This month was very humdrum with hot temperatures and troublesome transportation be limitave, especially when there was a good book or two to read in an absorptive manner.
There are a few notable comments, including:
- Wild Turkey: sparse with no young seen at at a time when the poults should have been walking about as a brood with a hen bird
- Turkey Vulture: It was nice to see good numbers soaring past in the mornings, with numbers greater than expected in comparison to previous years; their roost is east of the Valentine City Park, on pine tree snags occurring due to a wild fire several years ago, and whose condition continues to deteriorate; this site was not visited because of not having any interest in walking there on a hot evening!
- Great Horned Owl: seemingly much more expressive this month than a year ago when they were not even heard, which is perhaps due to "night-owl" times and keeping the front door open to dissipate a days worth of hot air
- Common Nighthawk: only one night of any notable number of migrating birds, despite several nights of watching; during the evening of the peak count, there were also 50 seen easterly of Valentine near the Borman Bridge WMA
- Cedar Waxwing: known to nest along Lake Shore Drive on the north side of the mill pond, as single fledgling liked to sit atop a sprig of a blue-spruce conifer where it was readily seen multiple times, where the parents had been initially heard; often the youngster sat alone as if it did not want to depart, but that eventually did occur as the local waxwings gathered to forage in a greater vicinity
- Purple Martin: a few initially roosted on power lines along the Cowboy Trail west and then east of Main street, as they also congregated atop the cellular tower in central downtown; later in the month, fewer numbers congregated near 8th and Main streets, with some of the birds foraging over the mill pond and hills to the north
- American Cliff Swallow: nested on the dam across Minnechaduza creek that creates the mill pond, though not realized until later in the season due to limited visits to the particular locale
- House Wren: a pair nested north of my residence and another to the south in the fixture of a yard light; both nests were successful
There were no Chimney Swift roost counts done, as my ride was not working properly so only a morning trip was taken into the city. Also not noted this year was any Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity. One residence that had formerly had a feeder did not have this attractant this year.
Efforts to attract species by providing food failed. A first effort to see if they might be attracted to horse grain failed as there was no interest except by grasshoppers. There was no interest in dried mealworms which were marketed as wildbird and poultry food. Once the birds showed no interest, not even a red ant colony had any interest in the edibles. At least the American Goldfinch appreciated the goatsbeard seeds, while the plume was discarded.
There were 53 species observed as recorded on basically four dates when records were kept. Excessive heat was an issue on several days when the high temperature of the day exceeded 100o and were often the highest temperature in the state of Nebraska. Most of the records are associated with north Valentine and especially in the immediate vicinity of my residence. Sometimes the best bird times of watching birds is while watching those outside a residence window.
| Species Julian Date > | 218 | 227 | 238 | 239 | 243 |
| Canada Goose | 5 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Wood Duck | -- | -- | 8 | -- | 3 |
| Wild Turkey | -- | -- | 3 | -- | -- |
| Great Blue Heron | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Turkey Vulture | 28 | 31 | 34 | -- | 17 |
| Bald Eagle | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-tailed Hawk | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Killdeer | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Spotted Sandpiper | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Rock Dove | -- | 5 | 14 | -- | 16 |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | 18 | 9 | 4 | -- | 4 |
| Mourning Dove | 9 | 19 | 6 | -- | 4 |
| Great Horned Owl | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Common Nighthawk | 3 | 2 | 9 | 70 | -- |
| Chimney Swift | 17 | 5 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Belted Kingfisher | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Northern Flicker | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 2 |
| Eastern Phoebe | -- | 2 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Western Kingbird | 2 | 6 | -- | -- | -- |
| Eastern Kingbird | 5 | 3 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 4 | 4 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Bell's Vireo | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Warbling Vireo | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-eyed Vireo | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Blue Jay | 7 | 6 | 1 | -- | 5 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 7 | 12 | 4 | -- | -- |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 2 | 4 | 2 | -- | 2 |
| Purple Martin | 3 | 45 | 18 | -- | 10 |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| American Cliff Swallow | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| House Wren | 8 | 11 | 4 | -- | 5 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 2 | 1 | 3 | -- | -- |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 2 | 1 | 1 | -- | 2 |
| Grey Catbird | 2 | 2 | -- | -- | 4 |
| Brown Thrasher | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Common Starling | 4 | 23 | -- | -- | -- |
| Eastern Bluebird | 1 | 4 | -- | -- | 4 |
| American Robin | 23 | 20 | -- | -- | 2 |
| House Sparrow | 42 | 25 | -- | -- | 8 |
| House Finch | -- | 19 | 6 | -- | 8 |
| American Goldfinch | 6 | 3 | 3 | -- | -- |
| Common Yellowthroat | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| American Yellow Warbler | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 20 | 12 | 35 | -- | -- |
| Common Grackle | 1 | 6 | -- | -- | -- |
| Chipping Sparrow | 2 | 7 | -- | -- | -- |
| Lark Sparrow | 1 | 4 | -- | -- | -- |
| Spotted Towhee | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Northern Cardinal | 2 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
This tally compares to 64 species noted on 12 dates during this month in 2016, when there were a few more localities visited.