About Time (Brambling) -- 1/2/15

     During our trip out of the North Platte area in January of this year, my father, brother, and I had the opportunity to visit the Deeds' residence near North Platte.  The reason for our visit was that a BRAMBLING was visiting their feeders!  A Brambling is a finch native to eastern Asia, and this was the second Nebraska record ever!  We arrived at the Deeds' residence early on January 2.  We watched for about 15 minutes and eventually the Brambling showed up.

The appearance of the Brambling coincides with an "invasion" year of Bramblings.  Bramblings were seen in Washington, California, Wyoming, Montana, Ontario, British Columbia, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the fall and winter of 2014 and 2015.  This same phenomenon also happened the same year the first Nebraska record was seen too. 

Have You Seen Evening Grosbeaks? (Scottsbluff area 2/13/15-2/15/15)

In the words of comedian Frank Nelson, "EEE-Yeeeeeeeeesssss!"

I have been very busy with my year lately so I haven't had time update this blog as much as I want to.


Now onto the blog!
Several Evening Grosbeaks were being seen at various feeders in the Scottsbluff area in the Panhandle of Nebraska.  Since the Evening Grosbeak was my dad's most wanted bird to see, we decided to drive out to Scottsbluff to look for them and Cassin's Finches that had been seen at the same feeders.
After an uneventful drive to Ogallala on 2/13, we stayed overnight and got up early the next morning (2/14).  We had 2 Ferruginous Hawk along Highway 26 in Morrill County and 1 Prairie Falcon along Highway 92 in Scotts Bluff County.  We arrived in Scotts Bluff at 9:00 AM and went to Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, where the birds were being seen.  

Upon our arrival, we saw our lifer Cassin's Finches!  We watched them briefly and the Evening Grosbeaks began to call from some nearby trees.  We watched them for about an hour and twenty minutes.  We had a total of 15 Evening Grosbeaks (8 males and 7 females) and at least 15 Cassin’s Finches (7 males and 8 males).

When I got home, I took the calls of the Evening Grosbeaks and analyzed it through the program Audacity.  This analysis showed they were "Type 1" Evening Grosbeaks.  "Type 1" is found mostly in the Pacific northwest and central Rocky Mountains.  I also corresponded with Aaron Haiman of California, who confirmed they are "Type 1."  

While we were watching the feeders, some Scottsbluff area birder showed up and we tagged along with them for several of their birding stops.  Along Berggren Road in Scotts Bluff County we found 1 male Wood Duck and 3 "Lesser" Canada Geese.  Other in our group saw a second male Wood Duck while we were there.

Afterwards, we visited Kathy Delara's house to for the Mountain Chickadee that has been frequenting her feeders.  We waited about 5 minutes before it showed up.  It was very cooperative, even getting within 10 feet of us.

We returned to Wildcat Hills SRA to check the feeders again and do some hiking.  We only had 4 Cassin’s Finches and no Evening Grosbeaks at the feeders.  We also found 1 Golden Eagle and 1 Prairie Falcon, flying by at Cedar Ridge. 

While at Cedar Ridge, I had a 1 second glimpse at a small brownish bird disappearing into some cedars.  I tried to pish it out for several minutes but it never revealed itself. I realized the bird looked superficially similar to a Bushtit, but my looks were too brief and the bird seemed too brown to be one.

To end the day, we went to Scotts Bluff NM to look for the Black Rosy-Finch.  We drove up and walked the trail from the top of the monument until the tunnel.  We couldn’t find the Black Rosy-Finch or any Rosy-Finches.  The only bird of note was 1 Prairie Falcon dive bombing an adult Bald Eagle.

We return to Ogallala for the night. We got up the next morning at birded Lake Ogallala briefly. We found:

3 Thayer’s Gulls-all nonbreeding adults

1 Lesser Black-backed Gull-nonbreeding adult

1 Yellow-rumped Warbler-its face pattern resembled an “Audubon’s” but its call resembled a “Myrtle”

We left and made the long drive to Omaha.  The only interesting thing on the drive was one flock of about 5000 Snow Geese, that was circling low over I-80 near York.

Once near Lincoln, we decided to check Branched Oak Lake for the continuing first cycle Great Black-backed Gull.  We checked the gulls at the marina and found the Great Black-backed Gull roosting on the ice in a group of gulls.

 One first cycle Glaucous Gull was also roosting with the gulls.

 Also, there was one “interesting” first cycle gull that may have been the “Slaty-backed” like gull Noah Arthur photographed.  But this bird slept the entire time and never raised it head.

Pelicans in the Mist (North Platte area birding January 1 and 2, 2015)

And no this isn't a title of a book by Dian Fossey.

On December 26th, 2014, Steve Dinsmore and Kevin Murphy found an adult nonbreeding Brown Pelican at the cooling pond of Sutherland Reservoir, just 30 minutes west of North Platte, NE and just south of Sutherland, NE.  Only a small 4 hours away from our house in Omaha.  Brown Pelicans are "accidental" species in Nebraska, meaning they only show up once or twice every ten years or so.  This one was attempting to overwinter with a small flock of American White Pelicans.  We left at 10:00 AM, on January 1, 2015.  After the 4 hour drive, we arrived at the cooling pond of Sutherland Reservoir.  The cooling pond is a small lake where the water from the reservoir's power plant goes to cool and then it is let back into the reservoir.  It was about 25 degrees F out, and the 60 degree water caused fog or mist to cover the cooling pond.  It obscured most of the lake, so viewing was rather poor from the east side of the pond.  We moved to the south side of the cooling pond, and I began to scope it.  After several minutes, I spotted the Brown Pelican resting on the northern most baffle in the pond.  We then returned to the east side and we were able to get views of the Brown Pelican in the mist.

Brown Pelican (just left of the first Great Blue Heron)

Looking through our scope, we still got poor views of it.  It slept the entire time we were present.

Brown Pelican

Also while we were there, I heard 1 Killdeer calling.

In the morning of January 2nd, we three birded some of the Loess Canyons southeast of North Platte.  The only notable birds we saw were a flock of 200 Wild Turkeys, 1 juvenile "Gambel's" White-crowned Sparrow, and 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, still with some juvenile plumage.  The presence of juvenile plumage indicates this is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, not a Red-naped.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

We then returned to Sutherland Reservoir to try and get better looks at the Brown Pelican.  We arrived at the cooling pond, and the Brown Pelican was still resting.  Soon, it stood up and started to preen itself.  We got very good looks at it!

Brown Pelican

I paid special attention to its throat and pouch color.  It had a slight reddish color, which may indicate the "Pacific" subspecies, but most interior records of Brown Pelicans seem to represent the "Atlantic" subspecies.  Pouch and throat color is an unreliable characteristic to identify Brown Pelicans to subspecies.

Brown Pelican (note reddish color to throat and pouch)

Just one last picture from the trip: the Brown Pelican stretching.

Brown Pelican stretch

Since the fog was gone, I was also able to count the overwintering waterbirds present.  There were 9 Double-crested Cormorants, 24 American White Pelicans, and 15 Great Blue Herons.

On the way out, we also saw 1 adult Northern Shrike perched on a telephone wire.

We had a good trip and were able to see some good birds.

Gavin's Point Dam Gulls-11/29/14

After we left the Yellow-billed Loon at Lake Henry, we visited Gavin's Point Dam.  This is the dam for Lewis and Clark Lake, which spans the Nebraska and South Dakota border in the northeastern part of Nebraska.  Some interesting gulls had been seen there, so decided to check the spillway.  Upon arriving, we quickly spotted the previously report first-cycle Glaucous Gull, flying around the spillway.  While there, we noticed Lincoln, NE birder Michael Willison across the spillway from us watching the gulls too.  Finding no more interesting gulls at the spillway, we went to Lake Yankton, which is 0.2 miles northeast of the spillway.  There were several resting flocks of gulls on the lake.  Soon after our arrival, Michael showed up and we all scoped the gulls.  In one flock, we found the first-cycle Thayer's Gulls.

Thayer's Gull

We watched it for several minutes before it flew into South Dakota.  We all then returned to the south side of the spillway to watch the gulls before we had to leave.  The first-cycle Glaucous Gull returned to the spillway while we were there.

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull

After several minutes, the Thayer's Gull joined the gulls flying around the spillway from the dam's power plant.  

Thayer's Gull

Thayer's Gull

These pictures illustrate the "two-toned" primaries, dark secondaries, and dark tail band well.

We watched for 5 more minutes hoping for the California Gull or the Thayer's/Iceland Gull to show up but neither of them did.

YELLOW-BILLED LOON in South Dakota!

After seeing that a juvenile Yellow-billed Loon was found at Lake Henry near Scotland, SD, my dad, brother, and I made the 3 hour trek there to find it on November 29th.
After 3 hours of driving we arrived at Lake Henry in Bon Homme County.

Lake Henry

We went to the boat ramp on the south side of the lake, where the loon was being reported.  As we pulled up, my brother teasingly said, "There it is!"  We looked at the frozen part of the lake and were surprised to find the loon actually was there!

Yellow-billed Loon

Yellow-billed Loon

This was the third SD record of a Yellow-billed Loon.  It can be identified by its pale double-peakd head with dark auricular patch and pale barring/edging on its back.  Its thick neck and large, pale yellow bill can easily be seen in my pictures.  We watched in for about 20 minutes before leaving.

Black Scoter at Louisville Lakes SRA-11/23/2014

On November 23rd, 2014, my dad, brother, and I decided to chase the female-type Black Scoter at Louisville Lakes State Recreation Area in Cass County, Nebraska.  It was found two day prior by Clem Klaphake.  This would be our lifer and the last Scoter species for Nebraska for all three of us.
We arrived at Louisville Lakes at 8:13 AM.  We quickly drove to Lake #2, where it had been seen.  It was there.  We then drove around the other lake in the recreation area to see if it moved to one of them.  It wasn't at any of those lakes either.  We checked Lake #2, one last time just to make sure we didn't miss it.  I walked over to the swimming beach because we didn't check there the first time.  I quickly found the Black Scoter there.

Black Scoter-Louisville Lakes SRA, Cass County, NE-11/23/14.

We watched it swim around the swimming beach for 30 minutes.  During this time, I was able to see it fly around briefly.  This allowed me to see its dark belly, confirming it as an adult female.
We then headed home after we got satisfactory looks at it.