Saturday, 09 November 2019.

Ponca State Park and Kramper Lake

Unexpectedly nice weather was on store for the 11 members participating in our November outing to Ponca State Park and Kramper Lake. The feeders at the park were attracting 13 species of our regular winter visitors with a surprising 12 Blue Jays in attendance. A drive to and through the Park’s grasslands produced another 16 species including unexpected Ring-billed Gulls and Rusty Blackbirds.

The sunny day warmed to 59 degrees as we surveyed the waterfowl at Kramper Lake near Hubbard, NE. There we found a Western, an Eared, 3 Horned and 9 Pied-billed Grebes along with eleven species of ducks and geese. In all we found 45 species of birds before heading to lunch at the Old Dane Golf Course Clubhouse in Dakota City. Additionally, we appreciated meeting Dave and Terri Sage and James Bailey and welcoming back Teri Dolezal.

Bill Huser, Loess Hills Audubon, 712-574-3107.

11-09-2019 Birds—Ponca State Park and Kramper Lake and related areas etc.

Outing—45 species.

• Canada Goose

• Gadwall

• Mallard

• Northern Shoveler

• Canvasback

• Redhead

• Ring-necked Duck

• LesserScaup

• Bufflehead

• Common Goldeneye

• Ruddy Duck

• Wild Turkey

• Horned Grebe

• Eared Grebe

• Western Grebe

• Pied-billed Grebe

• Bald Eagle

• Northern Harrier

• Red-tailed Hawk

• American Kestrel

• American Coot

• Ring-billed Gull

• Rock Pigeon

• Eurasian Collared-dove

• Red-bellied Woodpecker

• Downy Woodpecker

• Hairy Woodpecker

• Northern Flicker

• Blue Jay

• American Crow

• Black-capped Chickadee

• White-breasted Nuthatch

• Eastern Bluebird

• American Robin

• European Starling

• American Tree Sparrow

• Harris’ Sparrow

• Dark-eyed Junco

• Northern Cardinal

• Red-winged Blackbird

• Western Meadowlark

• Rusty Blackbird

• House Finch

• American Goldfinch

• House Sparrow

Saturday, 7 September 2019.

9 birders participated in our September outing. It was a mostly cloudy morning with a temperature of 65 and a light breeze and temps held fairly steady through the morning. Light rain began to fall around 11:00. Our first stop was at Brown’s Lake where we searched the woods for Warblers but it was fairly quiet until we found a nice pocket of birds near the dock. They were hard to see but we did locate a few Warblers and Vireos among the group. Two Belted Kingfishers also entertained us on the lake shore. Our next stop was Sandhill Lake where we found the 3 American Avocets that had been present there the previous day.

Light rain put a damper on our birding at our next stop at Owego wetlands. We located a few more species before one car headed for home, a 2nd car made stops at ‘the Square’ and both dairy ponds while the 3rd car decided on lunch at the Crossroads Pub in Smithland. It was quiet at the Pub as we began our lunch but then about 25 motorcycles with wet riders showed up. They were enjoying their day too. We recorded a total of 58 species for the day. Other highlights included: Common Yellowthroat, Black & White Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Marsh Wren. Thanks to all who participated.

9-07-2019 Birds—Brown’s Lake, Sandhill Lake, Owego Wetlands, the ‘Square’, Dairy Ponds south and north and related areas etc. Outing—58 species.

highlights underlined

• Snow Goose

• Canada Goose

• Wood Duck

• Mallard

• Northern Shoveler

• Ruddy Duck

• Ring-necked Pheasant

• Pied-billed Grebe

• Great Blue Heron

• Turkey Vulture

• Northern Harrier

• Cooper’s Hawk

• Red-tailed Hawk

• American Avocet

• Killdeer

• Spotted Sandpiper

• Rock Pigeon

• Eurasian Collared-dove

• Mourning Dove

• Belted Kingfisher

• Red-headed Woodpecker

• Red-bellied Woodpecker

• Downy Woodpecker

• Northern Flicker

• American Kestrel

• Eastern Wood-pewee

• Eastern Phoebe

• Western Kingbird

• Eastern Kingbird

• Blue-headed Vireo

• Warbling Vireo

• Red-eyed Vireo

• Blue Jay

• Tree Swallow

• Northern Rough-winged Swallow

• Bank Swallow

• Cliff Swallow

• Barn Swallow

• White-breasted Nuthatch

• House Wren

• Marsh Wren

• American Robin

• Gray Catbird

• European Starling

• Cedar Waxwing

• Black-and-White Warbler

• Common Yellowthroat

• Yellow Warbler

• Wilson’s Warbler

• Northern Cardinal

• Blue Grosbeak

• Dickcissel

• Red-winged Blackbird

• Western Meadowlark

• Common Grackle

• House Finch

• American Goldfinch

• House Sparrow