Winter Field Report, December 2015 to February 2016

As has been the trend in recent years, many species are lingering later in fall and even arriving earlier in spring. Along with lingering birds, mid-winter and overwintering records have increased. This winter was phenomenal in this respect, especially in that records were across the board in terms of species, suggesting that water conditions have moderated (more open water) and temperatures in general have also (passerines). Unprecedented records included first wintering White-winged Scoter and first Jan or Feb record of Orange-crowned Warbler. Second or third such records were set by Blue-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, Ruddy Duck, Eared Grebe, Greater Yellowlegs, Rock Wren, and Yellow-rumped (Audubon\u27s) Warbler. Late-lingering species were many, highlighted by record late Red-throated Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, and Least Sandpiper. Other noteworthy laggards were Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Whooping Crane, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Savannah Sparrow, Lincoln\u27s Sparrow, and Dickcissel, while Eastern Bluebirds set a new CBC high and Yellow-rumped Warblers were present through winter in almost unprecedented numbers (see last winter). Early spring arrivals are usually determined by factors other than local Nebraska environmental conditions, and so are perhaps less variable; nevertheless there were early-arriving Turkey Vulture, American Woodcock, and Franklin\u27s Gull. Perhaps the presence of these numerous winter phenomena allowed other species to winter farther north; there were no Herring Gulls reported 6-27 Jan, only 3 Red Crossbill reports were received, at least one of those of Pacific Coast Type 3 birds, and very few Townsend\u27s Solitaires were counted. Perhaps the only species that was unexpectedly low in numbers given these occurrences was Red-headed Woodpecker, virtually absent from the state, even at its winter stronghold, Indian Cave State Park. Additional significant numbers were a report of 10,000 American Robins, large numbers of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches, and good numbers again of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Interesting observations included an apparent shift eastward of wintering Brown Creepers, the still-parlous state of Black-billed Magpie in the state, now only in fair numbers in Keith and Scotts Bluff Cos. Eurasian Collared-Doves are abundant in the west, but in the east numbers are far lower, albeit increasing slowly. The third record of Barred Owl in Lincoln Co was of one in a large parking lot in North Platte; it was surmised that all three may have been hit by semis on 1-80 and transported there. As well as all of the winter excitement, there were several rarities detected, including one first state record. Unfortunately, it was Mute Swan, finally added to the state list based on numerous reports that have been difficult to pass off as escapees or released birds. In addition, Nebraska\u27s 7th Black-throated Sparrow appeared at the feeders of the Records Committee Chairman (I think it will be accepted), and there were rare sightings of Barrow\u27s Goldeneye in the east, near adult Kumlien\u27s Gull, Gyrfalcon, Common Raven (they like Applebee\u27s and Burger King), Varied Thrush, and Pine Grosbeak

Fall Field Report, August–November 2016

As usual, there was quite a bit to chew over in the Fall Seasonal Report, although it was generally a pretty uneventful season, especially among waterfowl and shorebirds. The mild fall allowed some good counts to occur, such as the 20+ Surf Scoters, 465 meadowlarks in Garfield Co, and at least 11 White-winged Doves. First State Records are hard to come by; amazing was an Anna\u27s Hummingbird that showed up in the Manning Family\u27s central Omaha yard. How many pass through the yards of non-birders undetected? Always a mind-boggling thought. A 3rd state record Costa\u27s Hummingbird came to light from photos taken in 2010 through a chance conversation with an experienced birder. Almost as exciting was the 5th state record Canyon Wren which settled at a remote central Sandhills Ranch that required a 3.5 mile sand road trek in. Several happy birders made the trip without mishap, however, enjoying the fine hospitality of Mary Sue Shoemaker. And even more: the state\u27s 9th Curve-billed Thrasher was photographed at Chadron State Park near the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies\u27 banding station. Other less exciting but possibly more significant discoveries were a pair of Lewis\u27s Woodpeckers as far east as Keya Paha Co, a 6th fall record of Hooded Warbler, and a first Panhandle record of Blue-winged Warbler, also at the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies\u27 banding station. Notable rare warblers were a Black-throated Blue and a Pine, both in Omaha. Other good counts were the 27+ Sabine\u27s Gulls reported, with 6 in a day at each of 3 locations, 31 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on a single day in a Lancaster Co yard, reminding me of hummer feeders I\u27ve seen in the west, and 11 Canada Warblers that passed through the east. At the other end of that spectrum were virtually no Pine Siskins, there being only two reports between June and late Nov, and the absence of Red Cross bills away from the Pine Ridge, where they remained in good numbers. Of concern is the continuing scarcity of Black-billed Cuckoos, the absence of Black-billed Magpies this fall east of Harlan Co, and the current low ebb of Gray Partridge populations in the north and east

Fall Field Report, August–November 2015

To start, a housekeeping item: in the species accounts that follow, whenever I use the term migrant I am referring to fall migration only. Many species, of course, have differing migration strategies and timing in spring and fall. Much of the data used in this report relating to western and Pine Ridge passerines comes from the outstanding banding efforts by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (formerly Rocky Mountains Bird Observatory) at Chadron State Park (CSP) and Wildcat Hills Nature Center (WHNC) in Scotts Bluff Co. This year’s operators were Josh Lefever and Holly Garrod. Related to the Chadron State Park station, Andrew Pierson made this interesting observation: “I was closely involved with the CSP banding station for all of the years prior to the fires (and the first year after when it was temporarily moved down to the pond area) and it was never a very successful operation. It was always way behind the Wildcat Hills site in terms of numbers and diversity. Now, it seems there are single days when they catch a former season’s worth of birds. Is this directly attributable to the fires and subsequent regeneration of new habitat type and/or quality?” This fall and the previous two falls have been noteworthy for the large number of final sighting dates for many species that are pushing against those species’ latest expected dates. This phenomenon is across the board, both in waterbirds like Blue-winged Teal, Whooping Crane, Willet, and Common Tern, as well as passerines, such as Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (see species account for further discussion), Plumbeous Vireo, Summer Tanager, at least 5 species of sparrows, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Lazuli and Indigo Buntings. Conversely, a few winter visitors showed up early, such as “Oregon” and “Pink-sided” Juncos. Surprisingly large numbers of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Philadelphia Vireos appeared, as in previous fall seasons, but unexpected were influxes of Palm Warblers, usually rare in fall, and Black-throated Green Warblers. Each season has its share of noteworthy happenings; this fall , check out the accounts for Osprey, which bred successfully for the first time in Nebraska, Black Rail, a mystery to hopefully be solved next June, a northeasterly nesting of Barn Owl, double-brooded American Kestrel, a tally of 266 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds passing through a Lincoln yard, and two very tardy Baltimore Orioles in Omaha. Rarities this fall were few, but headed by 4th state records of both Black-headed Gull and Black-chinned Hummingbird, the latter, oddly, in far eastern Nebraska. Reports of Cave Swallow and the western subspecies of Nashville Warbler caused struggles with identification criteria, and the presence in the state of the western form of Orange-crowned Warbler was confirmed by the Pine Ridge banding stations mentioned earlier. An update to my note in last year’s Fall Seasonal Report: at that time I mentioned that 18% of the reports I used came from eBird-only contributors. A recheck for this report shows that figure now to be 52%, obviously a significant increase in only one year. I do believe that at some point eBird will largely supersede state and local online groups like NEBirds as the repository and source for Nebraska records as long as the trend of increasing use of eBird continues. However, I believe there still is a need for analysis and comment on the data available, which is probably best done through a Seasonal Report such as this. Finally, some of you may be wondering what my guideline is for including any given species in these accounts, as some do appear some seasons but not in others. I include ALL species that are regular in occurrence for the season at hand; no Northern Shrikes in the Summer Report, for example. I include these regular species whether reported (eBird, NEBIRDS, or personally) or not, as the absence of a regular species is noteworthy. I also include any casual or accidental species that are reported. I believe it is not noteworthy if an unexpected species does not show, so not all casual/accidental species are included in any given season. Thus a casual species such as Gyrfalcon may be reported in one Winter Report but not the next

First Nesting Record and Status Review of the Glossy Ibis in Nebraska

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is believed to be a recent colonist from the Old World whose numbers have increased and range has expanded in North America over the past two centuries (Patten and Lasley 2000). Glossy Ibis range expansion has been described as involving periods of relative stability followed by periods of rapid increase (Patten and Lasley 2000). Prior to the 1980s, Glossy Ibis were primarily found in the southeastern United States and along the Atlantic Coast (Patten and Lasley 2000). In the mid to late 1980s, Glossy Ibis began to rapidly increase and expand into Texas. By the early 1990s they were increasingly reported in the Great Plains (Thompson et a1. 20 11), particularly along the front range of Colorado and New Mexico (Patten and Lasley 2000). In Nebraska, the first documented occurrence of Glossy Ibis was a single adult with 28 White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) at Wilkins Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), Fillmore County, 24 April 1999 (Jorgensen 2001). Since the initial record, the number of reports of Glossy Ibis has increased. Glossy Ibis status was elevated from accidental to casual by the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) in 2005 (Brogie 2005). Only a few years later in 2014, its status was elevated again from casual to regular and NOURC no longer sought documentation for sightings (Brogie 2014). In 2015, Jorgensen observed this species nesting in the Rainwater Basin. Given the recent observation of nesting, the rapid increase in annual observations, along with field identification challenges as a result of similarity to and hybridization with the White-faced Ibis, the status of the Glossy Ibis in Nebraska is in need of clarification. Here, we provide observational details about the first confirmed nesting by the species in Nebraska, review all reports of Glossy Ibis and apparent Glossy × White-faced Ibis hybrids, and comment on this species’ overall status in the state

Summer Field Report, June–July 2015

This summer was very wet over most of the state. Breeding Bird Survey operators noted impassible roads, especially in the western Sandhills. The benefits to water birds in the Rainwater Basin were obvious, however, with notable breeding records for Ruddy Duck and White-faced Ibis, as well as the first documented breeding in the state of Glossy Ibis, and the first Rainwater Basin breeding for Double-crested Cormorant and third for Eared Grebe. Additional notable breeding records were led by Osprey; after 7 years of trying at various locations, success came with a bang, as at least 3 nests successfully fledged young, the first successful breedings for the state. A Barn Owl nest with 7 young was the first known in the extreme northeast, and a flightless juvenile Red-breasted Nuthatch in Seward provided an unexpected breeding record away from the north and west. Two developing situations suggest incipient breeding: there may now be two pairs of American Three-toed Woodpeckers in East Ash Canyon, Dawes County, and a major influx of Ovenbirds into Nebraska National Forest at Halsey the last two years suggests the first breeding there. Several species of shorebirds arrived early, close to expected first dates, but both dowitchers really beat the early dates: a Long-billed was record early, and Shortbilleds were unusually early as well. A netted and banded Tennessee Warbler was record early by 16 days. Rarities were few and not as mega as Summer 2014; a Snowy Plover was the first July record for the Rainwater Basin, 2 female Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (photographed together) were the 4th and 5th in spring for the state, and a vociferous Hooded Warbler set up shop at Nebraska National Forest at Halsey. Notable was excellent coverage of the Niobrara River Valley from Valentine to the Niobrara Valley Preserve and grasslands southwest of Nebraska National Forest at McKelvie. Many out-of-state birders working those areas as well as the rest of the state reported their Nebraska sightings to eBird, providing useful information. One problem crops up in these situations though: non-local birders rarely have as good a grasp of species distribution within Nebraska as experienced locals, as exemplified by the several reports this summer of Brewer\u27s Blackbirds in central and eastern Nebraska. As eBird filters continue to improve, such observations are expected to decline

Summer Field Report, June - July 2017

Changes in breeding ranges and numbers of Nebraska breeding birds are the primary focus of a Summer Seasonal Report. Every year there are changes to be noted; this year is no exception. Although most of the phenomena listed below are examples of dispersing individuals without breeding evidence, these often indicate breeding range expansion. White-winged Doves are becoming numerous in southern and western Nebraska, although breeding in far eastern Nebraska was only the 5th report for the state. Chuckwill’s- widow continues to creep westward in the south; the westernmost report to date was of one that crossed the 100-mile gap from Thayer Co to Harlan Co. Osprey continues to find success at as many as five existing locations in the west, but exciting was a successful new eastern site in Washington Co. New locations for nest-box breeding success for Northern Saw-whet Owl continue. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher added new counties to its range in the state: Red Willow and Jefferson. Sightings suggested that White-breasted Nuthatch continues to creep westward in riparian corridors. Continuing to move northward, Northern Mockingbird was reported at two northern locations. Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, and Summer Tanager took significant jumps to the extreme northeast and to northeastern Cherry Co. Reports of Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler in the Wildcat Hills of Scotts Bluff Co continue to increase, but breeding has not yet been documented there. Suggestive of adequate moisture conditions, Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark both were found near Agate, normally an arid part of the state. Dickcissels, now taking pride in being last in the checklist order, were in high numbers statewide, notably in the far west. Rarities were led by a cooperative Brown Booby at Harlan County Reservoir for about a month; it was Nebraska’s second, and first available to birders. The fourth state record of a Black-chinned Hummingbird, and certainly not the last of this expanding-range species, was at Blair, Washington Co, for a few weeks, but not known to birders; the four records are scattered across the state. Other “quality” finds were the 22nd record of Neotropic Cormorant and 28th of Laughing Gull. Possibly as rare in terms of probabilities was a very late Tennessee Warbler, documented by recording and description. A word on Nebraska’s famous species pairs and their hybrid zones. There were several reports of the eastern or western species deep in the range of the other members of the species pair. While not unlikely, none of the reports mentioned the possibility of hybrids. I encourage observers to take care to examine plumages with care; hybrids are quite numerous within the hybrid zones. An example of the usefulness of describing plumages in understanding distributions is included in the Indigo Bunting account

Winter Field Report, December 2010 to February 2011

This winter was pretty much a rerun of last, although perhaps not as severe; I could have used last winter\u27s Introduction again. If there was an overall theme, it would be the widespread occurrences of species that would not be expected to linger into late December and January. Several species of waterbirds, notably Blue-winged Teal, scoters, Ruddy Duck, Common Loon, and Homed and Red-necked Grebes were in this category. Large numbers of Western Grebes were still at Lake McConaughy in early January, and surprisingly late individuals of Black-crowned Night-Heron and Plegadis ibis were located. Mourning Doves were in good numbers in the southeast, and, among passerines, Hermit Thrushes were in good numbers, also. Late surprises among sparrows included Clay-colored, Chipping, and Field. Other daringly late passerines included two (!) Ruby-crowned Kinglets at Ogallala in February, and a Wilson\u27s Warbler in December in Scotts Bluff Co. Things are happening with some woodpeckers; for the second consecutive winter, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were everywhere, and Pileateds continue to expand their range northward in the Missouri Valley. This was a great year for Snow Buntings, even better than last year\u27s good showing. Rarities were scarce; prominent of course was the carryover Ross\u27s Gull from fall, but almost unbelievable was another Ross\u27s Gull in Lancaster Co. in early December while the Gavins Point bird was still present. Also a carryover story, but apparently ending sadly, was the Brown-headed Nuthatch saga in Lincoln; 2 birds were last reported in mid-December, and the last sighting was at the end of January. Otherwise, rare birds were the Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco and a small group of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, both in Scotts Bluff Co

Summer Field Report, June-July 2009

This was an interesting summer, with range expansions of multiple species continuing in all directions, but predominantly northward. Exceptions to the northward trend were Trumpeter Swan, which bred south of its usual western Sandhills range, and Sedge Wren, which may be occurring in June in northeast Nebraska in greater numbers. Moving eastward are Western Wood-Pewee, which now overlaps with westward-moving Eastern Wood-Pewee in Lincoln Co, Cordilleran Flycatcher in the Pine Ridge, and Lesser Goldfinch in the west. Song Sparrow is also expanding south and west. No fewer than 16 species are moving north and/or northwestward. Several species were seen more westerly including Broad-winged Hawk, nesting again in North Platte, Yellow-throated Vireo in the Niobrara River Valley, and Carolina Wren across a broad front. Species expanding in a northward direction include Acadian and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Summer Tanager in the east, Ash-throated Flycatcher in the west, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Northern Mockingbird statewide. Species moving north primarily in the Missouri River Valley include Fish Crow, Prothonotary Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush. Red-shouldered Hawk bred at its new location in Lancaster Co. Black-billed Cuckoos were found in greater numbers than in recent years. Puzzling is the increase in fall records of White-rumped Sandpipers in recent years; have they started to migrate inland in fall? For rarity buffs, White-tailed Kite, Inca Dove, and Fish Crow provided some hot weather excitement. Finally, interesting data regarding movement of Long-billed Curlews Bailey and Sandy in the Sandhills and far beyond was obtained using transmitters; check the fascinating website at www.BirdsNebraska.org

Fall Field Report, August - November 2017

This fall season will be remembered as the fall with the mega-rarities. There were five, one of which, Pacific Wren, is a first Nebraska record. Based on occurrence dates, Hurricane Irma appears to have influenced the appearance of two of the megas, Black Vulture and Magnificent Frigatebird, neither of which provided opportunities for observers to view them, but both well-documented with photographs. There were an extraordinary TWO sightings of Harris’s Hawk, which together with the presence as of this writing (December 19) of one in northeast Kansas and a view of the species map in eBird strongly suggest a single bird was involved in all three occurrences. Finally, and by no means least, a Williamson’s Sapsucker was photographed by Boni Edwards while she was looking for a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! Cameras rock. Another mega event was a rather short-lived but intense invasion by Red Crossbills. They arrived in a bunch, peaked in numbers in late October, and gradually faded away. There were around 170 reports through the period, with an estimated total of around 1360 individual birds. Significant among the multitudes of expected Type 2 birds were the first Nebraska recordings of Type 4, “Douglas Fir Crossbill”. Much of the rest of the Fall Seasonal Report deals with mundane-bycomparison trends. There were summer records of ducks that don’t breed in Nebraska, like Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Scaup. There were several shorebird species that lingered late into November, including a Wilson’s Phalarope photographed in late November, record late by a month. Similarly, several sparrow species lingered rather late as well

FALL FIELD REPORT, August-November 2021

INTRODUCTION Recent years have seen increasing reports of birds lingering quite late, and this fall was no exception. Notable groups exhibiting tardy departures were shorebirds and vireos. Tardy shorebirds were record late Solitary Sandpipers, near-record late Dunlin, and late Long-billed Curlew, Ruddy Turnstone, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Wilson’s Phalarope. Among the vireos, all regular species were at least tardy; record late was a Red-eyed Vireo, a Warbling Vireo was record late for the Panhandle, and a Blue-headed Vireo was second latest on record. Record late was a Barn Swallow, and a Mountain Bluebird was record late in the Panhandle. An interesting project by Sharla Meester and Dave Stage recording late Eastern Whip-poor-wills in Douglas Co yielded Oct records, the first for the state. On the other hand, there were no fewer than five record early fall dates. A Herring Gull was record early for an adult, while record early were a Red-tailed (Harlan’s) Hawk, a Northern Shrike (by one day), a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler, and a Townsend’s Warbler. Each fall brings a set of high counts; there were several this fall for diverse species, including records for Cackling Goose of 31,000, Greater Scaup at 164, Stilt Sandpiper at 1300, and Yellow-headed Blackbird at 4800. Record fall counts were Lesser Yellowlegs at 800, Red-necked Phalarope at 155, Blue Jay at 200, Violet-Green Swallow at 80, and, oddly, 5 Black-throated Blue Warblers. Other good counts were 93 Whooping Cranes including 53 in one group, 28 Burrowing Owls, and 40 Smith’s Longspurs. Both Snowy Owl and Common Redpoll appeared in numbers suggesting more to come during the winter. Eastern birds unexpectedly westerly were rare Panhandle records for Buffbreasted Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Rusty Blackbird and Scarlet Tanager; a Northern Parula was westerly and quite late in Dundy Co. Conversely, western birds east were a Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler, 5th for the east in fall, and a Western Tanager, 4th for fall in the east. Quite interesting were a few reports of breeding that carried over into Aug. Mississippi Kites nested in McCook, Red Willow Co, for an apparent first confirmed record there and in Lincoln, Lancaster Co, for a second record there. An intriguing possibility was Cordilleran Flycatcher breeding at Fort Niobrara NWR, Cherry Co. Tracking numbers of Pygmy Nuthatch at NNF Bessey, Thomas Co, yielded an excellent total there as the population is doing well since first establishing in 2014. Also a surprise at Fort Niobrara NWR were nesting Louisiana Waterthrushes at two locations, possibly three. A quick note on a couple of exotics: Mute Swan occurs as a wild bird, but with only two records so far, and so the provenance of a couple in northeastern Nebraska was of great interest (see article on page 181 of this issue). Egyptian Goose is being reported more often; it may establish as a generally unwanted breeder. And now the rarities. Probably the most surprising was a Black-throated Gray Warbler easterly in Knox Co, while maybe the coolest was a Gyrfalcon photographed in extreme northeastern Cherry Co. Additional “good birds” were Gray Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Common Raven, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Finally, thanks to the 140 birders who took time to report their sightings; these reports make a summary like this possible