Nebraska Big Year: February Recap
March 01, 2025
Year birds: +13 (131), State birds: +1 (329), Life birds: +1 (499)
Overall February was a bit of a slower month, but I still ran into some great birds!
In early February I headed to Lake Ogallala specifically targeting Gulls. I spent the first night of the trip camping in North Platte, where Boni gave me some tips that led to a few years birds including Short-eared Owl. At Lake O, the trip continued to produce, netting me 11 year birds, including 2 very good gull targets: Glaucous Gull and Short-billed Gull. The biggest target I had that I missed was Great Black-backed Gull, but I'll have another shot at that one this fall.
Back home in Lancaster County, I tried a few different places for Long-eared Owl and finally tracked down my first (and only) lifer of February.
Perhaps more importantly for the overall effort, February was a HUGE planning month. I refined my spreadsheet and spent hours and hours studying Bird of Nebraska Online and ebird data, noting the rarity, locations, and estimated arrival dates of all the spring migrants in my big year spreadsheet.
- Mountain Bluebird, Lincoln
- Brown-headed Cowbird, Lincoln
- Greater Prairie-Chicken, Lincoln
- Short-eared Owl, Lincoln
- Glaucous Gull, Keith
- Red-breasted Merganser, Keith
- American White Pelican, Lincoln
- Double-crested Cormorant, Lincoln
- Wilson's Snipe, Lincoln
- Virginia Rail, Lincoln
- Short-billed Gull, Keith
- Long-eared Owl, Lancaster
- Rusty Blackbird, Lancaster
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