November Birds in the Valentine Vicinity

During this month, records were denoted for ten distinct days. In addition to the usual places given attention — especially at the north side of the city — there was a distinctive visit made to Government Canyon and its woodly haunts, as well as a morning hike about Borman Bridge WMA, on the east side of the ever-flowing Niobrara River.

It was quite a diverse month of avian sightings. Numerous geese were continually at the Mill Pond. An occasional Bald Eagle soared above the gathered fowl, apparently looking for a weak something to eat.

Regular bird residents continued their prevalence. There was on particular sighting while bicycling along Government street to the grocery store. A small-sized raptor was holding a Rock Dove on the ground at the parking lot of the livestock market. Its identity was not immediately obvious, but after circling around, stopping to get a better look while the bird held the pigeon on the ground until it would die. The details of size and coloration were then given special consideration. It was a feisty Merlin. This was an initial sighting of the month. At this time many American Robin were present northward of the Mill Pond.

A highlight subsequent to this sighting of significance, was seeing - once again - this species flying above the scene at Borman Bridge WMA the next day. On this same Sunday, there was a Great Grey Shrike in the treetops.

Quite surprising for one day of the month, a bunch of flying birds became dramatically noticeable. The trill of the Eastern Bluebird was prominent. The initial thought was that it was a single-species flock. Thankfully most of the flyers landed upon a nearby powerline. With further consideration, the approximate count was more than a hundred American Goldfinch, 60-70 House Finch and an approximate 45 Eastern Bluebird. For the bluebirds, this was a new primary peak count for the county. These species continued to occur in numbers for the next three days at the same locality.

During a morning hike through Government Canyon with Gordon Warrick on the 24th (Thanksgiving), we were talking about some sort of bird species which maybe be seen. Red Crossbill were mentioned. Quite nicely - within less than a minute - a bunch of about ten were seen actively foraging atop a nearby pine tree. To add to the nicety, another flying flock of about 45 were at the same place. This is largest occurrence of this species, based upon an evaluation of more than 80 sandhills' region records for this species. The other extensive count was at the former Circle J Reserve - now Chat Canyon WMA - when 35 were counted on April 20, 2004. There was determination of the subspecies present.

A local addition to this vicinity was a Townsend's Solitaire perched atop one pine or another in the pine trees on the hills north of the Mill Pond.

Also appreciated during the month, was a calling Eastern Screech Owl and to the west was a Great Horned Owl, each heard to cap the evening as a "super moon" became increasingly evident above the eastern horizon, as seen from a prominent hilltop at the Water Tower Tract, north of the city park.

Narrative about the resident species in the Valentine vicinity is notably less, even though individual records are kept of their presence. Eurasian Collared Dove, Northern Flicker and other woodpeckers are denoted, as well as the diminutive nuthatches and chickadees with their cheery call. Always appreciated is the sound of the Red-breasted Nuthatch. The Northern Cardinal is not pervasive, but a bird or two is seen once in a while. They are appreciated visitors to bird feeders. Rock Dove are always present in the vicinity of the livestock market.

This is the tally for the month.

Common Name	310	311	312	320	324	326	328	329	332	335
Canada Goose	22	- -	- -	73	- -	85	- -	525	- -	275
Cackling Goose	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	6	- -	5	- -	2
Mallard	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2
Bald Eagle	- -	2	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1
Red-tailed Hawk	1	1	- -	1	1	- -	- -	3	- -	1
American Herring Gull	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Rock Dove	45	- -	- -	55	- -	- -	12	- -	- -	- -
Eurasian Collared Dove	4	- -	- -	9	- -	4	6	- -	4	- -
Eastern Screech Owl	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Great Horned Owl	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Belted Kingfisher	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Red-bellied Woodpecker	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Downy Woodpecker	- -	- -	1	1	- -	- -	1	1	- -	- -
Hairy Woodpecker	1	1	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	1	1	1
Northern Flicker	1	2	- -	1	- -	3	1	3	3	- -
Merlin	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Great Grey Shrike	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Blue Jay	- -	- -	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
American Crow	3	14	- -	- -	1	1	2	6	- -	2
Cedar Waxwing	9	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	2	- -
Black-capped Chickadee	- -	- -	- -	4	- -	2	- -	6	- -	2
Red-breasted Nuthatch	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	3	1	- -
White-breasted Nuthatch	- -	- -	2	4	2	2	- -	2	- -	3
Common Starling	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	25	- -	- -
Eastern Bluebird	4	1	- -	1	- -	- -	45	19	6	12
Townsend's Solitaire	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	1	3	- -	- -
American Robin	65	10	- -	40	- -	25	- -	39	30	- -
House Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	5	- -	- -	2	- -	- -
House Finch	2	- -	- -	2	- -	8	65	42	100	12
Red Crossbill	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	55	- -	- -
American Goldfinch	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	110	44	35	13
Pine Siskin	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -
Red-winged Blackbird	- -	- -	40	2	- -	7	- -	20	- -	- -
Song Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Harris's Sparrow	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
White-throated Sparrow	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Dark-eyed Junco	18	2	- -	- -	6	7	15	24	20	25
American Tree Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	4	6	5	- -	- -	3
Northern Cardinal	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -

The number of species seen during this month, this year — perhaps due to a broader extent of time afield and timely bird hikes — was 39. This compares to 32 species during the same month of outdoor observations in 2015.

After many months of record-keeping, the yearly calendar of species occurrence is becoming better known, and perhaps better understood in the Valentine vicinity.