1983 FALL FIELD DAY

Copyright 1983, Nebraska Ornithologists' Union. Used by permission.

Abstract

There were 55 who registered for the 1983 Fall Field Day, 24/25 September 1983, at the 4-H Camp at Halsey National Forest. With the benefit of good weather they tallied 94 species on or near the Forest, and a party that went up US 83 as far as the North Loup added 10 more (marked [N]), and 2 or 3 unidentified species of shore birds. The Scott's Oriole, near Wauneta, was selected as the best of the birds submitted for consideration, with the Black-necked Stilt, near Gothenburg, and the Glossy Ibis, at Lincoln, tied for second. After the slide show Saturday night (which included an identification quiz) Wayne J. Mollhoff, of Albion, spoke about the Holartic Avian Speciation Atlas, for which he is the Nebraska coordinator, soliciting the support of NOU as an organization, and the members as individuals. He proposes about 400 blocks, each about 3 miles square, which will be surveyed for evidence of breeding of the species actually or expected to be found there. Collection of the data is expected to be done from 1984 to 1988.

The species tallied are: Pied-billed, and Horned Grebes; Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Canvasback [N), Ruddy Duck [N], Turkey Vulture, Osprey [N), Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Cooper's Hawk (too far off for definite identification); Swainson's and Red-tailed Hawks; American Kestrel, Merlin, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wild Turkey, Virginia Rail, Sora, American Coot, Killdeer; Greater [N] and Lesser [N] Yellowlegs; Common Snipe, Ring-billed Gull [N]; Rock [N] and Mourning Doves; Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoos; Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Common Poorwill, Belted Kingfisher; Red-headed, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers; Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Horned Lark, Barn Swallow, Blue Jay, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee; Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches; House Wren; Golden-crowned and Rubycrowned Kinglets; Eastern Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Pipit sp. [N], Cedar Waxwing, European Starling; Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos; Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped, and Blackburnian Warblers; American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Warbler, Northern Cardinal; Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks; Indigo Bunting, Rufous-sided Towhee; American Tree, Chipping, Clay-colored, Field, Vesper, Lark [N), Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, White·throated, White-crowned, and Harris' Sparrows; Darkeyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird; Eastern and Western Meadowlarks; Yellow-headed Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird [N]; Orchard and Northern Orioles; Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch.