There was nothing especially different associated with the occurrence of wildbirds in the immediate vicinity of Valentine, Neb. during June except that it was another exceptionally special month as resident species were busy breeding and raising young. Bird song started every day at 5:30 a.m. and continued to some extent throughout the day until the sun set. Juveniles of some species becoming very obvious towards the end of the month.
Some notable items are:
- Wild Turkey: numbers varied day-to-day but at least one arrived each morning to peck and eat. A regular visitor was a hen, given the name Mabel, who brought her friends of the flock to gobble up the sunflower seeds.
- Turkey Vulture: numbers of these aerialists are enjoyed daily as they float above the North Lake Shore Hills and Clarkson Hill.
- Mourning Dove: adult incubating a recently built nest at the end of the month.
- Great Horned Owl: prevalently heard during early months of this year but very rarely heard or seen during late-spring and the first of summer month arrived.
- Cedar Waxwing: two died upon hitting the glass of patio doors of a north Valentine residence; one died immediately and the other shortly later. This is a local indication that a glass expanse is always a danger anywhere. At my residence, birds repeatedly hit the big north window, but none have been found to have met their demise during strikes that occur regularly with Dark-eyed Junco during the winter season.
- Common Nighthawk: certainly more prevalent than indicated, but there are no evening birding outings personally done.
- Purple Martin: nesting at the house at Wacky West RV Park and also at one along the 500 block of north Ray Street. At both locales, the martins have to fight House Sparrows for a nesting berth. A house at the northeast corner of 6th and Valentine was not occupied.
- Swallows: American Cliff Swallow nest at the Valentine Mill Pond, both at the west end on the Highway 83 bridge and then at the mill pond dam, and then down-stream at a concrete relict along Minnechaduza Creek, below the fishery. Northern Rough-winged Swallow occur daily but their nesting place will continue to be a mystery this year. Surprisingly rare is the Barn Swallow, which was only seen once along the Cowboy Trail near the livestock market. There are a multitude of other places where nest could be built, but apparently are not something suitable to the species.
- House Wren: a pair busy all month at their appreciated shelter in a pipe that is part of the structure of the hay shed.
- Common Grackle: numerous at the seed buffet and with numerous squawking juveniles, getting fed by their parents when the food source was literally at their feet; one juvenile that apparently got disconnected from its parents was very tolerant of any human presence as it could be approached within about three feet before taking flight. My name for it was Mo.
- Red-winged Blackbird: numerous individuals appreciating the seed; near the end of the month, a male with a broken leg was obvious as it did not stand on its remaining leg but instead ate while crouching on the porch rail. It was seen on only one day while it strived to survive despite its injury.
- Black-headed Grosbeak: the birds that took up residence about the eastern end of the Valentine Mill Pond and northward at the Water Tanks Tract continued to occur and that was notably different from the dearth of observations in the most recent previous years.
Prominent birds at my seed buffet include the Wild Turkey (especially a hen that visits daily and is almost deserving of personal birdly recognition; some of this birds realize food is available, they run to the place where they forage vivaciously outside the front door and even on the porch), bunches of Common Grackle of various ages, Red-winged Blackbird including busy females and Brown-headed Cowbird. Fewer numbers of Mourning Dove and Eurasian Collared Dove, along with Chipping Sparrow and Lark Sparrow occur. A Northern Cardinal visits occasionally. These species start eating starting at sunrise, then throughout the day and until sunset so there is a whole lot of bird activity daily. Notably appreciated are the sparrows. Add in the mammals White-tailed Deer, raccoon, White-tailed Rabbit and Fox-tailed Squirrel. All of these critters eat for free whenever they want! The seed mix disappears quite quickly since there is no accounting office where the feed bill should be sent!
Notably missing in the tally was any sighting of a Bald Eagle or any indication of the Belted Kingfisher which was certainly a breeding season resident somewhere in the area. Within the Heart City, Rock Dove are more prevalent than records convey. More effort should have been given to surveys at the Valentine City Park and Government Canyon where Red-headed Woodpecker have been known to prevail.
These are the 61 species noted:
| Proper Name Julian Date = | 155 | 158 | 163 | 172 | 173 | 180 |
| Canada Goose | 11 | -- | -- | 16 | -- | 14 |
| Wild Turkey | 10 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| Great Blue Heron | 1 | -- | 1 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Turkey Vulture | 10 | -- | 21 | 11 | -- | 17 |
| Cooper's Hawk | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-tailed Hawk | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Killdeer | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Rock Dove | 5 | -- | 5 | -- | -- | -- |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | 5 | -- | 10 | 8 | -- | 7 |
| Mourning Dove | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 | -- | 6 |
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Common Nighthawk | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Chimney Swift | 8 | -- | 7 | 6 | -- | 6 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 | -- | 1 | 3 | -- | 1 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Northern Flicker | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Eastern Phoebe | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Eastern Wood Pewee | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Western Kingbird | 7 | -- | 7 | 5 | -- | 6 |
| Eastern Kingbird | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 5 | -- | 4 | 4 | -- | 4 |
| Bell's Vireo | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Warbling Vireo | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Red-eyed Vireo | 2 | -- | 1 | 2 | -- | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| American Crow | 2 | -- | 1 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Cedar Waxwing | 5 | -- | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | -- | 2 |
| Purple Martin | -- | -- | 6 | -- | -- | 14 |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 5 | -- | 8 | 6 | -- | 6 |
| Barn Swallow | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| American Cliff Swallow | 15 | -- | 30 | 25 | -- | 35 |
| House Wren | 8 | 3 | 12 | 6 | -- | 10 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 | -- | 2 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Grey Catbird | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Brown Thrasher | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Common Starling | 2 | -- | 2 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 4 | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 | -- |
| American Robin | 14 | 1 | 27 | 23 | -- | 30 |
| House Sparrow | -- | -- | 10 | -- | -- | 10 |
| House Finch | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -- | 5 |
| American Goldfinch | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -- | 3 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 2 | -- | 2 | 2 | -- | 2 |
| American Redstart | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| American Yellow Warbler | 2 | -- | 1 | 2 | -- | 1 |
| Western Meadowlark | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Baltimore Oriole | 1 | -- | 2 | 4 | -- | 2 |
| Orchard Oriole | 1 | 1 | -- | 3 | -- | 1 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | -- | 10 | 25 | 25 | -- | 30 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 10 | -- | 12 | 12 | -- | 10 |
| Common Grackle | 12 | -- | 32 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 5 | 2 | 10 | 7 | -- | 7 |
| Field Sparrow | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Lark Sparrow | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | -- | 6 |
| Spotted Towhee | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Black-headed Grosbeak | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Northern Cardinal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Indigo Bunting | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | -- |
The tally in 2017 was 53 species from four dates of records; and then 66 species from five dates in 2016. The combined total is 74 species.
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