Summer Field Report, June to July, 1999

First of all, I want to thank Joel Jorgensen for helping write these reports for the last few years. Joel has decided to spend his limited free time on Records Committee matters; he is currently Chairman. Over the last few years, Joel has made significant contributions to Nebraska ornithology, particularly through his! meticulous counts of shorebirds in the Rainwater Basin. This season proved interesting in terms of ranges of breeding birds, as discussed in the accounts. See, for example, Little Blue Heron, the dOWitchers. Black-billed Magpie, White-breasted Nuthatch, Sedge Wren, and the towhees. There seems to be an increasing number of displaced birds, either early or late\u27 migrants or birds just in the wrong places. Could this situation result from an increasingly unstable atmosphere? Very late in spring were Hudsonian Godwit and Wilson\u27s Warbler, while very early in fall were Willet, Semipalmated Sandpiper. and Orange-crowned Warbler. Birds in the wrong places were numerous, but significant were a small race Canada Goose, ducks such as American Wigeon. Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, and Common Goldeneye, Mississippi Kite away from Ogallala, adult Golden Eagle eastward, adult American Golden-Plover in July. westerly Least Terns, northerly Acadian Flycatcher, singing mid-June Blue-winged Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats in Harlan Co, and Henslow\u27s Sparrow in the RWB. Interesting breeding or possible breeding records involved Eurasian Collared Dove\u27s 2nd breeding location, Long-eared Owl, Pileated Woodpecker, Townsend\u27s Solitaire, and MacGillivray\u27s Warbler. Good birds were King Rail, Lewis\u27s Woodpecker, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Clark\u27s Nutcracker, Hooded Warbler, and Cassin\u27s Sparrow, and, best till last, the White Ibis, only the state\u27s 3rd report, but first with extant documentation. Finally, where were the Baird\u27s Sandpipers? When was the last time only one was reported for the early fall? Presumably the adults went elsewhere