Notes [September 1989]

“Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Nest in Cass County”: On 2 July 1989 Greg Hertel, Murray, Cass Co., reported an adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in his yard. He thought it had left the area, but Betty Allen and Ruth Green went down on 8 July to look for it, and they finally found it (a male) in Young Memorial Park. The next morning Betty took others down to see it and found a female on a nest on a 40-foot light pole used to floodlight the ball field. “National Wildlife Federation Eagle Survey” (by Greg Wingfield, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission): The 1989 NWF Midwinter Eagle Survey resulted in a record number of Bald Eagles observed in Nebraska: 209 along the Missouri River and 907 in the rest of the state, for a total of 1,116. The previous record was 1,114 Bald Eagles reported in 1987. Generally, winter conditions throughout Nebraska were quite mild right until the survey period began, when a major cold front moved through much of the state. Conditions were much milder than in 1988, when 650 Eagles were reported. In some prior years, not all Eagles observed on the Missouri River were included, but totals were split with the states sharing a common border. Also, survey coverage on the Missouri varied prior to 1987. The totals for all years have been amended to include all birds observed on the Missouri. “Whooping Crane Report”: The Grand Island office of the Fish and Wildlife Service reported 12 confirmed (2 of the same birds), 6 probable, and 9 unconfirmed sightings of Whooping Cranes in Nebraska in the spring of 1989. There were only 23 confirmed sightings in the U.S