Checklist of Avifauna for the Nebraska Sandhills

The sandhills of Nebraska and extreme southern South Dakota are a unique and expansive area of predominantly prairie lands with interspersed wetlands and human settlements. A great variety of birds occur.

A modern-era checklist has just been prepared for the region, based upon a database of more than 148,000 records, with the first dated record from 1886.

The details convey there are 58 families with a representative 406 valid species. Other sorts of birds occur, specifically known hybrids. In the case of prominent name changes, previous alternate common names are indicated.

The source of the details needed to create this updated checklist was: Gill, Frank and D. Donsker (editors). 2015. International Ornithological Council world bird list (version 5.4). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.5.4. www.worldbirdnames.org", which is the result of a multi-year voluntary effort by globally situated experts. This freely-available spreadsheet also includes details on the published sources that indicated the original naming, as well as subspecies and their distribution. Each tidbit makes the information essential when considering world avifauna, but are interesting as well.

Species are listed in the taxonomic order indicated by this reference. In the case of prominent name changes, previous alternate common names are indicated. Some of the changes are slight, while there might also be a completely new common name.

Family Anatidae

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck; Dendrocygna autumnalis

Swan Goose; Anser cygnoides

Greater White-fronted Goose; Anser albifrons

Bar-headed Goose; Anser indicus

Snow Goose; Chen caerulescens

Ross's Goose; Chen rossii

Canada Goose; Branta canadensis

Cackling Goose; Branta hutchinsii

Brant Goose; Branta bernicla

Mute Swan; Cygnus olor

Trumpeter Swan; Cygnus buccinator

Tundra Swan; Cygnus columbianus

Wood Duck; Aix sponsa

Gadwall; Anas strepera

Eurasian Wigeon; Anas penelope

American Wigeon; Anas americana

American Black Duck; Anas rubripes

Mallard; Anas platyrhynchos

Blue-winged Teal; Anas discors

Cinnamon Teal; Anas cyanoptera

Northern Shoveler; Anas clypeata

Northern Pintail; Anas acuta

Green-winged Teal; Anas crecca

Canvasback; Aythya valisineria

Redhead; Aythya americana

Ring-necked Duck; Aythya collaris

Tufted Duck; Aythya fuligula

Greater Scaup; Aythya marila

Lesser Scaup; Aythya affinis

Common Eider; Somateria mollissima

Harlequin Duck; Histrionicus histrionicus

Surf Scoter; Melanitta perspicillata

White-winged Scoter; Melanitta fusca

Black Scoter; Melanitta americana

Long-tailed Duck; Clangula hyemalis

Bufflehead; Bucephala albeola

Common Goldeneye; Bucephala clangula

Barrow's Goldeneye; Bucephala islandica

Hooded Merganser; Lophodytes cucullatus

Common Merganser; Mergus merganser

Red-breasted Merganser; Mergus serrator

Ruddy Duck; Oxyura jamaicensis

Family Odontophoridae

Scaled Quail; Callipepla squamata

Northern Bobwhite; Colinus virginianus

Family Phasianidae

Wild Turkey; Meleagris gallopavo

Ruffed Grouse; Bonasa umbellus

Sage Grouse; Centrocercus urophasianus

Sharp-tailed Grouse; Tympanuchus phasianellus

Greater Prairie-Chicken; Tympanuchus cupido

Chukar Partridge; Alectoris chukar

Grey Partridge; Perdix perdix

Common Pheasant; Phasianus colchicus

Family Gaviidae

Red-throated Loon; Gavia stellata

Pacific Loon; Gavia pacifica

Great Northern Loon; Gavia immer

Yellow-billed Loon; Gavia adamsii

Family Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe; Podilymbus podiceps

Red-necked Grebe; Podiceps grisegena

Horned Grebe; Podiceps auritus

Black-necked Grebe; Podiceps nigricollis; eared grebe

Western Grebe; Aechmophorus occidentalis

Clark's Grebe; Aechmophorus clarkii

Family Threskiornithidae

American White Ibis; Eudocimus albus

Glossy Ibis; Plegadis falcinellus

White-faced Ibis; Plegadis chihi

Family Ardeidae

American Bittern; Botaurus lentiginosus

Least Bittern; Ixobrychus exilis

Black-crowned Night Heron; Nycticorax nycticorax

Yellow-crowned Night Heron; Nyctanassa violacea

Green Heron; Butorides striata

Western Cattle Egret; Bubulcus ibis

Great Blue Heron; Ardea herodias

Great Egret; Ardea alba

Reddish Egret; Egretta rufescens

Little Blue Heron; Egretta caerulea

Snowy Egret; Egretta thula

Family Pelecanidae

American White Pelican; Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Brown Pelican; Pelecanus occidentalis

Family Phalacrocoracidae

Neotropic Cormorant; Phalacrocorax brasilianus

Double-crested Cormorant; Phalacrocorax auritus

Family Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture; Cathartes aura

Family Pandionidae

Western Osprey; Pandion haliaetus

Family Accipitridae

White-tailed Kite; Elanus leucurus

Golden Eagle; Aquila chrysaetos

Sharp-shinned Hawk; Accipiter striatus

Cooper's Hawk; Accipiter cooperii

Northern Goshawk; Accipiter gentilis

Northern Harrier; Circus cyaneus

Bald Eagle; Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Mississippi Kite; Ictinia mississippiensis

Red-shouldered Hawk; Buteo lineatus

Broad-winged Hawk; Buteo platypterus

Swainson's Hawk; Buteo swainsoni

Red-tailed Hawk; Buteo jamaicensis

Ferruginous Hawk; Buteo regalis

Rough-legged Buzzard; Buteo lagopus

Family Rallidae

Yellow Rail; Coturnicops noveboracensis

Black Rail; Laterallus jamaicensis

King Rail; Rallus elegans

Virginia Rail; Rallus limicola

Sora; Porzana carolina

Common Moorhen; Gallinula chloropus

American Coot; Fulica americana

Family Gruidae

Sandhill Crane; Grus canadensis

Whooping Crane; Grus americana

Family Recurvirostridae

Black-necked Stilt; Himantopus mexicanus

American Avocet; Recurvirostra americana

Family Charadriidae

American Golden Plover; Pluvialis dominica

Grey Plover; Pluvialis squatarola; black-bellied plover

Semipalmated Plover; Charadrius semipalmatus

Killdeer; Charadrius vociferus

Piping Plover; Charadrius melodus

Snowy Plover; Charadrius nivosus

Mountain Plover; Charadrius montanus

Family Scolopacidae

American Woodcock; Scolopax minor

Wilson's Snipe; Gallinago delicata

Short-billed Dowitcher; Limnodromus griseus

Long-billed Dowitcher; Limnodromus scolopaceus

Hudsonian Godwit; Limosa haemastica

Marbled Godwit; Limosa fedoa

Eskimo Curlew; Numenius borealis

Whimbrel; Numenius phaeopus

Long-billed Curlew; Numenius americanus

Upland Sandpiper; Bartramia longicauda

Greater Yellowlegs; Tringa melanoleuca

Lesser Yellowlegs; Tringa flavipes

Solitary Sandpiper; Tringa solitaria

Willet; Tringa semipalmata

Spotted Sandpiper; Actitis macularius

Ruddy Turnstone; Arenaria interpres

Red Knot; Calidris canutus

Sanderling; Calidris alba

Semipalmated Sandpiper; Calidris pusilla

Western Sandpiper; Calidris mauri

Least Sandpiper; Calidris minutilla

White-rumped Sandpiper; Calidris fuscicollis

Baird's Sandpiper; Calidris bairdii

Pectoral Sandpiper; Calidris melanotos

Dunlin; Calidris alpina

Stilt Sandpiper; Calidris himantopus

Buff-breasted Sandpiper; Tryngites subruficollis

Wilson's Phalarope; Phalaropus tricolor

Red-necked Phalarope; Phalaropus lobatus

Red Phalarope; Phalaropus fulicarius

Family Laridae

Black-legged Kittiwake; Rissa tridactyla

Sabine's Gull; Xema sabini

Bonaparte's Gull; Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Black-headed Gull; Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Little Gull; Hydrocoloeus minutus

Ross's Gull; Rhodostethia rosea

Laughing Gull; Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull; Leucophaeus pipixcan

Mew Gull; Larus canus

Ring-billed Gull; Larus delawarensis

California Gull; Larus californicus

Great Black-backed Gull; Larus marinus

Glaucous-winged Gull; Larus glaucescens

Glaucous Gull; Larus hyperboreus

Iceland Gull; Larus glaucoides

Thayer's Gull; Larus thayeri

American Herring Gull; Larus smithsonianus

Lesser Black-backed Gull; Larus fuscus

Caspian Tern; Hydroprogne caspia

Least Tern; Sternula antillarum

Common Tern; Sterna hirundo

Forster's Tern; Sterna forsteri

Black Tern; Chlidonias niger

Family Stercorariidae

Pomarine Skua; Stercorarius pomarinus; pomarine jaeger

Parasitic Jaeger; Stercorarius parasiticus

Long-tailed Jaeger; Stercorarius longicaudus

Family Columidae

Rock Dove; Columba livia; rock pigeon

Eurasian Collared Dove; Streptopelia decaocto

Mourning Dove; Zenaida macroura

White-winged Dove; Zenaida asiatica

Family Cuculidae

Yellow-billed Cuckoo; Coccyzus americanus

Black-billed Cuckoo; Coccyzus erythropthalmus

Family Tytonidae

Western Barn Owl; Tyto alba

Family Strigidae

Flammulated Owl; Psiloscops flammeolus

Eastern Screech Owl; Megascops asio

Snowy Owl; Bubo scandiacus

Great Horned Owl; Bubo virginianus

Barred Owl; Strix varia

Great Grey Owl; Strix nebulosa

Burrowing Owl; Athene cunicularia

Northern Saw-whet Owl; Aegolius acadicus

Long-eared Owl; Asio otus

Short-eared Owl; Asio flammeus

Family Cprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk; Chordeiles minor

Common Poorwill; Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

Chuck-will's-widow; Antrostomus carolinensis

Eastern Whip-poor-will; Antrostomus vociferus; whip-poor-will

Family Apodidae

Chimney Swift; Chaetura pelagica

White-throated Swift; Aeronautes saxatalis

Family Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Archilochus colubris

Broad-tailed Hummingbird; Selasphorus platycercus

Rufous Hummingbird; Selasphorus rufus

Calliope Hummingbird; Selasphorus calliope

Family Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher; Megaceryle alcyon

Family Picidae

Lewis's Woodpecker; Melanerpes lewis

Red-headed Woodpecker; Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Acorn Woodpecker; Melanerpes formicivorus

Red-bellied Woodpecker; Melanerpes carolinus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; Sphyrapicus varius

Red-naped Sapsucker; Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Downy Woodpecker; Picoides pubescens

Hairy Woodpecker; Picoides villosus

Northern Flicker; Colaptes auratus

Family Falconidae

American Kestrel; Falco sparverius

Merlin; Falco columbarius

Gyrfalcon; Falco rusticolus

Prairie Falcon; Falco mexicanus

Peregrine Falcon; Falco peregrinus

Family Tyrannidae

Eastern Phoebe; Sayornis phoebe

Say's Phoebe; Sayornis saya

Olive-sided Flycatcher; Contopus cooperi

Western Wood Pewee; Contopus sordidulus

Eastern Wood-Pewee; Contopus virens

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher; Empidonax flaviventris

Acadian Flycatcher; Empidonax virescens

Willow Flycatcher; Empidonax traillii

Alder Flycatcher; Empidonax alnorum

Least Flycatcher; Empidonax minimus

Hammond's Flycatcher; Empidonax hammondii

Cordilleran Flycatcher; Empidonax occidentalis

Vermilion Flycatcher; Pyrocephalus rubinus

Cassin's Kingbird; Tyrannus vociferans

Western Kingbird; Tyrannus verticalis

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher; Tyrannus forficatus

Eastern Kingbird; Tyrannus tyrannus

Great Crested Flycatcher; Myiarchus crinitus

Family Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike; Lanius ludovicianus

Great Grey Shrike; Lanius excubitor; northern shrike

Family Vireonidae

White-eyed Vireo; Vireo griseus

Bell's Vireo; Vireo bellii

Yellow-throated Vireo; Vireo flavifrons

Plumbeous Vireo; Vireo plumbeus

Cassin's Vireo; Vireo cassinii

Blue-headed Vireo; Vireo solitarius

Warbling Vireo; Vireo gilvus

Philadelphia Vireo; Vireo philadelphicus

Red-eyed Vireo; Vireo olivaceus

Family Corvidae

Grey Jay; Perisoreus canadensis

Blue Jay; Cyanocitta cristata

Steller's Jay; Cyanocitta stelleri

Pinyon Jay; Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Black-billed Magpie; Pica hudsonia

Clark's Nutcracker; Nucifraga columbiana

American Crow; Corvus brachyrhynchos

Northern Raven; Corvus corax; common raven

Family Bombycillidae

Bohemian Waxwing; Bombycilla garrulus

Cedar Waxwing; Bombycilla cedrorum

Family Paridae

Tufted Titmouse; Baeolophus bicolor

Black-capped Chickadee; Poecile atricapillus

Mountain Chickadee; Poecile gambeli

Family Alaudidae

Horned Lark; Eremophila alpestris

Family Hirundinidae

Sand Martin; Riparia riparia; bank swallow

Tree Swallow; Tachycineta bicolor

Violet-green Swallow; Tachycineta thalassina

Purple Martin; Progne subis

Northern Rough-winged Swallow; Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Barn Swallow; Hirundo rustica

American Cliff Swallow; Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Cave Swallow; Petrochelidon fulva

Family Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet; Regulus satrapa

Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Regulus calendula

Family Troglodytidae

Rock Wren; Salpinctes obsoletus

Sedge Wren; Cistothorus platensis

Marsh Wren; Cistothorus palustris

Bewick's Wren; Thryomanes bewickii

Carolina Wren; Thryothorus ludovicianus

Winter Wren; Troglodytes hiemalis

House Wren; Troglodytes aedon

Family Polioptilidae

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher; Polioptila caerulea

Family Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch; Sitta pygmaea

Red-breasted Nuthatch; Sitta canadensis

White-breasted Nuthatch; Sitta carolinensis

Family Certhiidae

Brown Creeper; Certhia americana

Family Mimidae

Grey Catbird; Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Mockingbird; Mimus polyglottos

Sage Thrasher; Oreoscoptes montanus

Brown Thrasher; Toxostoma rufum

Curve-billed Thrasher; Toxostoma curvirostre

Family Sturnidae

Common Starling; Sturnus vulgaris; European starling

Family Turdidae

Varied Thrush; Ixoreus naevius

Eastern Bluebird; Sialia sialis

Mountain Bluebird; Sialia currucoides

Townsend's Solitaire; Myadestes townsendi

Veery; Catharus fuscescens

Gray-cheeked Thrush; Catharus minimus

Swainson's Thrush; Catharus ustulatus

Hermit Thrush; Catharus guttatus

Wood Thrush; Hylocichla mustelina

American Robin; Turdus migratorius

Family Cinclidae

American Dipper; Cinclus mexicanus

Family Passeridae

House Sparrow; Passer domesticus; English sparrow

Family Motacillidae

Buff-bellied Pipit; Anthus rubescens; American pipit

Sprague's Pipit; Anthus spragueii

Family Fringillidae

Evening Grosbeak; Hesperiphona vespertinus

Pine Grosbeak; Pinicola enucleator

Grey-crowned Rosy Finch; Leucosticte tephrocotis

Purple Finch; Haemorhous purpureus

Cassin's Finch; Haemorhous cassinii

House Finch; Haemorhous mexicanus

Common Redpoll; Acanthis flammea

Red Crossbill; Loxia curvirostra

Two-barred Crossbill; Loxia leucoptera; white-winged crossbill

American Goldfinch; Spinus tristis

Lesser Goldfinch; Spinus psaltria

Pine Siskin; Spinus pinus

Family Parulidae

Ovenbird; Seiurus aurocapilla

Worm-eating Warbler; Helmitheros vermivorum

Louisiana Waterthrush; Parkesia motacilla

Northern Waterthrush; Parkesia noveboracensis

Golden-winged Warbler; Vermivora chrysoptera

Blue-winged Warbler; Vermivora cyanoptera

Black-and-white Warbler; Mniotilta varia

Prothonotary Warbler; Protonotaria citrea

Tennessee Warbler; Leiothlypis peregrina

Orange-crowned Warbler; Leiothlypis celata

Nashville Warbler; Leiothlypis ruficapilla

Connecticut Warbler; Oporornis agilis

MacGillivray's Warbler; Geothlypis tolmiei

Mourning Warbler; Geothlypis philadelphia

Kentucky Warbler; Geothlypis formosa

Common Yellowthroat; Geothlypis trichas

Hooded Warbler; Setophaga citrina

American Redstart; Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler; Setophaga tigrina

Cerulean Warbler; Setophaga cerulea

Northern Parula; Setophaga americana

Magnolia Warbler; Setophaga magnolia

Bay-breasted Warbler; Setophaga castanea

Blackburnian Warbler; Setophaga fusca

American Yellow Warbler; Setophaga aestiva

Chestnut-sided Warbler; Setophaga pensylvanica

Blackpoll Warbler; Setophaga striata

Black-throated Blue Warbler; Setophaga caerulescens

Palm Warbler; Setophaga palmarum

Audubon's Warbler; Setophaga auduboni; yellow-rumped warbler. There may also be occurrences of the more eastern Myrtle's Warbler, which now has a distinct scientific name.

Yellow-throated Warbler; Setophaga dominica

Prairie Warbler; Setophaga discolor

Grace's Warbler; Setophaga graciae

Black-throated Grey Warbler; Setophaga nigrescens

Townsend's Warbler; Setophaga townsendi

Black-throated Green Warbler; Setophaga virens

Canada Warbler; Cardellina canadensis

Wilson's Warbler; Cardellina pusilla

Fmmily: Incertae Sedis

[Genus relationships not certain.]

Yellow-breasted Chat; Icteria virens

Family Icteridae

Yellow-headed Blackbird; Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Bobolink; Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Western Meadowlark; Sturnella neglecta

Eastern Meadowlark; Sturnella magna

Bullock's Oriole; Icterus bullockii

Baltimore Oriole; Icterus galbula

Orchard Oriole; Icterus spurius

Red-winged Blackbird; Agelaius phoeniceus

Brown-headed Cowbird; Molothrus ater

Rusty Blackbird; Euphagus carolinus

Brewer's Blackbird; Euphagus cyanocephalus

Common Grackle; Quiscalus quiscula

Great-tailed Grackle; Quiscalus mexicanus

Family Emberizidae

Lark Bunting; Calamospiza melanocorys

Red Fox Sparrow; Passerella iliaca; fox sparrow

Song Sparrow; Melospiza melodia

Lincoln's Sparrow; Melospiza lincolnii

Swamp Sparrow; Melospiza georgiana

Harris's Sparrow; Zonotrichia querula

White-crowned Sparrow; Zonotrichia leucophrys

White-throated Sparrow; Zonotrichia albicollis

Golden-crowned Sparrow; Zonotrichia atricapilla

Dark-eyed Junco; Junco hyemalis

Savannah Sparrow; Passerculus sandwichensis

Nelson's Sparrow; Ammodramus nelsoni; Nelson's salt-marsh sparrow

Saltmarsh Sparrow; Ammodramus caudacutus

Le Conte's Sparrow; Ammodramus leconteii

Baird's Sparrow; Ammodramus bairdii

Henslow's Sparrow; Ammodramus henslowii

Grasshopper Sparrow; Ammodramus savannarum

American Tree Sparrow; Spizelloides arborea

Chipping Sparrow; Spizella passerina

Field Sparrow; Spizella pusilla

Clay-colored Sparrow; Spizella pallida

Brewer's Sparrow; Spizella breweri

Vesper Sparrow; Pooecetes gramineus

Lark Sparrow; Chondestes grammacus

Black-throated Sparrow; Amphispiza bilineata

Cassin's Sparrow; Peucaea cassinii

Green-tailed Towhee; Pipilo chlorurus

Spotted Towhee; Pipilo maculatus

Eastern Towhee; Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Family Calcariidae

McCown's Longspur; Rhynchophanes mccownii

Lapland Longspur; Calcarius lapponicus

Smith's Longspur; Calcarius pictus

Chestnut-collared Longspur; Calcarius ornatus

Snow Bunting; Plectrophenax nivalis

Family Cardinalidae

Summer Tanager; Piranga rubra

Scarlet Tanager; Piranga olivacea

Western Tanager; Piranga ludoviciana

Dickcissel; Spiza americana

Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Pheucticus ludovicianus

Black-headed Grosbeak; Pheucticus melanocephalus

Northern Cardinal; Cardinalis cardinalis

Blue Grosbeak; Passerina caerulea

Indigo Bunting; Passerina cyanea

Lazuli Bunting; Passerina amoena

Painted Bunting; Passerina ciris

This is an updated checklist for a regional area within Nebraska which conforms to international standards of name designation and taxonomy. The Nebraska bird group standards are based upon a lesser extent of species evaluation ... those only for North America.

Avian taxonomy is an ever-changing situation. Updates are typically issued on a yearly basis, so any field guide may be out-of-date within months after it is published. Name and taxonomy standards used vary greatly, from state to national to international.

It requires a focused effort to update particulars within any digital record-keeping methodology. Changes have to be carefully integrated with all previous, related details, while maintaining their essential intregrity. For a database, temporary alterations have to be allowed as additions and edits occur. Then the information has to be checked again to ensure essential accuracy.

It took numerous hours of a pre-holiday weekend to update the bird nomenclature details included in the database of the Great American Sandhills. It was a much more interesting endeavour than going shopping for holiday gifts!

A day earlier effort to update using the American Ornithologists Union checklist simply did not work. The effort was abandoned as the resultant details were confusing due to a lack of flexibility, especially when considering taxonimc sequence. Any use of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union state checklist was immediately not feasible, due its simplicity and since it could not be saved digitally for later consideration at the home computer, where the hours of editing would occur.

The most problemantic item in regards to updating any personal database is the taxonomic sequence. Common and scientific names can be easily changed. Yet, none of the issued sources provide a specific number of identification, so there is the necessity to derive some means so that once the information is updated, it can be properly sorted for presentation that is proper and adheres to the original source.

After editing the records based upon the AOU checklist, the species sequence was not right. They attribute a species number based not upon when it was first designated, but upon an arbitrary designated number when something occurred. The Winter Wren is an example of this stupidity. The species has been known for nearly two centuries, yet when it was split to include the Pacific Wren of the northwest, its id value was changed.

The NOU checklist indicates nothing as far as a value where the list can be downloaded and used to prepare an electronic checklist, with a value that would allow creating a list with the proper taxonomic sequence.

The most problematic item is determining a sequence. Records need to be sorted so they can be regularly displayed in the right manner. Yet there is no number designated by any of the checklists available. In the case of the update using the IOC list, at least the row of the spreadsheet could be used to provide a faux number to enter so the species could be kept in the proper order. It would certainly make this sort of effort easier if a number was designated by authorities.

The extent of birds has been studied for decades, so it would seem that some numbering sequence could have been adopted that would be dynamic and suitable for the long-term. Alas, that is not the case now and never has been. Determining the order for species has always been essential and it will continue to be essential. Certainly the nomenclature experts could consider and develop a resolution...

Whistling Ducks Present in Cherry County

Contrary to their usual habits, two errant black-bellied whistling ducks left their typical haunts of southern climes with drought and dry conditions to visit northerly spaces.

Two were first reported at Lake Contrary, near St. Joseph along the Missouri River. A local birder, Larry Lade, had his eye on the two lingering at a yard by the lake. The two were first reported for May 24th. They continued their visit for eight days, Lade reported. They continued there until May 31st, Thursday.

Their Friday would be at some other place with suitable aquatic habitat.

A surprise sighting of two black-bellied whistling ducks along Goose Creek Valley, added this species to the list of more than 400 already known to occur within the Sand Hill region.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at a wetland along Goose Creek.
Photographs courtesy of Mary Sue Shoemaker.

Mary Sue Shoemaker was returning to their Crooked Bar D Ranch northwest of Elsmere on June 1st, when she noticed the two different-looking ducks in a small pond along the county road. Their unusual color and shape first attracted her attention as being notably different from the species typically present. In taking a closer look, she was able to identify the two ducks, as she is familiar with the species, having seen them previously in Texas.

"I couldn’t believe my eyes," Shoemaker said. "I was so excited to share the experience. I really forgot about pictures in the excitement and pleasure of observing them."

She then quickly drove the few miles to the ranch, and got three other observers, including her husband Ross. They returned to the pond where the bird’s presence was confirmed and enjoyed. Pictures of the habitat and birds were taken with a cell-phone camera.

The two ducks were busy feeding while they were being observed during a period of nearly two hours, she said.

This record also adds to the tally of species seen on the ranch and in Cherry county for the Shoemakers, who have rediscovered the enjoyment of watching birds, especially during the past five-to-ten years.

Closeup of the whistling ducks.

The two errant ducks were gone the next day, Mary Sue Shoemaker said, and with area ponds drying up due to a lack of sufficient precipitation, the birds were expected to have left the country.

The Shoemaker family has a heritage of interest in observing birds both in the county and during trips to other places. Her parents Donald and Lola Held had a similar interest and reported some of their observations in the Nebraska Bird Review during the mid-1950s.

The day after noting the whistling ducks, a female Wood Duck arrived at the ponds — another unusual sighting for those of the community interested in such happenings — obviously attracted to the bit of special fowl habitat. It may have been a bird that left another area due to a loss of nest or young, as wood ducks at this time of the year might typically have young ducklings to care for.

Then a single whistling duck was noted on June 4th, alone and calling — according to birder Shoemaker — at the same pond along the Goose Creek Road, up north of Elsmere. It was gone on the second visit, off to somewhere else. Other species about that day were long-billed curlews — including a group of seven feeding "on a meadow" — upland sandpipers, mallard and blue-winged teal. The trill of bobolinks was heard in the creek meadow, beyond the red-winged blackbird and heron places. Viewing more than 20 typical species of the Goose Creek country provided "a great morning in the area," Shoemaker said in her note to NEBirds.

One bird was still about, with one bird apparently gone, or perhaps it had been killed or died.

Might it have flown southward towards its normal range. A report on the Kansas bird forum provides an intriguing possibility. On June 4th, in the evening, a single whistling duck was observed by Scott Schmidt at Cheyenne Bottoms, in central Kansas.

In the sand hills, a single duck of particular note was still present on June 9th at the same pond where first seen, Shoemaker reported.

Did the birds have different intents. One staying put for a while, while the other preferred to head back towards the south? It is a possibility, though complete conjecture as there is no definitive evidence proving the occurrence.

Could this have been the saga — still ongoing — of two black-bellied whistling ducks?

Avifauna Along Missouri River Regularly Surveyed, Yet Relatively Unknown

Whether it was a just a couple of years ago or two hundred years back in the historic past, birds along the lower Missouri River have been regularly noted and consistently reported, yet there the information needed to adequately understand the birds species and their occurrence is insufficient.

Early historians, and when considering this aspect, the notes scribed by Lewis and Clark upon their great quest to the Pacific Northwest and then back into the Louisiana Territory - based on the known historic records - was a first.

Other exploratory endeavors followed, especially these impressive examples:

• Thomas Say and Titian Ramsey Peale at the Engineer Cantonment in 1819-1820, noted details for the birds as well as other natural history features, in what has been recognized as perhaps the first biotic survey even completed for the continent. Information gathered here, including a list of birds observed from autumn to spring.
• Prince Maximilian de Wied came from Germany and went up the river into the northern Dakota territory, and with the efforts of David Dreidoppel and Karl Bodmer, created a distinctive and celebrated history.
• John James Audubon, in his hurried manner, went up the same river during on season, and found new species that have been a focus of bird life studies ever since.

These explorers convey details which illustrate historic conditions along the river during the earliest times of its ornithological history.

The legacy of observations continued to expand - evolving from explorers to shootists to naturalists to bird watchers - in subsequent decades in a myriad of individual ways. Each recorded effort has contributed further to what is known about the bird life of the Missouri River valley.

The species known is impressive not only because of the variety of sources, but in the context of a bird history that presents a distinctive record of the avifauna extant along the primary river of the northern plains.

Continual Bird History

Information conveyed for the birds along the Missouri River - in a particular section along the border of what is now Nebraska - has been regularly detailed in different publications. The notes present a sublime record of what bird occurred where and when. The information tells much about the avian diversity, but is still just a glimpse that relies on a relatively miniscule set of documented occurrences.

Records of birds given in the variety of sources issued in the past - whether 200 years ago or last Sunday - can be viewed in a number of distinctive ways. Once many of the known observations are compiled, they can be considered in an entirety for a particular locality, whether it is the Engineer Cantonment, land of a wildlife refuge, or to a different extent based on property boundaries, a county or state, or a particular section of something such as the Missouri River.

This is how an evaluation of known birds along the Missouri River on the eastern border of Nebraska border was accomplished. It was derived from a compilation of the records given in the various sources of literature ranging from narratives from historic expeditions, articles in newspapers and bird journals issued during many decades, posts provided by online bird forums, and observations during seasonal surveys given on a select few websites.

Species Diversity

There have been at least 365 different species of birds noted along the Missouri River valley along the border of the Nebraska, which goes from the lowlands about Squaw Creek NWR, up the river along the common Iowa-Nebraska border, and into the very southern portion of South Dakota, near the confluence of the Niobrara River.

This list is derived from more ca. 84,000 records, primarily from after 1880. There are further instances of occurrence from prior times, based on further records in a separate database.

Species and number of considered records. • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 1 • Taiga Bean-Goose - 2 • Greater White-fronted Goose - 258 • Snow Goose - 714 • Ross's Goose - 92 • Brant - 3 • Cackling Goose - 30 • Canada Goose - 826 • Trumpeter Swan - 57 • Tundra Swan - 29 • Muscovy Duck - 1 • Wood Duck - 1049 • Gadwall - 737 • Eurasian Wigeon - 1 • American Wigeon - 582 • American Black Duck - 53 • Mallard - 1008 • Blue-winged Teal - 780 • Cinnamon Teal - 25 • Northern Shoveler - 741 • Northern Pintail - 470 • Garganey - 5 • Green-winged Teal - 529 • Canvasback - 368 • Redhead - 426 • Ring-necked Duck - 649 • Greater Scaup - 42 • Lesser Scaup - 851 • Common Eider - 3 • Harlequin Duck - 6 • Surf Scoter - 30 • White-winged Scoter - 30 • Black Scoter - 11 • Long-tailed Duck - 36 • Bufflehead - 563 • Common Goldeneye - 659 • Barrow's Goldeneye - 11 • Hooded Merganser - 409 • Common Merganser - 702 • Red-breasted Merganser - 225 • Masked Duck - 1 • Ruddy Duck - 657 • Gray Partridge - 5 • Ring-necked Pheasant - 327 • Ruffed Grouse - 6 • Sharp-tailed Grouse - 5 • Greater Prairie-Chicken - 19 • Wild Turkey - 525 • Northern Bobwhite - 176 • Red-throated Loon - 11 • Pacific Loon - 6 • Common Loon - 205 • Pied-billed Grebe - 959 • Horned Grebe - 181 • Red-necked Grebe - 3 • Eared Grebe - 124 • Western Grebe - 66 • American White Pelican - 587 • Brown Pelican - 1 • Neotropic Cormorant - 1 • Double-crested Cormorant - 1005 • Anhinga - 5 • American Bittern - 63 • Least Bittern - 87 • Great Blue Heron - 1200 • Great Egret - 325 • Snowy Egret - 61 • Little Blue Heron - 92 • Tricolored Heron - 3 • Cattle Egret - 156 • Green Heron - 353 • Black-crowned Night-Heron - 86 • Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - 45 • Glossy Ibis - 2 • White-faced Ibis - 41 • Roseate Spoonbill - 2 • Wood Stork - 2 • Turkey Vulture - 730 • Osprey - 271 • Swallow-tailed Kite - 6 • Mississippi Kite - 6 • Bald Eagle - 821 • Northern Harrier - 316 • Sharp-shinned Hawk - 428 • Cooper's Hawk - 206 • Northern Goshawk - 21 • Red-shouldered Hawk - 244 • Broad-winged Hawk - 232 • Swainson's Hawk - 103 • Red-tailed Hawk - 950 • Ferruginous Hawk - 5 • Rough-legged Hawk - 64 • Golden Eagle - 21 • American Kestrel - 475 • Merlin - 71 • Peregrine Falcon - 84 • Prairie Falcon - 23 • Yellow Rail - 1 • Black Rail - 1 • King Rail - 15 • Virginia Rail - 27 • Sora - 89 • Common Moorhen - 56 • American Coot - 902 • Sandhill Crane - 45 • Whooping Crane - 2 • Black-bellied Plover - 53 • American Golden-Plover - 52 • Snowy Plover - 2 • Semipalmated Plover - 146 • Piping Plover - 273 • Killdeer - 1152 • Black-necked Stilt - 12 • American Avocet - 65 • Spotted Sandpiper - 342 • Solitary Sandpiper - 201 • Greater Yellowlegs - 208 • Willet - 53 • Lesser Yellowlegs - 383 • Upland Sandpiper - 36 • Eskimo Curlew - 3 • Whimbrel - 2

• Long-billed Curlew - 11 • Hudsonian Godwit - 70 • Marbled Godwit - 23 • Ruddy Turnstone - 27 • Red Knot - 3 • Sanderling - 49 • Semipalmated Sandpiper - 201 • Western Sandpiper - 19 • Least Sandpiper - 276 • White-rumped Sandpiper - 86 • Baird's Sandpiper - 182 • Pectoral Sandpiper - 317 • Dunlin - 64 • Stilt Sandpiper - 130 • Buff-breasted Sandpiper - 25 • Short-billed Dowitcher - 16 • Long-billed Dowitcher - 94 • Wilson's Snipe - 188 • American Woodcock - 50 • Wilson's Phalarope - 94 • Red-necked Phalarope - 17 • Red Phalarope - 3 • Laughing Gull - 7 • Franklin's Gull - 476 • Little Gull - 1 • Bonaparte's Gull - 237 • Ring-billed Gull - 1204 • California Gull - 2 • Herring Gull - 264 • Thayer's Gull - 12 • Iceland Gull - 1 • Slaty-backed Gull - 4 • Glaucous Gull - 14 • Sabine's Gull - 8 • Black-legged Kittiwake - 14 • Ross's Gull - 3 • Least Tern - 235 • Caspian Tern - 126 • Black Tern - 284 • Common Tern - 19 • Forster's Tern - 226 • Pomarine Jaeger - 1 • Ancient Murrelet - 1 • Rock Pigeon - 76 • Eurasian Collared-Dove - 8 • Mourning Dove - 524 • Passenger Pigeon - 7 • Common Ground-Dove - 1 • Carolina Parakeet - 9 • Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 637 • Black-billed Cuckoo - 60 • Barn Owl - 6 • Eastern Screech-Owl - 46 • Great Horned Owl - 128 • Snowy Owl - 13 • Burrowing Owl - 7 • Barred Owl - 334 • Long-eared Owl - 6 • Short-eared Owl - 15 • Northern Saw-whet Owl - 11 • Common Nighthawk - 140 • Common Poorwill - 1 • Chuck-will's-widow - 6 • Whip-poor-will - 73 • Chimney Swift - 505 • Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 285 • Belted Kingfisher - 820 • Red-headed Woodpecker - 946 • Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1115 • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 31 • Downy Woodpecker - 1070 • Hairy Woodpecker - 404 • American Three-toed Woodpecker - 1 • Northern Flicker - 1245 • Pileated Woodpecker - 80 • Olive-sided Flycatcher - 183 • Eastern Wood-Pewee - 790 • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 9 • Acadian Flycatcher - 50 • Alder Flycatcher - 45 • Willow Flycatcher - 73 • Least Flycatcher - 301 • Eastern Phoebe - 337 • Say's Phoebe - 4 • Great Crested Flycatcher - 717 • Western Kingbird - 119 • Eastern Kingbird - 541 • Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 7 • Loggerhead Shrike - 66 • Northern Shrike - 8 • White-eyed Vireo - 34 • Bell's Vireo - 182 • Black-capped Vireo - 1 • Yellow-throated Vireo - 584 • Blue-headed Vireo - 170 • Warbling Vireo - 742 • Philadelphia Vireo - 44 • Red-eyed Vireo - 686 • Blue Jay - 1043 • Black-billed Magpie - 35 • American Crow - 1069 • Chihuahuan Raven - 1 • Common Raven - 8 • Horned Lark - 206 • Purple Martin - 309 • Tree Swallow - 448 • Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 489 • Bank Swallow - 193 • Cliff Swallow - 223 • Barn Swallow - 559 • Black-capped Chickadee - 1212 • Tufted Titmouse - 824 • Red-breasted Nuthatch - 91 • White-breasted Nuthatch - 1066 • Brown Creeper - 440 • Rock Wren - 2 • Canyon Wren - 2 • Carolina Wren - 595 • Bewick's Wren - 5 • House Wren - 1053 • Winter Wren - 158 • Sedge Wren - 100 • Marsh Wren - 91

• Golden-crowned Kinglet - 244 • Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 468 • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 309 • Eastern Bluebird - 828 • Mountain Bluebird - 1 • Townsend's Solitaire - 6 • Veery - 41 • Gray-cheeked Thrush - 95 • Swainson's Thrush - 292 • Hermit Thrush - 62 • Wood Thrush - 422 • American Robin - 1024 • Varied Thrush - 1 • Gray Catbird - 820 • Northern Mockingbird - 22 • Brown Thrasher - 484 • Curve-billed Thrasher - 1 • European Starling - 443 • American Pipit - 31 • Sprague's Pipit - 2 • Bohemian Waxwing - 7 • Cedar Waxwing - 428 • Blue-winged Warbler - 27 • Golden-winged Warbler - 34 • Tennessee Warbler - 384 • Orange-crowned Warbler - 404 • Nashville Warbler - 417 • Northern Parula - 432 • Yellow Warbler - 430 • Chestnut-sided Warbler - 131 • Magnolia Warbler - 76 • Cape May Warbler - 9 • Black-throated Blue Warbler - 8 • Yellow-rumped Warbler - 669 • Black-throated Green Warbler - 86 • Blackburnian Warbler - 76 • Yellow-throated Warbler - 267 • Pine Warbler - 4 • Prairie Warbler - 3 • Palm Warbler - 60 • Bay-breasted Warbler - 65 • Blackpoll Warbler - 172 • Cerulean Warbler - 141 • Black-and-white Warbler - 306 • American Redstart - 681 • Prothonotary Warbler - 316 • Worm-eating Warbler - 12 • Swainson's Warbler - 1 • Ovenbird - 417 • Northern Waterthrush - 241 • Louisiana Waterthrush - 176 • Kentucky Warbler - 146 • Connecticut Warbler - 13 • Mourning Warbler - 111 • Common Yellowthroat - 840 • Hooded Warbler - 11 • Wilson's Warbler - 241 • Canada Warbler - 82 • Yellow-breasted Chat - 46 • Summer Tanager - 109 • Scarlet Tanager - 384 • Western Tanager - 4 • Green-tailed Towhee - 1 • Spotted Towhee - 55 • Eastern Towhee - 913 • American Tree Sparrow - 386 • Chipping Sparrow - 358 • Clay-colored Sparrow - 100 • Field Sparrow - 478 • Vesper Sparrow - 61 • Lark Sparrow - 72 • Lark Bunting - 3 • Savannah Sparrow - 90 • Grasshopper Sparrow - 105 • Henslow's Sparrow - 8 • Le Conte's Sparrow - 23 • Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 4 • Fox Sparrow - 182 • Song Sparrow - 994 • Lincoln's Sparrow - 367 • Swamp Sparrow - 233 • White-throated Sparrow - 494 • Harris's Sparrow - 305 • White-crowned Sparrow - 90 • Golden-crowned Sparrow - 2 • Dark-eyed Junco - 556 • Lapland Longspur - 21 • Smith's Longspur - 4 • Chestnut-collared Longspur - 6 • Snow Bunting - 6 • Northern Cardinal - 979 • Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 721 • Black-headed Grosbeak - 5 • Blue Grosbeak - 102 • Lazuli Bunting - 7 • Indigo Bunting - 787 • Dickcissel - 213 • Bobolink - 18 • Red-winged Blackbird - 756 • Eastern Meadowlark - 112 • Western Meadowlark - 155 • Yellow-headed Blackbird - 344 • Rusty Blackbird - 121 • Brewer's Blackbird - 23 • Common Grackle - 517 • Great-tailed Grackle - 104 • Brown-headed Cowbird - 448 • Orchard Oriole - 274 • Bullock's Oriole - 1 • Baltimore Oriole - 667 • Pine Grosbeak - 3 • Purple Finch - 124 • House Finch - 145 • Red Crossbill - 26 • White-winged Crossbill - 6 • Common Redpoll - 19 • Pine Siskin - 161 • American Goldfinch - 1058 • Evening Grosbeak - 21 • House Sparrow - 331

There is so much information inherent in the occurrence and distribution associated with these records that they could only be considered in a separate evaluation.

A number of important birding places occur along this portion of the river where different birders have repeatedly gone afield to observe what birds were present, and then took the time to note what was seen.

There have been a tad more than 250 species noted prior to 1900. During the decades from 1900 through the end of the 1980s, which was a dramatic time of change for the river - when it went from a shifting natural waterway to a constricted and controlled channel - there were 323 species noted in various ways by bird watchers during those times which are now just history to review, but which in each instance convey details of superb importance about representative species.

Modern Times

During the past fifteen years, the bird list for the river valley and bluffs has continued to provide observations of essential ecologic importance. The observations are spread across a vivid spectrum of sources, which with the ever-changing dynamic of record-keeping making it difficult and essentially impossible to compile known instances of where and when birds have occurred. The following summary is, however, based on an attempt to get known details for the river region from Squaw Creek NWR, northward to the southern-most portion of South Dakota.

There are 317 species which have been noted for the past few years.

The following list indicates known geographic locations, and the number of distinctive records available as determined from an array of sources, and as compiled by one effort. This tally is certainly not complete due to the extreme difficulty of compiling different records into a single recordset suitable for comparing what birds have been present, and when.

This list is representative, and not comprehensive as it is impossible to aggregate all of the bird sightings being gathered. Published information can be readily reviewed, but details can be issued in so many places that it would require a herculean effort to determine each instance and integrate the essentials into a single record-base. And there is also the information which is not published and thus remains unknown.

This tally conveys the particulars for the records as of October 2009, and dating back to 1995 (from a set of ca. 43,500 records). These particulars would obviously get revised as a result of additional observations, etc.

Site Name	Records	County	State
Fontenelle Forest	7000	Sarpy	NE
Neale Woods	4367	Douglas	NE
Squaw Creek NWR	3720	Holt	MO
Lake Manawa State Park	3324	Pottawattamie	IA
Fontenelle Forest Bottoms	2939	Sarpy	NE
Krimlofski Tract	1809	Washington	NE
Iowa Power and Light Ponds	1704	Pottawattamie	IA
DeSoto NWR	1333	Pottawattamie, Harrison; Washington in Nebraska	IA/NE
Hitchcock Nature Area	947	Pottawattamie	IA
Hummel Park	946	Douglas	NE
Forneys Lake SWA	883	Fremont	IA
Spring Lake Park	852	Douglas	NE
Ponca Creek at Hummel Park	812	Douglas	NE
Nathans Lake	667	Washington	NE
Indian Cave State Park	657	Richardson	NE
N.P. Dodge Park	641	Douglas	NE
Offutt Base Lake	640	Sarpy	NE
Waubonsie State Park	635	Fremont	IA
Great Marsh at Fontenelle Forest	517	Sarpy	NE
Boyer Chute NWR	502	Washington	NE
Jonas Prairie at Neale Woods	445	Douglas	NE
Schilling WMA	438	Cass	NE
Ponca State Park	402	Dixon	NE
Carter Lake	371	Douglas	NE
Waubonsie SWA	338	Fremont	IA
La Platte Bottoms	326	Sarpy	NE
Camp Wakonda	298	Sarpy	NE
Rock Creek at Neale Woods	283	Washington	NE
Center Island at Boyer Chute	271	Washington	NE
Haworth Park	259	Sarpy	NE
Knull Prairie at Neale Woods	252	Douglas	NE
Levi Carter Park	231	Douglas	NE
De Soto Flats	230	Washington	NE
Mandan Park	207	Douglas	NE
Big Lake State Park	202	Holt	MO
Mandan Flats	191	Douglas	NE
Highway Two - Iowa Bottoms	181	Fremont	IA
Nebraska Prairie at Neale Woods	148	Douglas	NE
Bob Brown CA	147	Holt	MO
Rush Bottom Bend CA	145	Holt	MO
Gifford Point	133	Sarpy	NE
Folsom Prairie	131	Pottawattamie	IA
Secret Pond	129	Fremont	IA
Downtown Omaha	125	Douglas	NE
Thurnau CA	125		MO
Koley Prairie at Neale Woods	109	Douglas	NE
Lake Yankton	99	Knox	NE
Sheldon Pond	99	Fremont	IA
Lower Hamburg Bend CA	96	Atchison	MO
Gavins Point Dam	85	Knox	NE
Eppley Airfield	79	Douglas	NE
Tobacco Island	78	Cass	NE
Stone State Park	76	Woodbury/Plymouth	IA
Plattsmouth	75	Cass	NE
Lewis and Clark Reservoir	74	Knox	NE
Peru Bottoms WMA	72	Nemaha/Otoe	NE
DeSoto Bend	72	Washington	NE
Retriever Marsh	70	Sarpy	NE
Keg Lake	69	Mills?	IA
Iowa West Ranch	67	Pottawattamie	IA
Hidden Lake at Fontenelle Forest	66	Sarpy	NE
Folsom Lake	60	Mills	IA
Deroin Bend CA	57	Nemaha/Richardson	NE/MO
Blue Lake SWA	49	Monona	IA
Niobrara Marsh	48	Knox	NE
Mound City	44	Holt	MO
13th Street Parkway	42	Douglas	NE
Rockport Wetlands	38	Washington	NE
Catfish Lake	35	Sarpy	NE
Highway 370 Flats	35	Mills	IA
Rulo Bluffs Preserve	34	Richardson	NE
Mount Vernon Gardens	32	Douglas	NE
Saint Marys Island	31	Sarpy	NE
Frazers Island	30	Otoe	NE
Blackbird Marsh	30	Pottawattamie	IA
Bartlett	28	Fremont	IA
DeSoto Lake at Desoto Bend	26	Harrison	IA
Bigelow Marsh	26	Holt	MO
Riverfront Park	25	Pottawattamie	IA
Gibson Bend SWA	24	Pottawattamie	IA
Niobrara State Park	22	Knox	NE
Rakes Creek WMA	20	Cass	NE
Missouri River, Cedar County	19	Cedar	NE
Beaver Lake	18	Cass	NE
Omadi Bend WMA	17	?Dakota	NE
Standing Bear Bridge	17	Knox	NE
Herbs Marsh	16	Pottawatamie	IA
Sandhill Lake	16	Woodbury/Monona	IA
Central Park Mall	16	Douglas	NE
Gibson Bend Woods	16	Sarpy	NE
Laukemper Wetlands	16	Holt	MO
Little Sioux Flats	15	Harrison	IA
Noddleman Island	15	Mills	IA
Peru	15	Nemaha	NE
Pigeon Creek SWA	15	Pottawattamie	IA
Crystal Cove Park	14	Dakota	NE
Elk Point WMA	14	Dixon	NE
Fort Atkinson SHP	13	Washington	NE
Cottonwood Cove Park	13	Dakota	NE
Highway 2 and Interstate 29	12	Fremont	IA
Heartland of America Park	12	Douglas	NE
Lower Copeland Bend	12	Otoe	NE
Gibson Bend	11	Sarpy	NE
Nobles Lake SWA	11	Harrison/Pottawattamie	IA
Little Oxbow	11	Sarpy	NE
McPaul Flats	10	Mills	IA
Missouri River, Dixon County	10	Dixon	NE
Middle Decatur Chute	10	Burt	NE
Wiseman WMA	10	Cedar	NE
Beck Memorial Park	9	Burt	NE
Wilson Island State Park	9	Pottawattamie	IA
Niobrara River Confluence	9	Knox	NE
Langdon Bend	9	Nemaha	NE
Ponds at Allied Chemical	8	Sarpy	NE
Nebraska City	8	Otoe	NE
Kansas Bend	8	Nemaha	NE
Brownville	8	Nemaha	NE
Big Lake Park	7	Pottawattamie	IA
Upper Decatur Bend	7	Burt	NE
Omaha Moorings	7	Douglas	NE
Omaha Riverfront Trail	7	Douglas	NE
Nobles Lake by Bertrand Bend	7	Harrison/Pottawattamie	IA
Lower Decatur Bend	7	Burt	NE
Pigeon Creek Bend	6	Pottawattamie	IA
Bellevue Bend	6	Sarpy	NE
Big Nemaha River Reach	6	Richardson	NE
Bullard Bend	5	Harrison	IA
Manawa Bend	5	Sarpy	NE
Lewis and Clark State Park	5	Monona	IA
Mulberry Bend	5	Dixon	NE
Riverbreaks Conservation Area	4	Doniphan	MO
Tieville Bend	4	Monona	IA
North Blair Island	4	Washington	NE
Omaha Riverfront	4	Douglas	NE
Mabrey Park	4	Pottawattamie	IA
Bazile Creek WMA	3	Knox	NE
Ashford Scout Camp	3	Thurston	NE
Verdel Landing SRA	3	Knox	NE
White Cloud	3	Doniphan	KS
Squaw Bend	3	Richardson	NE
Council Bend	3	Douglas	NE
Upper Louisville Bend	2	Burt	NE
Rulo River Flats	2	Richardson	NE
Boy Scout Island	2	Pottawattamie	IA
Lower Plattsmouth Bend	1	Cass	NE
Shoreline Golf Course	1	Pottawattamie	IA
Power Park	1	Douglas	NE
Louisville Bend WMA	1	Monona	IA

Despite the importance of knowing the detail of bird occurrence and distribution, there is no central repository of records to access in order to compare information from different times and places.

The current conditions of recording bird observations are not at all suitable for adequately documenting birdlife which occurs along the Missouri River valley. Only by knowing the available particulars can there be any comparative surveys, or a realistic understanding for a threatened or endangered species, or others species of particular concern and the other essential details needed to effective conserve habitats for imperiled bird species. For now, decisions by public and private agencies involved with river management, are being made with only limited information, instead of a comprehensive set of potentially available bird occurrence records.

Only by knowing the details should be an integral aspect for river habitat management, to ensure projects are done in a manner that will best benefit birds and other wildlife, and which makes certain the dollars being spent are being used in the best manner possible.

Diversity of Avifauna at Missouri River Oxbows Revealed by Local Bird-watcher

In decades long past, the Missouri River flowed along in a dynamic and haphazard way as the mighty waters rendered a powerful influence upon the flat floodplain. The river channel shifted shifted and changed in regular alterations, causing change and creating new features and habitats for local flora and fauna.

A prominent feature of those riverine lowlands in the past were naturally-created oxbows of one sort or another, cut-off from the main channel of the river and left behind by great forces during high-water or periods of great floods. In the early history of this plains river, when the course changed, it was a natural force that created oxbow lakes aside the river.

View of Lake Contrary and other oxbows along the Missouri River below St. Joseph, as showing on the 1893 maps issued by the Missouri River Commission.

Several decades ago in the 1940s, when the Missouri River was channelized by legislative decree to allow barge navigation and for other "authorized purposes," some oxbows were established when a portion of the river channel was intentionally cutoff by mechanical means.

Several of these places occur in northwest Missouri, where there are a number of cutoff lakes created in distinctive ways.

These places are a haven for wildlife where Larry Lade - a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri - has spent uncountable hours observing the birds. Oxbow lakes he has visited and surveyed include:

• Big Lake State Park,
• Bob Brown Conservation Area,
• Browning Lake near the Roscrans Airport at St. Joseph,
• Horseshoe Lake south of St. Joseph,
• Lake Contrary,
• Mud Lake near Atchison (which is mostly silted in),
• Muskrat Lake, and
• Sugar Lake at Lewis and Clark State Park near Atchison.

Lade's efforts are a distinctive view of the value of these habitats for a variety of bird-life, derived from "quite extensive records going back to around 1992," he said. He keeps "daily records and also saves aggregate records for various venues," to document what species occur where and when.

Following many outings, Lade may report his observations to the Missouri Bird forum (mobirds-l), ebird, surfbirds or at birdforum.net, an international website where he is also a moderator.

Some notes from recent years of his ornithological history, readily indicate bird species' occurrence at some oxbow lakes, with some autumn 2003 notations indicative of what was seen at the oxbows:

September 24, 2003

"I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few water birds on Mud Lake. The first birds I noticed were 28 Cattle Egrets on a low island in the middle of the lake (some of them were still sporting their brownish tinged breeding plumage), one Snowy Egret was in their midst and two more snowies were away from the flock of resting egrets and attempting to catch breakfast. There were six American White Pelicans, one Double-crested Cormorant, 20 Canada Geese, 32 Blue-winged Teal and seven Pied-billed Grebes in the same general area. On Lake Contrary proper I found one White-faced Ibis feeding in the watery vegetation at lake side and a few ducks hiding in the vegetation. This year we have unsuitable habitat for shorebirds (waders) and the only ones I saw were a couple of Killdeer and one Pectoral Sandpiper. Ring-necked Ducks usually do not show up until November, so the one adult male I saw on Lake Contrary was also a surprise.

"Away from the water I observed five Yellow-rumped Warblers, five Eastern Bluebirds and a late departing Lark Sparrow (most of his/her kin left three or four weeks ago). All in all a pretty good day to be out birding!"

October 21, 2003

"I have been birding Big Lake area which is 45 minutes north of Saint Joseph, Missouri. It is still currently about the only shorebird habitat in our vicinity. The birds always seem to concentrate on "the far side" of the lake. The bigger birds are readily identifiable, but the smaller ones are a definite challenge!

"The fall migrants are still coming through the area. Some of the birds observed are: Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpipers and the ubiquitous Killdeer. Duck species include: Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese. Yesterday I saw the first Redhead of the season (the duck, not a woman). Also present were some American White Pelicans. It should not be too long before we begin to see some scoters, loons and grebes!"

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

"I guess you could call 'my local patch' the oxbow lakes area just to the south of Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.A. I bird there two or three times a week, year round. When I am not birding there, I am usually going to places a little further afield, usually about 30 to 90 miles away.

"Today I birded my local patch (Lake Contrary/oxbows). The first bird I encountered was a Surf Scoter. This is a pretty good bird for our area as they are not seen every year. Also present were two American Avocets, also a good find for our area. Other birds of particular interest were seven Horned Grebes, two Eared Grebes (Black-necked grebes), many Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, and an array of waterfowl, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Mallard, Green-Winged Teal, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Northern Shoveler, with a great many Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks. In the heavy vegetation edging the lake were many native sparrows: Song, Harris's, Fox, American Tree, White-Crowned, Swamp and Dark-Eyed Junco (slate-colored). A couple other birds of note were Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle race) and Northern Mockingbird."

The Surf Scoter was number 266 for his 2003 year list for the state of Missouri.

In a blog entry he wrote about the Missouri River area in the northwest region of the state, Lade mentioned what was involved in being able to bird watch at the river oxbows:

"There are houses, trailers and some rather 'humble abodes' all around Lake Contrary so birding the continuous shoreline is somewhat restricted," Lade wrote early in March 2005. "I have contacted several of the property owners in the area and have received permission to bird from/on their holdings. The best viewing is from the boat dock/swimming area parking lot and from the road on the far northwestern part of the lake." He primarily birds from his vehicle but on occasion would get out and hike about certain places, and also mentioned getting permission from land owners at the other oxbow lakes, to facilitate bird watching.

A summary of the bird life around Lake Contrary indicates features associated of this lake which Lade has visited quite extensively and has accumulated many thousands of records.

There is quite a variety of waterfowl, he indicates, including the Trumpeter Swan, and several species of geese and ducks, as well as many types of other waterbirds.

"Lake Contrary has been, in most years, an important spot for the shorebirds to stop in for a rest and feeding area as the travel between breeding and wintering areas." Lade describes in some written comments about the lake. "The list is rather impressive," he said. There are also several types of terns, including the rare, interior Least Tern.

Some of the permanent residents around the lake, include the: Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wild Turkey, Northern Bobwhite, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl.

"Most of the wood warblers pass through the area, but many stop around the lake to rest and feed enroute to their breeding grounds up north. There are probably some 30+ warblers which are possible around the lake. The ones which I usually observe in the area when they are passing through are: Tennesse Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler (the woods near the lake seems to me, to be one of the better locations in northwest Missouri to see this species!), Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Kentucky Warbler and Wilson's Warbler."

Overall, Lade has noted 250 different species "in, on and around" Lake Contrary.

Representative Oxbow Birdlife

A compilation of some of Lade's observations indicates more than 70 species that have been noted during recent years at a few of the oxbow lakes.

A representative sample of the species known to occur at oxbow lakes in northwest Missouri.
Common Name	Big Lake State Park	Bob Brown CA	Lake Contrary	Mud Lake at Atchison
Snow Goose	-	**	-	-
Canada Goose	-	-	**	-
Trumpeter Swan	-	-	**	-
Wood Duck	-	-	**	-
Gadwall	-	-	**	-
American Wigeon	-	-	**	-
Mallard	-	-	**	-
Blue-winged Teal	-	-	**	-
Northern Shoveler	-	-	**	-
Northern Pintail	-	-	**	-
Green-winged Teal	-	-	**	-
Ring-necked Duck	-	-	**	-
Lesser Scaup	**	-	**	-
Black Scoter	-	-	**	-
Bufflehead	-	-	**	-
Common Goldeneye	-	-	**	-
Hooded Merganser	-	**	**	-
Ruddy Duck	-	-	**	-
Pied-billed Grebe	-	**	-	-
American White Pelican	-	-	**	-
Great Blue Heron	-	**	-	-
Great Egret	-	**	-	**
White-faced Ibis	-	-	**	-
Northern Harrier	-	**	-	-
Peregrine Falcon	-	**	-	-
American Golden-Plover	**	-	-	-
Semipalmated Plover	-	**	-	-
Killdeer	**	**	**	-
Spotted Sandpiper	-	**	**	-
Greater Yellowlegs	**	**	**	-
Lesser Yellowlegs	**	**	**	-
Hudsonian Godwit	-	**	**	-
Sanderling	-	-	**	-
Semipalmated Sandpiper	**	**	-	-
Western Sandpiper	**	**	-	-
Least Sandpiper	**	**	**	-
White-rumped Sandpiper	-	**	**	-
Baird's Sandpiper	**	**	-	-
Pectoral Sandpiper	**	**	**	-
Dunlin	**	**	-	-
Stilt Sandpiper	**	**	-	-
Long-billed Dowitcher	-	**	-	-
Wilson's Snipe	-	**	**	-
Wilson's Phalarope	-	**	-	-
Red-necked Phalarope	-	**	-	-
Franklin's Gull	-	-	**	-
Bonaparte's Gull	-	-	**	-
Ring-billed Gull	**	-	**	-
Black Tern	-	-	**	-
Mourning Dove	-	**	-	-
Western Kingbird	-	-	**	-
Eastern Kingbird	-	-	**	-
Loggerhead Shrike	**	-	-	-
Horned Lark	-	**	-	-
Purple Martin	-	-	**	-
Barn Swallow	-	**	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	-	-	**	-
European Starling	-	**	-	-
American Tree Sparrow	-	-	**	-
Lark Sparrow	-	**	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	**	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	**	-
Harris's Sparrow	-	-	**	-
Red-winged Blackbird	**	**	-	-
Yellow-headed Blackbird	-	-	**	-
Brewer's Blackbird	**	-	-	-
Common Grackle	**	**	-	-
Great-tailed Grackle	-	**	-	-
Orchard Oriole	-	**	-	-
Baltimore Oriole	-	**	-	-

This list indicates the general occurrence and distribution of some of the avifauna, while it also conveys the types of birds which benefit from the wetland habitats at different oxbow lakes associated with the Missouri River valley.

The tally also presents those species which can be expected to occur as additional habitats might be created along the river, as a result of efforts associated with the Missouri River mitigation program. Lade has visited one mitigation site, the recently established Lower Hamburg Bend CA, and has developed a list of 63 species which have occurred at this locality.

Recent Birding Activities

On June 28, 2009, "between berry picking, yard work, attempting to repair our lawn mower," Lade drove off to check the status of some nesting Pied-billed Grebes at Horseshoe Lake. There were three different nests seen, as well as Canada geese, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, an American Coot, Killdeer, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a Belted Kingfisher, Barn Swallows, European Starlings, a Blue Grosbeak, Dickcissel, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and American Goldfinch. His note provided the number of each seen, and also provided a short list of species present at Mud Lake and Muskrat Lake.

Lade has participated in the annual "Big Sit" event during mid-October, in particular at Squaw Creek NWR, the "best wetland area we have in northwest Missouri" though the "only thing it lacks is some area of deeper water, favored by the diving ducks, scoters, loons, and grebes." The group's name is "Eagle Eyes" and for Lade, it was a volunteer effort back in 2001, and for several subsequent years, including 2006 and 2007.

During the most recent Big Sit in 2009, a Merlin noted on the day of the event on October 11, 2009, was the 256th species seen during the year for this bird-watcher.

Since Lade is retired, time is regularly given to birdly endeavors, including providing help with banding 14 different species of birds on the campus of Missouri Western State University at St. Joseph, on September 29, 2009.

On October 21, 2009, number 259 on his yearly list was a Horned Grebe observed at Lake Contrary, still one of his most regular destinations.

In Buchanan County, Lade has recorded nearly 300 species. In Holt County, Missouri, which includes Bob Brown Conservation Area and Squaw Creek NWR, his personal tally is 213 species. He also keeps a list of the species noted at his home in St. Joseph, where some well-cared for feeders are a helpful, seasonal attraction for wild birds.

In part, because of his documentary efforts, Big Lake State Park and Bob Brown Conservation Area in Holt County, Missouri, are designated as Important Birding Areas in Missouri, with each site having different reasons for this accolade.

Big Lake State Park: "provides wetland habitat for breeding, migrating, and wintering waterbirds. Large concentrations of waterfowl and shorebirds" occur during spring and autumn migration. Notable breeding season residents include the Bald Eagle, Least Bittern, Pied-billed Grebe, Marsh Wren and Yellow-headed Blackbird, in addition to a myriad of other species. This site is the "largest natural oxbow lake" in Missouri, and is managed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Bob Brown CA: currently a "matrix of marshland, cropland, old-field, grassland and forest," according to the IBA site summary. It "currently provides wetland habitat for breeding, migrating and wintering waterbirds. ... Tracts of emergent marsh which have been established, notably provide habitat for the Least Bittern, American Bittern, Marsh Wren, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Representative upland species include the Willow Flycatcher, Bell's Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, and Sedge Wren.

Lade continues to pursue birds in his territory, including field trips when other bird enthusiasts are taken to one or another of his favorite places. A pending outing on November 7, 2009 is a field trip to the oxbow lakes, especially for members of the Burroughs Audubon Chapter of Kansas City. Lade is a contributing member of the Midland Empire Audubon Society, located in northwest Missouri.

---

Burroughs Audubon Field Trip to the Oxbow Lakes Just South of Saint Joseph

Saturday, November 7.

Larry Lade, the field trip leader provided this report on MO-Birds-L of the observations made during this outing.

"Visits to the Saint Joseph Stockyards, Lake Contrary, Horseshoe Lake, Muskrat Lake, Mud Lake and areas around the adjoining roads yielded some 40 plus bird species. There were twenty (20) participants who enjoyed the perfect weather and the birds encountered in the various areas visited."

This is a list of the birds observed.

"Snow Goose, Canada Goose, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Hooded Merganser and Red-breasted Merganser.

"Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, American White Pelican, Double- crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk and lots of Red-tailed Hawks in all kinds of various plumages.

"American Coot, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, some "peeps" to distant to ID, Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Downing Woodpecker.

"Blue Jay, American Crow, Horned Lark, Carolina Wren, American Robin, European Starling, American Pipit, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle and Great-tailed Grackle.

"The 'hoped for' Prairie Falcon and Lapland Longspurs failed to put in an appearance."