My annual spring birding trip in 2009
included multiple days in western NE, where with the advice of several local
birders, I increased my statelist from a miniscule 124 all the way up to
213. With an ABA reportable threshold of
225 at the time, I needed another couple short trips to the western end of the
state in 2010 to reach and then exceed the threshold, adding 19 more to get to a
respectable 232, or 7 over the old ABA threshold.
The ABA used to calculate the state
thresholds as half of the total number of species seen in the state. Although the thresholds are no longer
published by the ABA, with a little web research you can generally find the
latest state totals, and calculate a new threshold by dividing that number by
2. For NE, the statelist as of December
2015 had increased to 461, resulting in a newly calculated threshold of
230.5. So now my total was only 1.5 over
the present threshold, meaning I could be below threshold with the addition of
just 4 more species (or splits) in the state.
NE is a good example of why, instead of just aiming to be above the old
ABA threshold, I have come up with a goal of being at least 15 over that total
in any given state - “reportable plus 15” as I call it. That should give me a comfortable cushion to
stay above threshold for quite a number of years to come. And to give me that cushion in NE, I needed
to get back there to add some more statebirds!
I don’t get to the region very often, so
when a January business trip to Denver came up I started thinking about whether
adding a couple vacation days for some western NE birding could yield a
sufficient number of statebirds to make it worthwhile. The closest I’ve been to winter birding in NE
was a trip to the state in early November 2010, so I had a pretty long list of
at least remotely possible target birds.
But there was a reason why I haven’t done mid-winter birding in NE or
most other states in the region - mid-winter weather in the plains can be cold,
windy, or snowy, making traveling and even birding difficult if not
impossible. Of course I would have to
make my plane arrangements well before I could get any local weather
forecasts. But given that I was only
barely above threshold, and that there were numerous possible targets, I
decided to add 2 vacation days to the Denver trip and cross my fingers for at
least 1 good day of weather. Plus the
Ogallala area with Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala was one of my favorite
birding spots anywhere across the country, so it would be great to get back
there. I figured if I could get 4 or 5
new birds for NE it would be a successful trip.
Now it was time to do the local
research. The first thing I did was to
set up a Needs Alert on eBird, which showed that many of my targets were being
seen in the state. However, the vast
majority were from the eastern portions of NE.
Then I turned to the NE listserve which had a fair number of posts from
the western part of the state, including sightings of a few of my targets. Then came posts from the Lake McConaughy and
North Platte Christmas Counts where many of my targets were spotted, plus several
rarities not even on my target list. I
contacted the count compilers and got great local information or many of their
sightings. But despite initial
enthusiasm I realized my trip would be 3-5 weeks after the counts, so these
would be very old sightings by the time I got to the area.
As the trip neared there were few posts
from western NE and even fewer possible targets reported. I also reached out to Kathy DeLara, a birder
in Scottsbluff who I had birded with in 2009, and she mentioned that there were
reliable sightings of only 2 of my possible targets in her area. Now I was worried that I might not even get
the 4 or 5 new statebirds I was hoping for.
But then the week before my trip there was a listserve post from NE birder
Joel Jorgensen who spent a couple days in the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala
area. He found 10 of my targets - now I
was pumped! With microdirections from Joel,
I now had a possible target list of 18 birds, though realistically I hoped for about
7 of these as new NE statebirds. And then
I realized I would only need 1 more to reach the “reportable plus 15”
goal. Plus the weather was looking warm
and dry for the trip. So everything was
falling into place.
My plan was to leave Denver when work was
done around noon on Day 1, and then take a 3-hour drive to Ogallala. I would bird a few hours in the area till
dusk that day, and then again till mid-day on Day 2. Then I would head east to North Platte and
bird there in the afternoon and a few hours in the morning on Day 3. The last set of stops would be near
Scottsbluff, on the way back to Denver that night. A busy itinerary, but that would give me stops
at many good birding spots in the area.
Day 1
Work was over right at noon, so everything
was right on schedule as I left Denver.
During the long ride to Ogallala I thought through my target list and
realized that if everything fell into place there was a remote chance that I
could get 8 or more of my targets even in my short time available that evening. I had lots of optimism when I arrived in the
town of Ogallala, and headed right to a feeder where a White-winged Dove and
been seen for much of the winter. As I
arrived the homeowners greeted me at the door and took me into the back yard
where the Dove was sleeping on its favorite perch (statebird #1). NE is at least the 6th state where I’ve seen
this species which is prone to vagrancy as a rarity (see my statebird map
below).
I spent a few minutes talking with the very
friendly homeowners, but then was off to Lake Ogallala just northeast of
town. Lake Ogallala is a small lake just
below the enormous Lake McConaughy. Despite
its small size it seems to attract many more waterfowl than the larger lake,
including quite a number of rarities for this inland location. For instance on my November 2010 visit I
found all 3 Scoters on Ogallala. And it
is also well-known for quite a diversity of gulls in the winter, especially
attracted to fish coming through the tailrace where water is discharged from
McConaughy into Ogallala (I had a Lesser Black-back and a California there in
November 2010).
I pulled into the park around Lake Ogallala
and went right to the tailrace to take a quick look. There were only a few Ring-billed and Herring
Gulls at the tailrace so I started a quick scan of the lake. The lake was about half frozen over, but the
open water was absolutely full of diving ducks, mostly Scaup and
Goldeneye. And since I needed Common
Goldeneye for my NE list, that one was a quick addition (#2). A large flock of Canada Geese were swimming
near the back of the lake, along with even more divers, and 6 Trumpeter Swans
(#3). NE was my 15th state
for this expanding re-introduced species which wasn’t even on my target list
when I was last in NE in 2009-2010.
Next I started scoping through the divers,
first concentrating on the Scaup in search of several Greaters that had been
reported. It didn’t take long before I
had several pairs of Greaters mixed in with the more numerous Lessers (#4). In fact I think there were a fair number of
Greaters on the lake. I only need
Greater Scaup in 7 more states for a sweep of the mainland states.
And then my attention was drawn to a Goldeneye
that was swimming all by itself. It was
a female and a bit smaller than the other Goldeneyes. Although it was diving a lot, I kept thinking
I was seeing an all-pale bill.
Eventually it stayed on the surface long enough for me to get a good
look at its head – it indeed had an all yellow bill and a forward-sloping head shape. It was a female Barrow’s Goldeneye (#5). Although a male Barrow’s had been reported
from the tailrace recently, no one had reported a female. NE was my second central US state to find
this species as a rarity, not to mention seeing it in 7 states in the
northeast.
Next I spent some time scanning through the
Canada Geese in hopes of finding one of their rarer cousins. The flock numbered at least a thousand, with
about half swimming in the open and the others standing and sleeping on the
banks and in the marshes. But with such
a large flock many birds were frequently hidden behind others, so it took more
than just a quick scan to see all the birds.
At one point I noticed a glimpse of pink among the otherwise brown birds
on the shore – it was the bill of a White-fronted Goose (#6). Eventually it walked out from behind the
Canadas affording good looks - the second rarity I found that wasn’t recently
reported at Lake Ogallala. It was
turning out to be quite a start to the trip, and there was more to come.
I changed angles to look at the northern
part of the lake near the edge of the ice.
Waterfowl were less numerous here, and featured a large flock of Common Mergansers. Then I spotted a male White-winged Scoter
which had been reported recently. On
another scan I noticed a pair of Long-tailed Ducks (#7) swimming right at the
ice edge – only 1 had been reported there recently. NE is my 4th inland state for this typically
coastal species.
Having completed a pretty thorough review
of the waterfowl finding all my targets and then some, I turned my attention
back to the tailrace to look through the gulls.
Recent reports had included a couple Lesser Black-backs and a 3rd-year
Glaucous. Although there were only about
25 gulls there one of the first birds I found was a Lesser, and then a second Lesser
appeared – both were 3rd-year birds pretty well into adult plumage except for a
bit of a black tail band. And then I picked
out a 1st-year California. Nice rarities
but not new statebirds.
Then I noticed a gull fly overhead that
looked pure white below. My first
thought was that this must be the Glaucous reported a week earlier. But then I realized it was way too small –
not too much larger than the Ring-bills.
From above the mantle was the color of an adult gull, and the wings
appeared all white, except for only a hint of darker
coloration in the primaries (although it took me a long time before I saw any dark
feathering at all in the primaries). The
tail was mostly white with a narrow band only slightly darker than the tail
near the tip, though there was a thin band of white at the very tip. The bill was yellow except for a ring, very
much like Ring-billed. Was this a very
rare Iceland or the much more expected Thayer’s? I would think that by the time a Thayer’s is
in 3rd year plumage it would have some noticeable darkness in the primaries as
it approached the adult plumage that typically has quite dark wing tips. As I wrote in eBird – “If I were back on the
MA coast I would quickly call this an Iceland, bit this is NE...” I traded e-mails with Joel Jorgensen who had tentatively
reported the Glaucous the previous week, and it turned out that this was the
same bird he had seen briefly and photographed.
One of Joel’s photos is provided below.
And here’s one of my
photos taken with just my iPhone with no magnification.
After further review,
and sending Joel’s photos to some gull experts, we agreed that this was a rare
Iceland Gull. That gave me 5 species of
gulls even though there were just 25-30 birds present. NE is my 4th state for Iceland Gull away from
the northeast.
And that was statebird
#8 for the trip – bringing my NE statelist to 240 – reportable plus 15. My 36th state reaching that goal (I have 45
states over the ABA threshold). And
amazingly I was just a couple hours into my planned 2+ day trip.
I spent the next 30 minutes at the tailrace
hoping for more gulls to arrive, but just kept seeing the same Iceland and
Lessers. Certainly can’t complain about
that! At one point the locks were opened
and quite a bit of water was released through the tailrace. Goldeneyes and Mergansers starting flying in
from the lake looking for a quick meal.
Interestingly, almost all were males, including the male Barrow’s
reported earlier. Along with at least a
dozen Bald Eagles of various ages, it made for quite a spectacle.
It was now close to sunset and time to head
to fields just outside the park where Joel had reported Short-eared Owls the
previous week. With some time to spare
before dusk I drove along the road and found what I hoped would be the best
spot to be able to scan the fields for these nocturnal birds. I set up my scope on the shoulder of the road
and prepared to wait for dusk. Just then
I noticed a “bump” on a distant fencepost in the middle of the field. I put my scope on it and it was a Short-eared
Owl perched on the post (#9). As I was
looking at it another Short-ear flew through my scope field. I then scanned with binoculars and saw at
least 3 birds flying about, with all this activity starting at least 30 minutes
before dusk. At one point a bird flew to
within 30 feet of me seemingly checking me out.
I even heard one of the birds “bark”.
That was by far one of my best experiences with Short-ears. Given the challenges of finding these birds
at dusk, my statebird map is really spotty, having seen this species in just 21
states though it can be seen throughout almost the entire country.
What an amazing start to the trip! In just 2 hours of birding I had added 9
statebirds, already exceeding my expected total for 2 days of birding. As a result, I no longer needed to make a
trip to Scottsbluff since I had already seen the 2 possible targets there
(Common Goldeneye and White-front). And
in fact, since my list of remaining targets was so short, I decided to cut out
the last birding day altogether.
Day 2
I started at first light at the tailrace at
Lake Ogallala hoping for additional gulls.
But with the exception of several Bald Eagles, the tailrace was very
quiet. That is except for the noise of
the strong northerly winds that had surprisingly picked up overnight. I found a spot somewhat out of the wind, and
decided to wait it out a bit longer. At
one point I noticed a pair of birds fighting in mid-air over the hills to the
south. One was a Flicker and the other
was an Accipter that wasn’t too much larger.
After the two birds separated, I was able to identify the small Accipter
as a Sharp-shinned Hawk with its fluttery flight and small head/neck (statebird
#10). That’s another species that I only
need in a few more states to fill in the rest of my statebird map.
I eventually gave up on the tailrace, and
turned my attention to the waterfowl on the reservoir. The flock seemed relatively unchanged from
yesterday, so I was about to move on when I noticed a lone goose flying into
the goose flock – it was a Snow Goose (#11).
I later re-found the White-front in the flock as well. It’s not surprising that 5 of the 9 remaining
states where I still need Snow Goose are across the northern tier where I’ve
done little if any birding outside of summer months.
With one last stop on the lake to check out
a small group of gulls I found one of yesterday’s Lesser Black-backs and an
adult Thayer’s – my 6th gull species even though I saw less than 100 gulls in total
over 2 days.
Next I headed up to Lake McConaughy to try
for some waterfowl. Unfortunately I was
looking right into the wind, making viewing difficult. Regardless, I didn’t see a single bird on the
water. Though I did refind yesterday’s
Iceland Gull hovering overhead in the updrafts off the dam.
Then it was over to Keystone/Roscoe Road
east of Lake Ogallala. The key target
here was a flock of Redpolls that Joel Jorgensen had had at a small cattle
ranch there the week before. As soon as
I pulled up to the spot I could hear a lot of Goldfinch chatter, so I moved in
closer to the flock to check for other finches.
I estimated there were at least 200 Goldfinches along with a small
number of Siskins feeding in the weedy vegetation, but rarely were more than a
dozen in view at any time. Then I heard
a couple brief call notes that could have been a Redpoll. A few minutes later a lone bird flew over my
head giving distinct chit-chit calls of the Redpoll (#12). NE was only my 14th state for this species –
another example of missing a rather widespread species by only doing limited
mid-winter birding across the country.
My last stop in the area was to bird along
the canal below Lake Ogallala in search of Rusty Blackbirds seen by Joel. Unfortunately I found no blackbirds at all,
but a nice consolation was finding a field with about 50 Horned Larks and 1
Lapland Longspur (though alas no Snow Buntings).
It was still early, so I had enough time to
head east to the North Platte area to bird some of the hotspots there. Although I had already found most of my
possible targets, there were still some longer shots to try for.
The first stop was Cody Park where I
quickly found the semi-feral and non-countable Trumpeter Swans, and Snow and
Ross’s Geese, but found little else besides the many wild Canadas. Then I took a slow walk around the tennis
courts that are surrounded by mature pines and spruces, but didn’t find
anything in the conifers. Nearby North
Platte Cemetery had similar planted conifer habitat, including a row of pines
full of Sapsucker holes – but there were no Sapsuckers to be seen. The highlight there was a presumably mated pair
of Flickers foraging together – one was “yellow-shafted” and one was “red-shafted”.
Next I was on to Scout’s Rest Ranch where
several Rusty Blackbirds had been seen nearly 6 weeks earlier on the Christmas
Count. Just as I pulled into the parking
lot 3 Blackbirds flew directly overhead – although I didn’t get great looks at
them, they were the right size and shape of Rusty’s, and I saw no shoulder
patches or striping suggesting they were Red-wings. They flew off low to the northwest into an
area of swampy woods with wet leaves on the ground – perfect habitat for
Rusty’s. So although I would have hoped
for better views, I felt good about adding this bird to my NE statelist
(#13). I now only need Rusty Blackbird
in a few more states within its regular range.
As I drove west toward my next stop I
noticed a cattle feed lot and a cloud of blackbirds swirling around it. As I pulled over a large portion of the flock
was close to the road, and most were Starlings, though I picked out at least
10-20 Brewer’s Blackbirds in the swirling activity. Not a new statebird but a nice “write-in” on
eBird.
Then I was off to small Bowley’s Pond along
the interstate. It was full of mostly
dabbling ducks and geese, including 2 Snow Geese (1 white and 1 blue form), and
at least 10 White-fronts. This would
have been a great stop the day before, but those geese were old news now.
My last stops were around the power plant
in Sutherland. Although I didn’t pick
out anything new, there were still a few highlights. The first was at a small lake south of the
power plant that was full of Mallards – maybe 5,000 or more. And interestingy, the vast majority were
males! Check out these photos, first a
shot taken of a portion of the lake with my iPhone –
Then a closer phonescoped shot –
Finally I made my way to a cooling pond at
Sutherland that has numerous baffles on the surface that are preferred perches
for loafing birds. Here I picked up a
few out-of-season birds that were new for the trip– 5 White Pelicans and 2
Double-crested Cormorants. A nice
conclusion to another most successful statebirding trip.
I ended up with 70 species on the trip, including
15 “write-ins” in eBird. My tally of 13 NE
statebirds was way over my hoped-for goal of 7, giving me 245 in NE – 20 over
the old ABA threshold. That should keep
me over the threshold for many years to come.
