Nebraska: The Good 'Bird' Life

It is no secret that Nebraska is my home state, where I was born and raised.  That is also where my first recollections and my fascination with our avian friends began.  As a farm child growing up in very rural Nebraska, I have some very vivid memories of some of the birds that captured my interest as such a young age.  Of course, and like most kids, the more colorful or unusual birds caught my eye back then.  Now that I have matured a little more, it isn't always the most colorful birds that catch my eye all the time. (Still hard to ignore those colorful birds!)

Surprisingly, this year was the 50th year for my high school graduation and of course a get together was planned.  My high school graduating class consisted of only 28 students.  That tells you how small and sparsely populated some places in Nebraska happen to be.  So I planned a trip in late May for this occasion and decided to add in a few extra days for birding and visiting family.  Stayed with my sister and her family in McCook and took advantage of the birding opportunities that were there.  The first morning, I headed out to Barnett Park on the south edges of McCook to see what I could find.  It was amazing and I got the pleasure of seeing and photographing a lot of birds.

 Red-headed Woodpecker - Probably one of the best looking woodpeckers in the United States and I saw a lot of these birds during my visit.

 Downy Woodpecker

 Spotted Sandpiper - This one is in breeding plumage which we do not see very often in Arizona in the winter months. We normally see the drabber winter plumage without spots.

 Yellow Warbler - Male

Yellow Warbler - Female

American Goldfinch - Male

 Baltimore Oriole - Male

 Cackling Goose - This was a new species for my Nebraska list.  As a kid, I might have seen them, but just assumed they were probably Canada Geese.  (Little did I know back then!)

 Cedar Waxwing

Common Yellowthroat - These birds can be quite secretive and hard to photograph.

Swainson's Thrush - Not a bird that was on my radar, but found out that they are quite common.  Helps to pull out the old field guides once in a while to study range maps!

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  Later in the day, I headed north of town and visited Red Willow Lake. Saw many of the same birds, but also found a few different birds that I do not recall ever seeing in Nebraska before.  No, they are not rare by any means, but I have been away so long, that one forgets what is possible.

 Bell's Vireo

 Field Sparrow - This was another bird that was not on my radar, but their range does reach Nebraska.  Makes me wonder if they were around when I was a kid, but just shrugged them off since they were just LBJ's. (Little brown jobs! Ha Ha!)

Tree Swallow - Another bird not on my radar, but apparently fairly common, note the man-made nestbox.

The next day, I headed even further north to the small town of Wellfleet, Nebraska.  Not much of a town, but they have a nearby small lake.  When I was young and had a great uncle and aunt living in this community and I remember spending a summer with them to help them with their farming.  I can also recall our family spending time in the summer to help with the irrigation of the farm land.  It was a really nice nostalgic visit and I was astonished by the birds that I found while exploring the town and the land around the town.

 Bars Swallow - These were very common on the farm as they nested in our barn and in the summer they entertained us when we milked cows every morning and night.

 Eastern Kingbird - Another bird that i was familiar with as we had them from time to time on the farm.  Western Kingbirds were much more common.

 Gray Catbird - Do not recall this bird from my childhood, but due to their nature to be a bit secretive, they were probably overlooked as a kid.

 Orchard Oriole - This was another surprise to me.  I do not remember this species as a kid, but had Baltimore Orioles every year.  This bird was fairly common for me on this trip.

Yellow-breasted Chat - A very enjoyable bird to see and hear, even though they can be tough to see sometimes, their calls and songs cannot be ignored.

The next 4 photos are the Indigo Bunting, plus a bonus photo at the end.  This bird was one of my fondest memories of my interest in birding as a child.  Being a farm family, we were very much involved in 4-H and in 1962, 4-H offered a bird course and I gladly signed up.  We had to keep a record book, and the Indigo Bunting was the species that I focused on for my study bird.  I have added a photo of the page from the record book showing what a talented artist I was back then!  HaHa!  Regardless, of all of that, this bird along with a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that visited our farm back then, have been the impetus for my interest in birds.  It was such a joyous occasion when the male in my photos below offered me a chance to get all these great photos.  It is so blue that it almost blends in with the blue sky.

 Indigo Bunting - Female

 Indigo Bunting - Male

 

So now you all know a bit more about my childhood in Nebraska.  It is fun to return after being away for so long and now that I have a much larger understand of birds.  There is so much more of the state that I would like to explore.  So maybe i need to plan a road trip in the future!  Stay tuned for a second post covering this trip to Nebraska and my search for a special bird. 

Here is a photo of the old farm where I spent the first 18 years of my life. The house is now vacant.

Florida & the Dry Tortugas

Most birders are aware of the Dry Tortugas which is located about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.  This place is often mentioned as a 'must see' for hard core birders.  Its remoteness is part of the allure and magic of this place.  It is now a US National Park and is home to Ft Jefferson.  The Dry Tortugas consist of 7 islets, or keys.  The 3 largest keys, Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, and Bush key make up more than 90% of the land mass of the Dry Tortugas.  The rest are small and are constantly changing due to weather, tides, and currents.  They were named because sea turtles were originally found there and they have no fresh water source.  Garden Key is the home of Ft Jefferson and is the only key that is accessible to most people by boat or by sea plane.  Bush Key is sometimes attached to Garden Key, but is often off limits as it is an active nesting colony for Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  During spring migration, this spot is attractive to many migrants crossing the Gulf of Mexico and many drop in to forage and get some energy back before continuing with their journey northward.  For those reasons, this spot is a must see spot for most birders.  

The boat ride is about 3 hours to arrive at Garden Key and Ft Jefferson.  The seas were fairly void of any seabirds until we approached our destination.  We started seeing Brown Noddies and Sooty Terns as we approached about 5 miles out.  I was fortunate to get a couple of photos of a Brown Noddy flying close to the boat.  What is really cool is the fact that this species was my 600th ABA bird.  A great bird for a nice milestone.  (700 is a long ways off.  Going to take some extra effort to reach that milestone!)

 Brown Noddy

Once we arrived at Garden Key, we got to observe many more Brown Noddies including many on Bush Key which was off limits for us. Here are some photos of some of the Brown Noddies from Garden Key.  Perching and resting space is at a premium and this pair was not about to give up their perch.  

 Brown Noddy - Photo sequence

We were able to see the nesting areas of Bush Key from a distance which included Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  Here is a photo of the nesting area which shows both species and it is followed by a photo of a Sooty Tern that was injured along the shore of Garden Key.

 Brown Noddy & Sooty Terns - Nesting on Bush Key

Sooty Tern

We also were able to find some Bridled Terns on the coal pilings near the camping area.  From a distance they might be a bit difficult to distinguish from Sooty Terns, but these were close enough for us to see the different field marks such as the pale mantle and the amount of white on forehead which is different in these two species. 

 Bridled Tern

On the boat trip from Key West to Garden Key, the captain made a point to approach Hospital Key, which was nothing but a long sandbar rising above the water.  While this does not sound exciting, it happens to be the small island that the Masked Booby has claimed as their small territory. This was an example of why a zoom lens is needed for photos.  Photos had to be made from a distance as the boat could not approach very closely due to shallow water and also to prevent any disturbance to the birds.  

 Masked Booby

One of the unique features of the Dry Tortugas is the fact that it is one of the very first specks of land that many migrants see as they are crossing the Gulf of Mexico.  Due to the extreme distance they have traveled and the possibility of encountering storms or unfavorable winds, many of these birds will land on this speck of land in search of food and water.  The only spot of fresh water on the island is inside Ft Jefferson at a cistern where fresh water is stored for the few rangers that live at the park.  This water is hauled in on a regular basis and this cistern, which has an open area at the top with a water drip, is the place to get a drink. With fewer trees and a limited water source, these many passerines are easier to observe.  Below are some of the photos that I captured of some of these birds. 

 Black-whiskered Vireo

Gray Kingbird

 Cape May Warbler

 Hooded Warbler

 Prothonotary Warbler

Swainson's Thrush

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Ruddy Turnstones

Black Skimmers - We enjoyed this flock as we were departing Key West in the morning.

Ft Jefferson on Garden key is not a paradise for the migrants!  It has its share of predators.  We documented American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and several Cattle Egrets.  The unfortunate victims of these predators were often many of the song birds.  However the Peregrine Falcon preferred to feast on the terns and noddies that were in abundance.

 Cattle Egret

 An opportunistic Cattle Egret

Peregrine Falcon

 Ft Jefferson on Garden Key - This was taken on our approach to the island.

This is Loggerhead Key with the lighthouse and is off limits to all personnel, except for National Park Staff.

I highly recommend a trip to the Dry Tortugas if you are heading to Florida for birding.  You can go as a one day trip where you go out and come back the same day.  However, you can also go and camp out in the small camping area, but keep in mind that there is no fresh water or food on the island, so plan your trip well.  Also, get your reservations in on the Yankee Freedom III in advance.  Some of the trips tend to fill quickly.  I know that I will definitely find time for another trip to the Dry Tortugas if I make it back to Florida in the future!