October Avifauna in the Valentine Vicinity

Seasonal record keeping was continued during October in the vicinity of Valentine Nebraska.

There were forty species denoted at the few locales that are along the way. Notes convey some sense of the birdly presence.

¶ Notable was an big increase in the number of Eurasian Collared-Doves about the Valentine Livestock Market, where Rock Pigeons are also numerous over the pens.

¶ Dark-eyed Juncos became numerous towards the end of the month, and continued to occur in similar numbers into November.

¶ The only known occurrence of meadowlarks was along the Cowboy Trail, within the city limits of Valentine.

¶ An osprey continued to linger about the Mill Pond, and utilized a utility line below the dam to watch for fish to eat in Minnechaduza Creek.

¶ Bluebirds were heard more than seen about the shack. Maybe in the coming spring, neighbor Lou will help make some wooden houses for these birds of beauty.

¶ The resident Great Horned Owls were much more prevalent, especially being vocal near the pond. One of the owls could be seen at dusk on a few evening, flying along the gulch north of the shack, and land on a utility pole to look and listen for something edible.

¶ Reliable in their regular occurrence where Black-capped Chickadees and the sublime White-breasted Nuthatches.

¶ Wild Turkeys were beginning to bunch up as noted during the middle of the month

¶ A favorite about the shack was a Lincoln's Sparrow, which was nearly a daily regular but was gone by the end of the month.

¶ Also gone is the diminutive House Wren, which was a regular resident during the first portion of the month. They will be back next season, as Wally has a slew of houses of various sizes and decoration.

The overall number of species observed in this vicinity is 54, through the end of the month.

These are details for the species noted, as designated to a Julian date. The numbers given are an aggregate of the number counted on the particular date, which may include the same species at different locales.

Common Name	274	276	279	282	283	286	287	288	291	294	297	300	302
Canada Goose	1	- -	5	- -	25	- -	- -	- -	8	7	65	- -	- -
Wood Duck	- -	11	- -	- -	6	- -	2	- -	- -	10	- -	- -	- -
Wild Turkey	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	16	14	- -	- -	- -	8	- -	- -
Turkey Vulture	58	- -	16	9	1	16	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Osprey	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -
Sharp-shinned Hawk	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -
Swainson's Hawk	- -	- -	3	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Red-tailed Hawk	4	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -
American Kestrel	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Killdeer	- -	- -	5	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Rock Pigeon	50	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	25
Eurasian Collared-Dove	11	1	3	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	2	3	67	- -	35
Great Horned Owl	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	2	1	- -	- -
Belted Kingfisher	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	1	- -
Red-bellied Woodpecker	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	1	1	- -	- -
Downy Woodpecker	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Hairy Woodpecker	1	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -
Northern Flicker	- -	2	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -
Eastern Phoebe	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Blue Jay	4	3	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	2	3	- -	- -
American Crow	1	- -	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	2	- -	- -
Black-capped Chickadee	2	2	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	2	- -	- -	- -
White-breasted Nuthatch	2	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	4	3	- -	- -
House Wren	2	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Eastern Bluebird	14	5	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	3	- -	- -	- -	- -
American Robin	5	15	20	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	5	5	2	- -	- -
European Starling	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -
Yellow-rumped Warbler	2	- -	1	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Spotted Towhee	1	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Clay-colored Sparrow	1	2	2	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Lark Sparrow	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Lincoln's Sparrow	3	1	2	- -	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
White-crowned Sparrow	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	2	- -	- -	- -
Dark-eyed Junco	- -	- -	1	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	2	16	16	- -	- -
Northern Cardinal	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1	2	- -
Western Meadowlark	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	7	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Common Grackle	6	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1
House Finch	45	5	20	- -	- -	- -	9	- -	3	4	- -	- -	- -
American Goldfinch	4	- -	3	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	4	4	- -	- -	- -
House Sparrow	10	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	10

Continuing to be missed are any ducks other than the Wood Duck and surprisingly the Red-winged Blackbird. Other suggestive sounds need further attention.