16 June 2018

Birdly Wonders of a Cherry County Spring

June 6, 2018. Birdly wonders of a Cherry county spring. Valentine Midland News 46(49): 11. A paid advertisement. The cost was $132 for the 2 x 11 ad.

Every day can be a bird day and spring in Cherry County and at Valentine was indicative as many different wildbirds got lots of attention as appreciated by multiple observers. On various days during March through May birders visited prominent places including near Valentine at the city park and mill pond, Valentine NWR (12 checklists), three visits each to Fort Niobrara NWR and Smith Falls State Park, as well as to Anderson Bridge, Shell Lake and Ballards Marsh WMAs, and even along the county road northward from Brownlee.

There were some especially exciting sightings among nearly 1800 records, many by visitors reporting their observations to the ebird online repository and that were significant in indicating many of the 176 species seen to occur. The tally for the immediate vicinity of Valentine was 115 species during the three months.

The mid-April blizzard wrought destruction to birds. Carcasses of migratory Sandhill Crane were found a few miles south of Valentine, days later. A significant flight of the cranes going northward did occur on 17 April, and the flight and calls perfectly showed that winter was finally finished! During the blizzard event, a nest box with Eastern Bluebird eggs filled with blowing snow, ruining the breeding attempt. After the pair had not returned for weeks, the box caretaker let some Tree Swallow use it instead.

Notably prominent at Valentine were two indications of the potentiality of bird hybridization in the so diverse Niobrara Valley environs. A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak had a contention during mid-May over breeding habitat with a couple of Black-headed Grosbeak just north of the Mill Pond. The latter species was still present at the end of the month. A hybrid Bullocks Oriole x Baltimore Oriole was also indicative as closely seen during the same days, also north of town.

A couple of local highlights were the Great-tailed Grackle in mid-May, seemingly getting established here and elsewhere in north-central Nebraska, and a simply beautiful Lazuli Bunting appreciating some of the bird seed. At least two pair of Great Blue Heron have been busy raising a brood at nests in trees at the eastern extent of the city park. Bald Eagle were not reported but were certainly raising young in their massive nests.

Various warblers were seen on branches and boughs in the sylvan setting of the city park, including the Yellow Warbler, American Redstart and Ovenbird. The itty-bitty Common Yellowthroat appreciates its bit of space among the cattail habitat at the western extent of the Mill Pond, where Spotted Sandpiper are busy nearby on the sandy creek bank. Many other species are local residents. You can’t miss the robins, Blue Jay or Eurasian Collared Dove around town.

Daily, the local flock of Turkey Vulture soar in search of some edible carrion near Valentine, as well as other suitable country spaces. The north side flock of Wild Turkey survived intact after the hunting season. Red-winged Blackbird were visibly perturbed as the big hens and gobblers – a very apt term – ruled at the seed buffet. Daily a horde of black birds of three species eat a bunch of seeds. While they feed, it is quite interesting to watch the birds’ behavior as they interact to get something to eat. Female redwings, for example, use a wing-flutter action to indicate their space ... momma is hungry, so stay away.

By the end of May, two pair of Canada Goose had goslings at the Mill Pond. Swallows were busily eating bugs with a colony of Cliff Swallow on the Highway 83 bridge over Minnechaduza Creek. Rough-winged swallows were busy in the same vicinity. Chimney Swift continue to be prominent over Main Street being bugeaters all day long. Purple Martin with a similar purpose, dwell where a suitable nest house is present, and not overtaken by the pesky House Sparrow. During the night, Common Nighthawk also fly in search of insects somewhere near where they nest on the ground or a city building roof?

The overall county bird variety ranges in size from the magnificent Trumpeter Swan to the mighty mite, the house wren. The call of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo was heard in late May and is a certain sign of summer’s arrival.

A grand variety of wildbirds are essential wildlife around Valentine, within the county and overall in the Great American Sandhills. The current and historic reality conveys many people spend tourist money and hundreds of hours to appreciate nature and the many ranchland and wildlife values amidst a landscape mostly free of constructs and blinking lights that destroy night sky views.

Nearly every bird sighting can be a distinctive story with every outing an opportunity for unique memories. Wildbirds though are indifferent to being a mark on a tally sheet, so there is a responsibility for actions to make a difference to ensure the “voice” of birds is realized and their airspace and habitat is suitably conserved so the special wildbird wonders of these days can be appreciated in a similar manner tomorrow, next years and by future generations.

There is no place in our unique county where industrial wind turbines and mega-powerlines should in any manner be allowed to kill wildbirds by spinning turbine blades or destroy wildlands habitat. Don’t ruin treasures just so some misdirected people can put tax-payer subsidized dollars in their pocket.

Ad paid for by James E. Ducey. Details online at Wildbirds Broadcasting.


The numbers given in the table indicate an overall summary of the number observed for each of the species at any locale within the county during the particular month.

Birds of Cherry County - Spring, 2018
Proper Name March April May
Canada Goose 220 3853 181
Cackling Goose -- 16 --
Snow Goose -- 336 --
Trumpeter Swan -- 10 6
Wood Duck 19 6 8
Cinnamon Teal -- -- 1
Blue-winged Teal 78 -- 122
Northern Shoveler 196 5 43
Gadwall 227 7 20
American Wigeon 12 7 6
Mallard 51 35 48
Northern Pintail -- 4 1
Green-winged Teal 39 8 4
Canvasback 96 12 --
Redhead 158 10 18
Ring-necked Duck 27 10 3
Greater Scaup 2 -- --
Lesser Scaup 125 21 3
Bufflehead 82 7 1
Common Goldeneye 1 8 --
Common Merganser 24 81 --
Ruddy Duck 182 -- 55
Northern Bobwhite -- -- 1
Wild Turkey 103 76 64
Sharp-tailed Grouse 5 -- 9
Common Pheasant 5 2 8
Common Loon -- -- 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1 -- 5
Horned Grebe 5 -- --
Black-necked Grebe -- -- 18
Western Grebe 12 -- 103
White-faced Ibis 1 -- 34
American Bittern -- -- 7
Black-crowned Night Heron 1 -- --
Western Cattle Egret -- -- 5
Great Blue Heron 15 3 15
American White Pelican 73 -- 86
Double-crested Cormorant 50 -- 16
Turkey Vulture 171 28 125
Western Osprey -- -- 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 1 --
Cooper's Hawk 1 1 --
Northern Harrier 7 1 2
Bald Eagle 4 6 2
Mississippi Kite -- -- 1
Swainson's Hawk -- -- 1
Red-tailed Hawk 5 21 9
Rough-legged Buzzard 1 3 --
Virginia Rail -- -- 2
Sora -- -- 1
American Coot 546 -- 20
Sandhill Crane 1545 -- 6
Black-necked Stilt -- -- 1
American Avocet -- -- 4
Killdeer 14 4 26
Upland Sandpiper -- -- 34
Long-billed Curlew -- -- 2
Stilt Sandpiper -- -- 63
Sanderling -- -- 1
Least Sandpiper -- -- 12
White-rumped Sandpiper -- -- 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper -- -- 31
Long-billed Dowitcher -- -- 1
Wilson's Snipe -- -- 7
Wilson's Phalarope -- -- 45
Spotted Sandpiper 1 -- 13
Greater Yellowlegs 3 -- --
Franklin's Gull -- 2 6
Ring-billed Gull 6 19 20
American Herring Gull 4 22 --
Forster's Tern -- -- 7
Black Tern -- -- 43
Rock Dove 17 27 --
Eurasian Collared Dove 47 47 57
Mourning Dove 67 9 97
Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- -- 2
Great Horned Owl 3 1 3
Burrowing Owl -- -- 1
Common Nighthawk -- -- 16
Chimney Swift 3 -- 64
Ruby-throated Hummingbird -- -- 1
Belted Kingfisher 8 1 2
Red-headed Woodpecker -- -- 22
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 3 1
Downy Woodpecker 11 12 7
Hairy Woodpecker 1 3 4
Northern Flicker 16 19 10
American Kestrel 4 -- 2
Merlin -- 1 --
Peregrine Falcon -- -- 1
Eastern Phoebe 7 1 9
Eastern Wood Pewee -- -- 2
Willow Flycatcher -- -- 1
Least Flycatcher -- -- 8
Western Kingbird 1 -- 37
Eastern Kingbird -- -- 73
Great Crested Flycatcher -- -- 17
Loggerhead Shrike 1 -- 1
Great Grey Shrike -- 1 --
Bell's Vireo -- -- 13
Warbling Vireo -- -- 9
Red-eyed Vireo -- -- 10
Blue Jay 5 6 15
American Crow 14 39 18
Cedar Waxwing -- 94 30
Black-capped Chickadee 20 26 17
Horned Lark -- -- 63
Sand Martin -- -- 6
Tree Swallow 23 -- 99
Purple Martin -- -- 12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5 -- 103
Barn Swallow 1 -- 59
American Cliff Swallow 15 -- 250
Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- 1 --
Sedge Wren -- -- 1
Marsh Wren -- 1 25
House Wren -- -- 53
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher -- -- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 3 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 13 19 7
Grey Catbird -- -- 15
Brown Thrasher 1 -- 29
Common Starling 22 97 19
Eastern Bluebird 19 18 12
Townsend's Solitaire -- 2 --
Swainson's Thrush -- -- 8
American Robin 278 253 125
House Sparrow 70 122 32
House Finch 39 50 23
Common Redpoll -- 75 --
Red Crossbill -- 12 --
American Goldfinch 39 24 35
Pine Siskin 1 2 4
Ovenbird -- -- 6
Northern Waterthrush -- -- 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 5 -- 5
Common Yellowthroat -- -- 29
American Redstart -- -- 25
American Yellow Warbler -- -- 83
Blackpoll Warbler -- -- 2
Palm Warbler -- -- 1
Myrtle Warbler 3 -- 6
Audubon's Warbler 11 -- 10
Yellow-breasted Chat -- -- 3
Yellow-headed Blackbird 12 -- 82
Bobolink -- -- 9
Western Meadowlark 20 6 77
Eastern Meadowlark -- -- 13
Baltimore Oriole -- -- 21
Bullock's Oriole x Baltimore Oriole -- -- 1
Orchard Oriole -- -- 23
Red-winged Blackbird 706 840 476
Brown-headed Cowbird 20 -- 147
Common Grackle 140 14 204
Great-tailed Grackle -- -- 2
Lark Bunting -- -- 2
Song Sparrow 8 4 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 4 -- 4
Harris's Sparrow 6 -- 23
White-crowned Sparrow 2 -- 47
White-throated Sparrow -- -- 11
Dark-eyed Junco 198 234 --
Savannah Sparrow 8 1 --
Grasshopper Sparrow -- -- 43
American Tree Sparrow 84 326 --
Chipping sparrow 21 -- 132
Field Sparrow 1 -- 14
Clay-colored Sparrow 3 -- 81
Lark Sparrow -- -- 86
Spotted Towhee 1 -- 30
Lapland Longspur -- 2 --
Rose-breasted Grosbeak -- -- 2
Black-headed Grosbeak -- -- 12
Northern Cardinal 10 15 18
Blue Grosbeak -- -- 2
Indigo Bunting -- -- 5
Lazuli Bunting 1 -- --

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