I was able to see all field marks with a 22x spotting scope at a range of 30 to 40 feet: the lightly streaked crown, flat profile of the head, darkish line through the eye, with light above the eye. Because the bird was singing and behaving defensively to another song of the same species I presume this bird to have been a territorial male, which possibly bred this year

A Black-Bellied Whistling Duck Specimen from Nebraska

On 29 October 1989 John Andersen of Ong, Nebraska, shot and killed an adult male Black-bellied Whistling-Duck while duck hunting at Hansen Waterfowl Production Area, 3 miles north and 1 mile west of Ong, Clay Co., Nebraska (T6N R5W Section 35). Andersen\u27s brother-in-law, Stewart Porterfield of Lincoln, was present at the time and tentatively identified the specimen but returned to their vehicle to get a bird book for reference (Porterfield, pers. comm. 2 November 1989). Mr. Porterfield took the frozen, intact duck specimen to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission office in Lincoln where it was recommended that the specimen be deposited at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM). The frozen specimen was delivered and donated to UNSM (Accession Z-1989-55) by Mr. Porterfield on 2 November 1989. The specimen was prepared as a standard study skin and partial skeleton by the author on 7 November 1989 and catalogued into Division of Zoology\u27s collections as UNSM ZM-16079. Dendrocygna autumnalis (Linnaeus), the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, is not on the official list of birds in Nebraska (N.O.U.R.C., 1988, 1989) and was not listed as even hypothetical in a critically evaluated list of Nebraska birds (Bray et al., 1986). However, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, whose normal range is from southern Arizona and southern Texas south to southern Brazil and Argentina, have wandered north, including to Kansas, Iowa, and Michigan (AO.U., 1983). There are three records of this species in Kansas (Thompson & Ely, 1989) and a recent sighting in Minnesota that is under consideration of the Minnesota Ornithologists\u27 Union Records Committee (Tveten, 1989). A written description and photographs of UNSM ZM-16079 have been submitted to the Nebraska Ornithologists\u27 Union Records Committee for consideration

In Memorium: Harvey L. Gunderson

In Memorium: Harvey L. Gunderson Dear Fellow Birders, It is with deep regret that I inform you of the death of Harvey L. Gunderson on Tuesday, 23 February, 1999, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harvey was born in Gary, Minnesota, on 11 June, 1913, and went On to become Associate Director Of the University Of Nebraska State Museum. Along the way, Harvey received a Bachelor’s Degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, a Master\u27s Degree from the University Of Minnesota and a Ph.D. from the University Of Michigan. Harvey was a member Of American Society of Mammalogist (Harvey wrote a text book for introductory mammalogy classes), Wilson Ornithological Society, The Wildlife Society, and Sigma Xi, an Honorary Scientific Society. He was also a Fellow of The Explorer’s Club (New York), Associate Director, Curator of Zoology, and Museum Professor at the University of Nebraska State Museum as well as Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Harvey was former president of the Nebraska and Minnesota Ornithologists\u27 Unions as well as the Nebraska Section of the Wildlife Society. He served for forty years on the Board of Directors and as Senior Editor of the Minnesota Naturalist published by the Minnesota Natural History Society. Harvey served for four years in the U.S. Army (1942- 1945); he was with the ski troops of northern Europe. Services were held both in Minnesota and Nebraska. Funeral and burial were in Lincoln on 1 March, 1999, at St. Luke\u27s Methodist Church

Robert Wolcott and the Art of Nest Records

The autumn of 1894 was fortuitous for Nebraska ornithology because it is when Robert Henry Wolcott accepted an assistantship at the University of Nebraska, moving to Lincoln from the University of Michigan (Swenk 1935). Wolcott, from that point onward, made significant contributions to our knowledge of Nebraska birds (Bruner et al. 1903, Wolcott 1909, 1919), was a founding member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (NOU), and was editor for the first three Proceedings of the NOU from 1899-1902. His work expanded beyond local focus and he eventually authored a text on animal biology (Wolcott 1933). The topic of this paper, however, is not Robert Wolcott’s talent for writing and editing, but his ability to make drawings. Museums never discard original information pertaining to an object, since it may help answer future questions. One such set of original information in the Zoology Division of the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) is the hand-written bird nest and egg cards completed by the collectors at the time of collection in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Zoology Division currently holds approximately 1,450 egg sets and 50 nests and is notable among museum institutions (Kiff and Hough 1985). The collecting of nests and eggs was popular in the 1800s and early 1900s until it became illegal in 1918 with passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and subsequent legislation. Very little egg and nest collecting has occurred since that time, and that has been under strictly regulated permit situations. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and isolation I scanned the original nest and egg cards associated with the museum collections. I was surprised to find how many of Robert Wolcott’s collection cards, from both Michigan and Nebraska in the 1890s, had miniature drawings of the nest (Figures 2, 3, 8), nest site (Figures 1, 4, 5, 6, 10), or location maps (Figures 7, 9). No other collectors were noted to have made drawings on the cards in the UNSM collections. While data from these cards has been available to researchers for many years I thought it appropriate to bring some of these images to light for modern audiences to see 120+ years later

In Memorium: Harvey L. Gunderson

In Memorium: Harvey L. Gunderson Dear Fellow Birders, It is with deep regret that I inform you of the death of Harvey L. Gunderson on Tuesday, 23 February, 1999, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harvey was born in Gary, Minnesota, on 11 June, 1913, and went On to become Associate Director Of the University Of Nebraska State Museum. Along the way, Harvey received a Bachelor’s Degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, a Master\u27s Degree from the University Of Minnesota and a Ph.D. from the University Of Michigan. Harvey was a member Of American Society of Mammalogist (Harvey wrote a text book for introductory mammalogy classes), Wilson Ornithological Society, The Wildlife Society, and Sigma Xi, an Honorary Scientific Society. He was also a Fellow of The Explorer’s Club (New York), Associate Director, Curator of Zoology, and Museum Professor at the University of Nebraska State Museum as well as Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Harvey was former president of the Nebraska and Minnesota Ornithologists\u27 Unions as well as the Nebraska Section of the Wildlife Society. He served for forty years on the Board of Directors and as Senior Editor of the Minnesota Naturalist published by the Minnesota Natural History Society. Harvey served for four years in the U.S. Army (1942- 1945); he was with the ski troops of northern Europe. Services were held both in Minnesota and Nebraska. Funeral and burial were in Lincoln on 1 March, 1999, at St. Luke\u27s Methodist Church

Quantifying Permafrost Extent, Condition, and Degradation at Eielson Air Force Base

The DoD is executing over $500M in military construction on Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) within the next three years. This construction program will expand the footprint of facilities and change parts of the storm water management scheme, which may have second order effects on the underlying permafrost layers. These changes in permafrost will drive engineering decision, and help shape the overall strategy for military readiness in the Arctic. Little site-specific knowledge exists on the human caused effects to permafrost at this location. In 2016, the permafrost degradation rates at Eielson AFB were modeled using the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory (GIPL) 2.1 model and limited available geotechnical and climate data. To further refine an understanding of the permafrost at Eielson AFB and help engineers and commanders make more informed decisions on engineering and operations in the arctic, this project established two long term permafrost monitoring stations. The data generated by these stations are the first of their kind at Eielson AFB and represent the first modern systematic effort in the DoD to quantify permafrost condition before, during, and after construction activities. The data collected during this study indicates that there are permafrost losses occurring at this research site and the increased construction activities associated with the F-35 bed down are the likely cause of permafrost degradation

A Nebraska Specimen Record of Clark’s Grebe, \u3ci\u3eAechmophorus clarkii\u3c/i\u3e (Lawrence)

Clark’s Grebe, formerly known as light-phase Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis clarkii), was elevated to full species status (A. clarkii) in 1985 (American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) 1983, 1985). This paper presents the first recorded occurrence in Nebraska of Clark’s Grebe and is documented with a specimen. Identification of Clark’s Grebe in the field is discussed, and a comparison is made of the Nebraska specimen with specimen s reported in recent literature

Ferroelectric characterization and growth optimization of thermally evaporated vinylidene fluoride thin films

Organic thin films have numerous advantages over inorganics in device processing and price. The large polarization of the organic ferroelectric oligomer vinylidene fluoride (VDF) could prove useful for both device applications and the investigation of fundamental physical phenomena. A VDF oligomer thin film vacuum deposition process, such as thermal evaporation, preserves film and interface cleanliness, but is challenging, with successful deposition occurring only within a narrow parameter space. We report on the optimal deposition parameters for VDF oligomer thin films, refining the parameter space for successful deposition, resulting in a high yield of robust ferroelectric films. In particular, we investigate the influence of deposition parameters on surface roughness, and the role that roughness plays in sample yield. The reliable production of ferroelectric films allowed us to perform detailed measurements of previously unreported properties, including the Curie temperature, the temperature and thickness dependence of the coercive field, the melting temperature, and the index of refraction. The ability to successfully grow robust, switchable, well-characterized films makes VDF oligomer a viable candidate in the field of organic ferroelectrics

Stomach Content Analysis of Recent Snowy Owl (\u3ci\u3eBubo scandiacus\u3c/i\u3e) Specimens from Nebraska

The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a circumpolar bird of prey that breeds in extreme northern latitudes, including Canadian and Alaskan tundra. During winter months, some immature and non-breeding birds disperse south. North American birds may travel to southern Canada and northern parts of the United States, and in some extreme cases as far south as Oklahoma and Texas (Parmelee 1992). Although not fully understood, these irruptive events may be caused by the abundance of prey in northern Canada and Alaska (Parmelee 1992). Prey typical of Snowy Owls are small mammals (e.g., lemmings and hares) of their home range and an occasional bird from a variety of species including waterfowl (Parmelee, 1992). Research on prey items selected by birds outside of breeding range in North America primarily includes ducks and grebes in southwest British Columbia (Campbell and Maccoll 1978), voles in Montana (Detienne et al. 2008), and mice and voles in southern Alberta and Michigan (Boxall and Lein 1982, Chamberlin 1980, respectively). Over the past century, several irruptions of Snowy Owls have been recorded in Nebraska, most notably during the winters of 1917-18, 1954-55, and 2011-12 (Jorgensen et al., 2012). The most recent of these irruptions, during the winter of 2011-12, produced the largest number of confirmed Snowy Owl sightings in Kansas and Missouri, possibly explained by the increased ease of communication through the use of mobile technology in the general public (Robbins and Otte 2013). Once reaching areas as far south as Nebraska, Snowy Owls typically suffer high rates of mortality, possibly due to lack of prey species, disease, or anthropogenic factors (Kerlinger and Lein 1988, Meade 1942). During the 2011-12 irruption, several carcasses were donated to the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) and provided a source for examination of body condition and diet. Also included was one carcass donated to UNSM during the following winter, 2012-13

An Engineer Cantonment Bestiary: The Art of Titian Ramsay Peale [Part 6]

Beginning in the mid-1950s many of Long Expedition artist Titian Ramsay Peale’s images have come into institutional holdings, particularly the American Philosophical Society, American Museum of Natural History, and Library of Congress, where they have been made freely available to researchers and for exhibitions. This has allowed a rediscovery and reevaluation of Peale’s works by art historians, historians of science, and scientists. Art historian Barbara Novak listed Peale among the artist-scientists that reached “‘heroic’ status” because of the risks and hardships that he and others undertook in the exploration of the American continent. Haltman credited Peale and his fellow artist on the Long Expedition, Samuel Seymour, with innovating “such hybrid pictorial forms as wilderness landscape. . , natural history illustration featuring specimens in representative environments . . , ethnographic portraiture . . , and genre painting . . . .” In fact, from a scientific viewpoint, Peale’s images present information on the identifying characteristics of the organism, its geographic distribution, and its ecology