Birdly Plethora on County Spring Count

For the second year in a row, a Saturday in earlier May was spent looking for birds in eastern Sarpy County. This time, a group of bird enthusiasts gathered at the Gifford Road parking lot on the floodplain of Fontenelle Forest, ready to spend hours determining the species present.

Walking was underway by 7:30, with distinct groups setting forth to different sections. A group of three women would cover the north uplands, others went northward along the floodplain. My route with three compatriots were responsible for the south uplands.

Participants in the bird survey at Fontenelle Forest.

After a short jaunt, upward we went on bluffs along the Signal Ridge trail. It was a relatively cool morning in the 40s with brisk winds and overcast skies. Though it wasn't pleasant weather, it was about the birds. Out front were Mark Brogie, a renowned Nebraska birder from Knox County, Justin Rink - a prominent bird-watcher from Omaha, Ellen Brogie and myself at the back, being the self-appointed recorder of species and the number present.

Our hike continued on and onward. The guys up front listening attentively for bird songs, ticking off this species of warbler, that kind of thrush or some other particularity that would denote another sort of birdly occurrence. Early in the morning, they were asked to speak up in order for the scribe to readily hear what was seen, in order to add it to the days' tally.

Along the Signal Ridge trail, there were about 30 species observed. The birds were doing their spring thing, and there were always songs to hear, a bit of moving feathers to get a look at or other key indicators to allow an identification.

Mormon Hollow was traversed and then onward was History Trail. The consensus for the latter place was that its curves and switchbacks gave a dense of deva vu, as if we had already been at this place. Along the way were a few relicts of past times which must have been the source of the trail's moniker.

Along the way, warbler number 17 and 18 were brought to the group's attention by Ellen Brogie, when a Chestnut-sided Warbler and an Orange-crowned Warbler were noted in a tree.

Our group of four were up to eighteen warblers by 10:00 a.m. Onward we went, and despite having an area map there were a couple of brief walks in the wrong direction.

When we arrived back on the floodplain to return to the gathering point for the noon rendezvous, we ran into a group of a few herpetologists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, looking about for reptiles or amphibians. They even had a state vehicle to get them to the place.

The volunteer birders had to rely on personally-owned vehicles for their transportation.

Once back at the Gifford Road parking lot, the bird watchers shared comments of the morning's sightings. Matt - and his impish son - had a photograph of the Hooded Warbler near the railroad tracks by the end of the Walking Club Trail. He'd also seen a Wilson's Warbler at the lower end of Mormon Hollow.

Birder Rink asked the visiting birder from Albuquerque about the Kentucky Warbler that was noted. Others were chatting about some particular sparrow, a thrush, woodpecker or some other sort of birdly trivia important for the day's effort.

Afternoon in Eastern Sarpy County

Most of the morning birders went elsewhere after the midday gathering. Our gang of four wanted to see the Hooded Warbler, so went northward to the same site where it had been observed just a few hours earlier. Along the way, more notes were taken on the species and numbers.

Thankfully enough blank pieces of paper had been brought along to allow for taking nearly continual notes.

Walk along. Stop. Listen and look was the irregular pattern. An occasional aside off the trail might have been taken to get a better look or listen.

When we went to look for the Hooded Warbler, it was not seen but other species were added to the tally. Significant sightings were made of the Wilson's Warbler and the Acadian Flycatcher.

We walked back to the Gifford Road parking lot in a brisk walk, nonetheless hearing the expressive Barred Owls and seeing a a Magnolia Warbler near the deer exclosure on the floodplain.

At 2:25 p.m., there had been 20 species of warblers observed.

Our group of four bird watchers got into two cars and went to the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center. The Cerulean Warbler was our target.

After passing Acorn Acres, while walking on the extensive boardwalk, around we went. The turn to Childs Hollow was missed, but along the way another warbler species was added to the day's tally. There was a Black-and-white Warbler on a tree over there. Once it was indicated to the other two guys, it was written on the tally paper for this particular section of the forest.

After this walk-about, we decided to go to the LaPlatte Bottoms to see what other interesting species might be seen. The Brogies had never been to this place, so were followers in getting to the site.

Evening on the Missouri River Floodplain

After the exciting observation of the Eurasian Wigeon and other species at the LaPlatte Bottoms, only two of us returned to the floodplain. There were few notes available for the Great Marsh.

As we walked southward from Gifford Road, the first especially notable sighting was a Mourning Warbler, noted because of a personal hesitation and wonderment about a particular bird song. The warbler flew up from a tree just a short distance away. At the marsh blind, most prominent were the swallows.

We then continued onward. Without words, we were soon looking for the alternative trail to Hidden Lake. The normal trail was underwater due to high flows along the Missouri River.

We found the unmarked trail and eventually were at our destination. The species of particular focus was the Prothonotary Warbler.

There were several Yellow Warblers to falsely attract our attention, but eventually, across the waters was heard the song of the Prothonotary. There was also a fine bunch of Wood Ducks.

We walked much of the north side of the lake, thinking that we'd be able to find a route to higher ground towards its west end. The closer we got, the more we realized the water level was too high. Finally reality made its mark, and it was obvious we'd have to repeat our path to get back to where we'd started.

It was late evening, there was no interest in walking through dark woods. Each step was a trepidation of condition after having already walked so many miles this weekend day. But there was no choice.

On the wayback, a Great Egret was, however, a new addition to the day's tally.

Once we reached an long-abandoned fence, with its post and dangling barbed wire, it was apparent we'd gone too far east. Our route turned north, and we reached a grassy glade, then turned west and eventually reached the road along the edge of the Gifford Point WMA.

While getting along, a Great Horned Owl was heard on the north side of the Great Marsh. It was the last species noted for the day.

We'd started before 7:30 a.m. and it was near 8 p.m. at this particular time on International Migratory Bird Day in eastern Nebraska.

Whew. My left knee still has tinges of pain from the many steps walked on last Saturday.

Species Diversity

During the day, notes were continually kept on the species seen at particular notable locations. Rather than having a simple overall list, the intent was to get an indication of what species occurred where, and how many were present.

The following list is a summary of those notations. All but three species were individually observed. A special thanks to three other birders for their pictorial record, personal communication or electronic message which helped in documenting the entire number of species present in the Fontenelle Forest and Gifford Point environs on this wonderful May day with imperfect weather.

Species are indicated according to prominent, recognized locations with the area surveyed. This detail indicates the extent of each species, and provides a more accurate indication of their occurrence, in comparison to a simple list of everything being designated to one locality and with no count. The specificity also provides a better historic record to indicate occurrence for future evaluation.

The value shown indicates the number counter. A zero value indicates a species presence, though no count was available. These are also records of other valuable participants in the count.

Common Name	Gifford Point WMA	Gifford Farm	Hidden Lake, Gifford Point	Great Marsh at Fontenelle Forest	Fontenelle Forest Floodplain	History Trail, Fontenelle Forest	Camp Wakonda	Mormon Hollow, Fontenelle Forest	Signal Ridge, Fontenelle Forest	North Uplands, Fontenelle Forest
Canada Goose	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wood Duck	-	-	10	-	2	-	-	-	-	-
Blue-winged Teal	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wild Turkey	-	-	2	-	1	2	-	-	-	7
Great Blue Heron	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Great Egret	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Turkey Vulture	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-
Cooper's Hawk	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Broad-winged Hawk	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Red-tailed Hawk	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Sora	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Killdeer	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Spotted Sandpiper	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rock Pigeon	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Mourning Dove	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Great Horned Owl	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Barred Owl	-	-	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	-
Chimney Swift	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Belted Kingfisher	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Red-headed Woodpecker	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	1	1	2
Red-bellied Woodpecker	-	-	1	-	2	2	1	2	1	1
Downy Woodpecker	1	-	1	-	0	1	-	-	1	1
Hairy Woodpecker	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Northern Flicker	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Pileated Woodpecker	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Olive-sided Flycatcher	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Eastern Wood-Pewee	-	-	-	1	2	3	-	2	1	1
Acadian Flycatcher	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Least Flycatcher	-	-	6	4	5	2	-	-	1	3
Eastern Phoebe	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Great Crested Flycatcher	1	-	6	3	3	3	1	4	4	4
Western Kingbird	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Eastern Kingbird	-	4	1	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bell's Vireo	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Yellow-throated Vireo	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	2
Blue-headed Vireo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Warbling Vireo	1	-	1	4	5	3	-	-	3	3
Red-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	2	7	8
Blue Jay	-	-	1	-	1	3	-	1	1	-
American Crow	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Tree Swallow	-	2	-	40	-	-	-	-	-	-
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	-	-	2	5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cliff Swallow	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
Barn Swallow	-	3	-	60	-	-	-	-	-	-
Black-capped Chickadee	-	-	3	1	5	4	1	2	3	3
Tufted Titmouse	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	2	-
White-breasted Nuthatch	-	-	-	1	3	3	-	1	1	5
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
House Wren	1	-	7	4	17	3	1	3	4	5
Sedge Wren	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	-	-	-	-	2	2	-	-	-	-
Eastern Bluebird	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	1	2
Veery	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Gray-cheeked Thrush	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Swainson's Thrush	-	-	6	2	14	4	-	8	10	8
Wood Thrush	-	-	2	-	1	-	-	1	2	2
American Robin	-	-	-	-	3	-	2	1	-	1
Gray Catbird	1	-	4	3	15	-	-	-	-	2
Brown Thrasher	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
European Starling	-	25	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-
American Pipit	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Blue-winged Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Golden-winged Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
Tennessee Warbler	2	-	2	-	11	6	-	3	9	35
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-
Nashville Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	1	2	-
Northern Parula	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	1
Yellow Warbler	1	-	6	3	7	3	-	1	2	3
Chestnut-sided Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-
Magnolia Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	-	-	1	-	-	2	-	-	3	-
Black-throated Green Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	-	1
Blackburnian Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	1	-	-
Yellow-throated Warbler	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-
Blackpoll Warbler	-	-	1	-	3	2	-	1	3	1
Cerulean Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Black-and-white Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
American Redstart	-	-	7	-	9	2	-	2	-	12
Prothonotary Warbler	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ovenbird	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	1	-	2
Northern Waterthrush	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Louisiana Waterthrush	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Kentucky Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1
Mourning Warbler	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	-	-	3	4	-	-	-	-	1
Hooded Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Wilson's Warbler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	2
Summer Tanager	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	2	-	2
Scarlet Tanager	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	1	2	2
Eastern Towhee	1	-	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	2
Chipping Sparrow	-	-	-	1	2	1	-	-	-	-
Clay-colored Sparrow	-	2	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	1
Field Sparrow	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	-	-	0	-	-	-	-	-
Lincoln's Sparrow	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
White-crowned Sparrow	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1	2	1	-	1	-	2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	1	-	-	3	7	1	-	2	-	5
Indigo Bunting	-	-	-	-	7	8	-	1	3	13
Dickcissel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Red-winged Blackbird	-	-	-	10	1	-	-	-	-	-
Brown-headed Cowbird	-	14	-	3	3	2	1	1	1	3
Orchard Oriole	-	2	-	1	1	2	-	-	1	3
Baltimore Oriole	1	-	4	4	9	7	-	1	1	2
American Goldfinch	-	-	2	-	2	1	2	-	3	4
House Sparrow	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-

It was a grand day of birding significant in our documenting 110 different species at one broad locality. Warblers were the obvious species of interest.

There were no ticks to contend with, which was greatly appreciated.

There were 91 species noted for this same locality during the spring count in 2010.

There were reportedly 174 species observed in the county during the day, by many observers.