Autumn - An 1867 Poem

By Wilmon Whilldin.

The bright Oleander is faded and gone,

The Eglantine bush turneth brown;

The tulips that studded our grotto and lawn,

Dock no more the greensward and mound,

The Exquisite Shrub has lost its perfume;

Its kindred boughs have a golden plume,

But their toilette is fading away.

The Margoram and Myrtle have perished,

And dead is the sweet Marigold;

The Mistletoe vine we cherished

Falls away from lattice and fold,

The grain is garnered — fruit is ripe,

And the husbandman's work is nigh done;

Wild pigeons gather a harvest of seeds

Which mature 'neath the Autumnal sun.

The whistling wind find chilly now,

And the cattle come oft to the barn;

The poultry near the cottage crib,

For the grass is frosted and shorn.

Birds migrate to sunnier climes,

Save a few that are hardy and tough;

Robins flock round the cedar boughs,

Wild plovers go off to the bluff.

The dove coo-coos in the stubble field,

And feasts on the scattered grain;

Larks fly out from the dreary glade,

And away to the valley and plain,

Night gales creep to the rattling reeds,

And frighten the partridge away;

Among the brakes the heron feeds,

And moans till the break of day,

Agile fawn are off to the mountain,

Lithe coyotes off to the lair;

Panting herds come slow to the fountain,

For the liquid is plenty elsewhere.

Falcons flit forth from the eyry,

And pilfer the farmer's brood;

The hunter, with hound lithe and fiery,

Starts the hare from jungle and wood.

Urchins go hunt the chestnut tree,

Or seek the grapes in the dell;

Spry lassies full of joyous glee,

Go gather the nuts that have fell;

Belles now doff their satin and gauze,

For the days are dreary no more;

Lonely looks the quiet lawn,

For its, sweet spell is o'er;

Yellow sheaves are on the mow,

The cribs are teeming with maize;

Contentment lights the farmer's brow,

As he prospects a winter of ease;

Meadows are cropped, and bins are filled;

The racks are bending with hay;

The cider is made — the barley is milled,

And we love the Autumnal day.

Autumn. October 23, 1867. Bloomsburg Democrat 31(34): 1.

Rare Gull Occurrences Continue at Carter Lake

Sightings of gulls rare to Carter Lake continue to occur. Suitable habitat conditions have been attracting hundreds of gulls. Low water levels have not only provided beach area useful as day roosts ... especially the southern shoreline of the Iowa West Ranch, the slice of Levi Carter Park on the west side of the east arm of the lake, and the former beach area at the northwest portion of the lake. Fewer birds are seen floating on the lake waters, or coursing in flight above the lake.

More significant — and as never known to have occurred in recent years — has been the "gull flats" north of Bird Isle in the southeast portion of the lake. Use of the shallow-water flats was first noted on March 20th, and has continued to be a significant roost area during each subsequent visit by various area birders. It is in this area where the three types of rare gulls have been observed and where a huge number of Ring-billed Gulls occurred. The number of gulls present at the flats has declined as the water level has continually increased due to the pumping of Missouri River water into the lake by the Omaha Public Works Department.

Availability of a forage resource has also made a difference.

Rare Sightings

Two species observed have not been previously seen at this locality, resulting in an overall increase in the variety of species present through the end of March, 2014. These are notes on occurrence of the different gulls:

» Iceland Gull: the first-ever observation at the lake was on March 24th, with a second sighting on March 27th. The two observations are also significant in a regional sense, as the nearest other locale of occurrence has been at Branched Oak Lake.

» Lesser Black-backed Gull: first ever observation during the late afternoon to evening period on March 29th.

» California Gull: the four sightings during March 2014, are the first since this species was last noted in November, 1993. A surprising 7-8 of these birds were noted on March 29th, which is a peak count for eastern Nebraska.

California Gulls. Photographs courtesy of Justin Rink

» Thayer's Gull: from 1 to six have been noted on the four days of occurrence during the later part of March. The only previous record of observation was in November 1993. The six seen on March 25th is a peak count for eastern Nebraska.

Thayer's Gulls.

» Ring-billed Gull: an amazing flock of 2,000 noted on March 27th by Justin Rink. Other significant counts of 255 (March 20th) and 210 (March 29th) are among the top five counts ever noted at the lake.

» Herring Gull: lesser numbers have been noted during March in comparison to counts made in the 1920-30s.

» Franklin's Gull: have yet to occur, but can be expected any day. Larger larger numbers have typically been noted mostly in mid-April; up to 1700 have been observed on one occasion.

This is a summary of the gull species recorded at Carter Lake during the past two decades, based upon records for the Carter Lake environs, with records starting in the 1890s, as compiled into a database. There are more than 185 gull records, the first from 1926 when the Omaha Nature Study Club were doing regular waterbird censuses at the lake.

Common Name	1993	2000	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Franklin's Gull	- -	- -	2	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	5	3	12	- -
Bonaparte's Gull	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	6	- -
Ring-billed Gull	1	1	3	10	1	1	1	1	3	2	9	16	35	10
California Gull	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	4
Herring Gull	3	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	1	- -	1	- -	- -	2	- -	8
Thayer's Gull	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	5
Iceland Gull	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2
Lesser Black-backed Gull	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1
Glaucous Gull	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
The value given is a count of the number of reports. These records are comparable, especially for 2012-2014, since numerous and regular surveys of waterbirds have been done at the lake and vicinity. The numbers of birds present has not been recorded for every report. Justin Rink deserves special thanks for his ongoing interest in observing and reporting many of the unusual gull species in 2014.

In addition to gulls, the "gull flats" have also attracted use by dabbling ducks, and as a roosting place for Canada Goose, for example.

Video of the gathered gulls, including Ring-billed and Thayer's gulls. Taken March 25, 2014 through a spotting scope.

Request to Cease Pumping Water into Carter Lake

This is an email sent March 25th to Omaha officials Robert Stubbe, Director of Public Works, Jean Stothert, mayor, and Pete Festersen, chairman of the Omaha city council.

This is a request that the Department of Public Works immediately stop pumping supplemental water into Carter Lake. Conditions during the past few days north of Bird Isle in the southeast portion of the lake have meant the occurrence of some rare gulls, and extensive numbers of other waterfowl. The water here is shallow enough that the gulls, especially, can stand in the water and roost overnight. This is the first known occurrence of this situation.

The rare gulls observed have been a California Gull (3/10/2014) and four Thayers Gulls (3/23/2014). Both of these species have never been recorded in spring at this lake (based on an evaluation of nearly 11,000 records dating back at least 115 years) and only noted one other time, in November 1993. A rare Iceland Gull was reported on March 24th as additional bird watchers visited the lake, and also took pictures of this and other species. In addition several Herring Gull, numerous Ring-billed gulls have utilized this roost (one observer called the flock a "sea of gulls"). These and other birds are being enjoyed by the local birding community, with the potential of other rare/unusual species as birders have been visiting this locale on a more regular basis in recent weeks, due to the swans and other interesting species.

Any further pumping will inundate this area to an extent that it will no longer be useful as a roost. The gulls will effectively be evicted from this roost by the actions of Public Works.

There are particular points to make in this regards:

1). Why is Public Works spending thousands to add water, which is basically a subsidy to the City of Carter Lake and its lakeside residents. The City of Omaha owns ca. 70 % of the lake surface area, so it should control the water in a manner it deems most suitable. Having lower water levels is no detriment to the setting at Levi Carter Park.

2). Adding water is also been done to improve boating conditions. Why are boaters apparently being given precedence over birders?

3). Carter Lake was established as the Sandy Griswold Bird Sanctuary in 1928-29 through a resolution by the Omaha City council. Yet this designation is being ignored.

4). Any agreement between the City of Omaha and City of Carter Lake, according to my reading, is an agreement to share pumping costs, not an obligation to pump water at specific times. This agreement is about 25 years old, and should be revisited and potentially revised to reflect current conditions.

5). Any spending of public money should be open to comments of the Omaha citizens, including an evaluation of pumping times and extent.

Recently posted on my wildbird blog was an analysis of the economic impact of the presence of Trumpeter Swans at Carter Lake during January and February. The same valuation can be placed upon the waterfowl currently present.

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After an email inquiry as to the reason no response had been received, this was the reply received from Mr. Stubbe on 27 March.

"There is no reason to change the pumping to retain the gull flats because the gulls were observed weeks after the pump started, therefore there arrival is not related to pumping."

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This is my reply, sent March 28th.

The gulls continuing to occur as they do at the flats is directly related to the extent of water being pumped into the lake at the current time. Once the water is too deep for them to comfortably stand, due to ongoing pumping, they will not be able to use the flats. So the city pumping will effectively evict them, as previously stated.

I have never said their arrival is related to the pumping. Their continuing to occur is...

Carter Lake Water Pumping Comments

This is a copy of an email sent March 12th to Robert Stubbe, Director of Omaha Public Works, and Jean Stothert, Mayor of Omaha. There has been no response received, despite at least two phones calls asking for a response, and a followup email indicating the lack of a response.

Thank you for your time on the phone yesterday. My point continues to be that Public Works and Carter Lake officials are making decisions which are not known to the public. There is no information available as to how decisions are made to initiate pumping, the extent of water being pumped, whether or not the extent of pumping adheres to the state of Nebraska permit and how pumping is being done in a manner considerate of all uses of the lake.

Based upon my hundreds of visits to the lake, research and findings, the focus seems to be that the City of Omaha satisfies the needs of home owners and boaters. I have not perceived and consideration of wildlife, especially birds. Even the vegetation harvesting is being done in a manner detrimental to visiting birds.

Until there is a realization of multiple use, and a thorough consideration of multiple uses, use of city funds and operation of the pump will continue to be an issue.

Attached is just one picture which indicates how Carter Lake waters are important to certain birds. In this case, trumpeter swans which have lingered during the winter, and apparently are from Minnesota, or at least one was which had a wing marker earlier in the season. This unique presence has been reported in the Omaha World-Herald, and numerous birds have enjoyed their occurrence, as well as other waterfowl. Myself and others have done multiple surveys to document the extent of bird use, and if you or others in Public Works would care enough to learn about the species, numbers, dates of record, significance, I'd be glad to provide a presentation.

The city of Omaha needs to adapt to interests of the entire community. I look forward to hearing how Public Works will make such an effort in association with the management of Carter Lake.

Nesting Survey Report - Saddle Creek CSO! Project

This report, completed for the Omaha Public Works Department, is presented here for informational and archival purposes.

March 3, 2014

Pending tree removal by a contractor along the Saddle Creek corridor site near end of 62nd street, north of Bancroft Street, required that a survey be done to determine the presence of any nesting birds, according to provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and as required by a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The following details are provided to the Omaha Public Works Department in accordance with an email agreement to evaluate the indicated project site and determine if there were any bird nests present, or if there were other associated breeding bird concerns.

Survey Methods

A survey for bird nests and/or young was conducted mid-day on February 28th at the area indicated on an aerial photograph received via email from Public Works. During the survey these methods were used to evaluate bird activity while the area was slowly traversed during the nearly hour long visit:

1) looking closely at both tree and understory vegetation within the immediate area of the wooded channel swale and hillside;

2) evaluating leaf or twig constructs and tree trunks to determine if there were any occupied nests or cavities;

3) recording all birds present and evaluating their behavior; and

4) listening for any bird vocalizations within the area and general vicinity.

Several stops were made at suitable vantage points to look and listen for bird activity. Any potential constructs were viewed several times through a spotting scope, from different vantage points, to determine if there was any bird occupancy.

There was no construction activity underway in the immediate vicinity to hamper the ability to hear any bird vocalizations.

Survey Results

There were no active bird nests noted in the survey area, especially anything that could be used by the Great Horned Owl, which is the only species expected to be nesting at this time of the breeding season. Using a stick to knock on larger trees did not indicate the presence of any species that may have been occupying a cavity.

The only bird activity noted were a Blue Jay and Downy Woodpecker heard on the upland south of the hillside ridge.

With the current cold weather, there should not be any nesting activity initiated within at least the next two weeks. Northern Cardinals are now especially vocal in the morning, indicating their territoriality, but the site did not have the coniferous trees or shrubby growth preferred as nesting sites by this species. House Finch are also notably vocal now, but they also prefer coniferous vegetation.

Tree clearing done within this time frame would occur before any nests might be constructed subsequent to the survey visit.

Survey site.

Dirtwork Encroachment into Levi Carter Park to End

During recent visits to Levi Carter Park, it was noticed that at the southwest corner of what seems to obviously be park space, fresh dirt has been moved to bury the natural terrain. The dirt is associated with the 11th and Carter Lake Drive facility kept by the City of Omaha. By comparing aerial photographs available online, the northern extend of this facility has been steadily creeping northward. There are prominent landmarks, including an powerline tower which especially provide static features to allow a comparison.

The City's Public Works and Parks Departments have looked into this situation. According to an official of the Public Works department "the city agrees there is no need to increase the working surface of the facility beyond it's current extent," he indicated in an 18 March 2014 email. "The Departments involved with the use of the site will review operational procedures and enact any measures necessary to ensure the material storage and recycling site footprint is not increased in size."

Since no further dirt work will occur at the northern edge of this site, the current bare earth banks will be planted to stabilize them and to prevent any erosion onto the vegetation to the north. Some native seed will be planted this spring, according to the Public Works official. This will help to stabilize the banks, screen the site features (which are dramatically elevated above the park terrain), perhaps grow to a height to help stop blowing dust from the barren ground of the site on dry days when there is a strong south wind, and add an attractive feature to the landscape.

Pictures of the scene taken 20 March 2014.

Trees which were partially buried due to expansion of the material storage and recycling site.

An additional example of partial tree burial due to expansion of the material storage and recycling site.

This is a view of the "southwest meadow" of Levi Carter Park, which is a unique habitat at this place.

Burial of Creek at Spring Lake Park

As discussed yesterday, it is obvious to me that a problem has become apparent regarding the pending project at Spring Lake Park.

According to the plans seen yesterday during an onsite project gathering at Spring Lake Park, Public Works has gone ahead and indicated a project feature that will result in complete destruction of a portion of the creekway on the south side of F Street. This destruction has not been a portion of the plans discussed at the public meetings, so it was a Public Works decision to make this change.

People have made so many comments in regards to maintaining natural features of this park, especially some of the spring features, then suddenly a huge change is added at the end of the road, without any opportunity for the public to comment. Are there other similar revisions?

And then a contract will be approved that includes this change. Why is a final contract for work being done when there has been no final public meeting. The design plan should have been presented at a final public meeting before a contract for construction was completed and ready now for final signatures so work will get underway.

This creekway destruction is simply not acceptable, despite what some bureaucrat in an office has decided. Did the agency which made this decision even visit the site?

Attached are some pictures, taken yesterday, which indicate some of the creek features which will be destroyed. This is a completely unique creek in the city of Omaha, and to allow it to be destroyed would be a completely wrong in so many ways. It would be a huge loss of a unique feature of the cities natural heritage. This creek has flowed here for decades, and to allow some bureaucratic decision to lead to the loss of its integrity is simply not acceptable.

How will Public Works revise the project plan to ensure that this creek continues to flow in a naturalistic manner for park visitors for years to come? I will also be posting this email onto the web so others know about the lack of attention to detail that would have made certain that this creekway would be conserved.