Wings Birding Tour Trip Report
by Bert Filemyr

Saturday March 15, 2003
After dropping the rental car we used for pre tour birding off at the airport I had planned on walking back to the Ramada Inn along the shore of Carter Lake. As I walked out of the airport I saw three people waiting in the shuttle pick up area. They had "Wings Luggage Tags" and I went over and introduced myself. They were Cora Fulton, Carol Ghebelian, and Shirley Wood. We shared the shuttle van back to the Ramada and introduced ourselves. It was a good way to start putting faces to names on the participant list.

The original schedule for the tour called for an optional evening excursion starting at 5:30 pm. Since all participants were due in by mid afternoon, Paul Lehman, the trip leader, moved the time to 4:30 pm. As we gathered in the lobby at 4:30 Paul said that one person, Roger Grossenbacker, my roommate, had not checked in. Paul had checked with the airline and he was due at the airport at 4:30. Paul and I hopped in the van and made the quick trip to the airport. While Paul waited in the van I entered the baggage area and soon found Roger. The three of us quickly to the Ramada Inn to join the others. After we gave Roger 5 minutes to get his stuff in the van, all eight of us took off for Lake Manawa. During a brief stop at a fast food place and the short trip to the lake, Paul gave us the introductory information. Since all tour participants were seasoned birding tour participants this was a very quick and easy introduction. At the lake we had numerous Bald Eagles on the lake plus a wide ranging collection of waterfowl. The skies overhead were filled with Canada, Greater White-fronted, and Snow Geese. Our two target birds were American Woodcock and Eastern Screech Owl. We saw the displaying woodcocks first and after playing a short tape Paul soon had the owl in the spotlight. A great start to the trip! VENT also had a tour in the area and we ran into them several times this evening as they also birded Lake Manawa. By 7:45 pm we were back at our lodging. Roger and I enjoyed a leisurely meal in the hotel restaurant and we got to know each other.

Sunday March 16, 2003
We met in the hotel resturant for a quick breakfast at 6:00 am. By 6:30 we had the van packed and loaded up for our first full day of birding. Our first stop was a road traversing a portion of the Fontenelle Nature Preserve south of Omaha. This was our best shot for eastern woodland birds. We quickly picked up Winter Wren, Wild Turkeys, Wild Turkeys, Wood Ducks, and a calling Pileated Woodpecker. Among our target species here was Red-headed Woodpecker but there were none to be seen or heard. Leaving the forest we headed west in Nebraska. Along the way we stopped at Harvard, Messinger, and Kissinger waterfowl Production Areas. There were lots of waterfowl on whatever water was available. The effects of the long term drought being experienced by the mid-west, was very apparent. A quick stop was made in the town of Clay Center for lunch. We spent time after lunch driving through the Meat Animal Research Center and the grounds of the Central Community College in Hastings. .We had great views of a Rough-Legged Hawk and Harris's Sparrows on our afternoon travel.

At 3:45 we arrived at our headquarters for the next four nights, the Holiday Inn in Grand Island. After getting situated in the rooms we were back in the van at 4:45 pm. After a brief stop at Crane Meadows, Paul took us to a spot on a back road near Alba Road. Here we witnessed the evening fly in of untold numbers of Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes. We stood along the roadside for about an hour and enjoyed one of the great migration spectacles in the world. We were back to the inn at 7:15 and gathered in the restaurant for dinner at 7:30. A nice buffet was enjoyed by all and we did the checklist before dessert.

Monday March 17, 2003
Out of the inn at 6:20 am. The weather was mild but there was the chance of showers Our immediate goal was to view Greater Prairie Chickens on a lek. Traveling to the edge of the sandhill area we stopped along the roadside at an unmarked spot but a well known chicken lek. On one side of the road there was a lek with about 20 chickens displaying. On the other side of the road was another lek with about 6 chickens displaying. Both leks were at scope distance for proper viewing. Paul worked the larger group with his scope and soon found a Sharp-tailed Grouse in with the other birds. With a little bit of effort everyone got acceptable looks at this species. As we watched the chickens we adopted a couple from Minnesota that were out looking for prairie chickens without a scope and only one pair of binoculars. After a stop for breakfast , we were back at the inn at 8:50 for a quick freshening up. Back in the van at 9:05 for a full day of birding along the south side of the Platte River from Grand Island to Kearney. Highlights included the Rowe Sanctuary and the Funk Wildlife Production Area. Right before lunch we entered the residential area of Kearney to seek out and find a small but increasing colony of Eurasian Collared Doves. After splitting upto cover the residential area, Sue Muller found two of the birds enjoying a bird bath in a back yard. After some scrambling to gather up the entire group everyone got to see them

We were back at the inn at 4:25 pm and the weather continued warn in spite of the threat of colder temperatures. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant again and everyone got some rest that evening.

Tuesday March 18, 2003
While we had started out in mild temperatures two days before the weather forecast was a concern. For the past two days we knew the weather was changing to wind and rain. The forecasts even spoke of possible violent weather in the days ahead. Paul's original plan was for us to spend this day traveling and birding in western Nebraska. Looking at the weather forecasts and calling upon his experience he felt that it would be best to bird locally Tuesday and save the big trip west for Wednesday.
It was foggy and windy at 6:30 am when several of us went to the local Grandma Max's Restaurant for breakfast. We were back at about 7:15 am and by 7:30 am we all were packed in the van and on the road. It was a gray morning with low cloud cover. The wind was up but was not a problem.

Paul had heard a "second hand" report of a Whooping Crane seen the day before along a stretch of Denman Road. We went off to try to find this bird. We did not see any big white bird in the corn fields and after driving the road we stopped to enjoy the morning fly out. Because of the low clouds, the birds flew at a low altitude and the noise of their calling seemed to be magnified. A truly memorable experience. After experiencing the fly out we traveled to Crane Meadows as Paul tried to gain more information about the report. He checked with staff at Crane Meadows and found that a birding couple had made the report. They were so thrilled to see two Whooping Cranes they even took video. When experts viewed the video it was obvious that the two birds were Snow Geese flying with Sandhill Cranes. We all got a good laugh out of that. By this time it had started to drizzle and we stopped by the inn at about 10:30 am to check the weather radar. It was just a passing shower so we were back out fairly quickly. We checked the Grand Island Cemetery for vagrants with no luck. Then we went to a scenic ditch beside the Swift Meat Packing Plant to search for Wilson's Snipe. Twenty minutes of searching failed and we moved on to lunch. Paul came up real big by picking a Mexican restaurant that we all enjoyed.

After lunch several participants were dropped off at the Sturh Museum for a couple of hours of educational experiences. Three of us went back to the inn. I then went out for a short unproductive walk.

Paul picked up the group at the museum at 3:15 pm and brought them back to the inn. A couple of us made a quick trip at 4:00 pm to Mormon Island State Recreation Area where we saw two cute Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels. Everyone was together at 4:30 pm when we went back out birding. At the Alda Bridge overlook of the Platte River, Paul found several distant Baird's Sandpipers that were the first we had seen. We then went to a nice location to view an evening fly in for the second time. Another wonderful experience.

Back to the inn at 6:45 pm and then to Grandmom Max's Restaurant for dinner and checklist meeting.

Wednesday March 19, 2003
We met at the van at 5:20 am to start our day trip to western Nebraska. It was drizzly, windy and cool. After about two hours of driving we stopped in North Platte for breakfast. Because of the major snowstorm in the Rockies, all westbound truck stops were full of trucks and there was no eastbound truck traffic. At 9:00 am we stopped at the Ogallala Nature Park and was met by a local birder (Bill). Paul had been in contact with Bill because there was a Mountain Chickadee wintering in the park. Bill took us around and showed us the feeding stations he had established. The area looked like a "bird free zone" until we hit a flock of birds at the far edge. Paul's tape quickly produced our target bird. We had great views of this mountain resident. Saying good-by to Bill, the park, and the chickadee we headed to Lake McConaughy. By this time the wind was really blowing and we knew that we would have problems birding. Stopping at the dam spillway we had a nice collection of waterfowl. Moving up the lake we checked several campgrounds and access points. American While Pelicans and Bald Eagles were at several locations. At one location Paul found a sleeping juvenile Thayer's Gull in a small flock of Ring-billed Gull. In order to confirm the field marks, Sue Muller and Barbara Stewart volunteered to walk out and wake up the bird. We certainly appreciated this service above and beyond the call of duty. Leaving Lake McConaughy we had a distant Glaucous Gull moving up the lake. Lake Ogallala produced the usual assortment of waterfowl. The open prairies south of the lakes failed to produce hoped for raptors. By this time it was time to head back to Grand Island. We arrived at the in at 5:40 pm. We all were exhausted. We did the check list immediately after returning in Paul's room. Six of us enjoyed a pleasant dinner in the restaurant.

Thursday March 20, 2003
Several of us went to Grandmom Max's for at breakfast at 6:00 am. We returned in time to be packed, checked out, and loaded in the van by 7:00. The plan today was to bird several lakes on the way back to Omaha. Unfortunately it was a cool rainy day and that affected our birding plans. While we stopped by several bodies of water, we were unable to do much serious birding. At 11:00 am we arrived at the Omaha airport. After quick goodbyes we scattered to the four winds.

I was booked on a 3:20 pm flight on United Airlines and I asked at the ticket counter about getting out of Omaha earlier. I was unable to book on an earlier flight and I did not want to fly standby. I was unsure of how that would affect my luggage. This turned out to be a questionable decision. My flight out of Omaha was 30 minutes late leaving. That made for a mad dash through O'Hare to my US AIR connecting flight. When I arrived at the gate I found that the flight was cancelled. I waited in line 75 minutes to speak to an agent. The best he could do was rebook me at 6:45 am Friday morning on American Airlines. He did mention a sold out American Airlines flight that was leaving in 15 minutes. Another mad dash only to find out the flight was delayed. Almost all US Air, United, and American flights out of O'Hare were delayed or cancelled due to "weather". After talking with a ticket agent I was able to get a standby seat on the plane. Right before boarding I was granted a seat. (Yea!) We finally took off at 9:30 Central Time. It was 2:00 am Eastern Time before I arrived home. My luggage decided to spend more time in the Midwest. It arrived home Friday in time for dinner.