2023 (35th) Report of the NOU Records Committee

Authors

Mark A. Brogie, Nebraska Ornithologists' UnionFollow

Date of this Version

9-2024

Document Type

Article

Citation

Nebraska Bird Review, volume 92, number 3, September 2024, pp. 132–138

Comments

Published by the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Inc.

Abstract

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website https://noubirds.org/Birds/ReviewList.aspx. Starting in 2020, the NOURC decided to deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-of- range species are now summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the Nebraska Bird Review and will be evaluated by Nebraska eBird reviewers (if submitted on that platform). In 2023, the NOURC voted to add a Class I-X category in the NOURC Criteria for Accepted Records. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found in the latest issue of The Nebraska Bird Review (NBR).

The following includes all revisions made by the American Ornithological Society (Chesser et al. 2023) in 2023 including scientific name changes and taxonomic realignment that affect the current published “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska: 2017” (NOURC 2017, wwwNOUbirds.org). This report includes all accounts submitted during the 2023 calendar year covering 38 records with accession numbers 2411–2448. A former record: Accession # 1317 was reevaluated, and its classification was updated.

Two new species were added in 2023. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)—A single bird was discovered (SMl) and photographed (Class 1-P, SMl/SB) 07 April 2023 at Lake Minatare, Scotts Bluff County, Accession # 2413. Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)—Three birds were seen and two were photographed (Class 1-P, PB/LP) 07 April 2023 along Rd 5 W, just north of the Nebraska/Colorado border, Kimball County, Accession # 2412.

With these additions the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska” stands at 469 species.