Nebraska Big Year: April Recap

April 30, 2025

Year birds: +82 (247), State birds: +2 (334), Life birds: +2 (509)

April was one of the biggest month of the year, both in birds added to the list, and in miles traveled. Searching for birds this month took me literally to all 4 corners of the state. Once again, it had some great chases, some disappointing misses, and of course, some really good birds along the way.

The month started out kinda slow, but the shorebirding started to pick up my mid April, along with an influx of sparrows. I ticked off Vesper (166), Lincoln's (167), Chipping (168), Swamp (169), Eastern Towhee (173), and Grasshopper Sparrows (175) quite early in the month. No luck yet with a spring LeConte's or Henslow's but attempts will be made later for those. I also got nearly all my shorebird targets, still just looking for Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone.

Partridge

The 2 big targets for this month were 2 life birds, Glossy Ibis, and Gray Partridge. On April 11th, Keegan and I took off for Cedar county to try for partridge. After camping the night, we arrived at a traditional partridge spot just before sunrise. I was rolling the window down and noticed 2 game birds pop out of the ditch into the corn stubble. I immediately clocked them as Gray Partridge (179) just before they flew off. Unfortunately due to the viewing angle from the passenger seat, Keegan didn't get a look. I'm sure we'll be back up there someday to try again.

Also on that trip we stopped at Lake North/Babcock. There were literally hundreds of shorebirds, perhaps thousands. The only year bird we could pick out of the bunch were American Golden-Plover (178). Later in the month, I visited Lake North again to see the Snowy Plover (208) that Lynette found! A great bird, and one I wasn't expecting to see 2 years in a row.

Snowy Plover

Lange WPA

The next lifer target was Glossy Ibis. Paul Dunbar graciously scouted out some locations in Clay county, and the next weekend, we headed out, starting at Lange WPA. It was a gorgeous crisp spring morning day and the small pond at Lange WPA was loaded with shorebirds. There weren't any Ibis visible, but we decided to take a short hike through the meadow to get a better look. Just after we had begun scoping the shorebirds, 3 huge white birds flew in nearly straight at us, a family group of Whooping Cranes! They landed less than 50 feet away from us, completely unbothered by our presence, before moseying along through the meadow to the north. It was an incredible experience with these amazing birds that I don't think will be matched for a long time.

Whooping Cranes

After Lange, we hit a few other spots, until we ended up at Kissinger Basin. After a bit of a hike out to the mudflats, we began scanning through a group of about 30 ibis. And sure enough, with a little effort, we were able to find a Glossy Ibis (199)! A lifer for both Keegan and I.

Glossy ibis

It seems our Whooping Crane discovery earlier at Lange WPA set off a sort of Patagonia picnic table effect. The next day when Dave C headed out there to look for the cranes, he found a Whimbrel (205)! Of course, I had to go see that one, so I made another visit for Clay county. And the day after that, Joel headed out here and found a White-tailed Kite! I spent some time looking for that one too and was unable to relocate it, but it was still really cool to see a small wetland get such great birds.

Out West

With most of the eastern targets out of the way before migration truly begins, I decided to take a long weekend out west to see some of the western and shortgrass prairie specialties. A stop at Lake McConaughy yielded Caspian Tern (221) and Clark's Grebe (222). The weather didn't cooperate with us much for a visit to Crescent Lake, and the shorebirds were quite lacking, but we still found Burrowing Owl (224) and Say's Phoebe (225).

After that we headed further west to find a Mountain Plover (228) in Kimball county, as well as Thick-billed Longspur (227) and Chestnut-collared Longspur. A jaunt up to Sowbelly canyon gave us an incredible Black-bellied Plover (230) flyover of all things, and the first Violet-green Swallows (229) of the year. We also saw the rare Common Raven on Henry road, and got much better looks than I had in February.

Having gotten most of the western targets by Sunday, we decided to drive back and try for a Western Sandpiper in Hastings, and a White-eyed Vireo the next day at Fontenelle forst. Unfortuantely both birds didn't show.

Migration!

After the trip west, I spent Monday in Sarpy county and racked up another 11 year birds, including a returning Prothonotary Warbler (238). A few more birds back in Lancaster, and now I'm ready to chase all the migrants!

An attempt was made

There were a few birds that I attempted to find, but did not this month (most were expected misses, but I had to try). Yellow Rail at Jack Sinn WMA, Fish Crow in Richardson county, White-tailed Kite in Clay county, White-eyed Vireo at Fontenelle Forest, and Western Sandpiper in Hastings were a few of the (longshot) misses this month.

eBird Trip Report

  1. Vesper Sparrow, Lancaster
  2. Lincoln's Sparrow, Lancaster
  3. Chipping Sparrow, Lancaster
  4. Swamp Sparrow, Sarpy
  5. Great Egret, Douglas
  6. Hudsonian Godwit, Lancaster
  7. Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lancaster
  8. Eastern Towhee, Lancaster
  9. Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Lancaster
  10. Grasshopper Sparrow, Lancaster
  11. Least Sandpiper, Lancaster
  12. Dunlin, Lancaster
  13. American Golden-Plover, Platte
  14. Gray Partridge, Cedar
  15. Yellow-throated Warbler, Sarpy
  16. Northern Parula, Sarpy
  17. Osprey, Cass
  18. Louisiana Waterthrush, Cass
  19. Northern House Wren, Lancaster
  20. Black-necked Stilt, Lancaster
  21. Western Cattle-Egret, Lancaster
  22. White-faced Ibis, Lancaster
  23. White-winged Dove, Lancaster
  24. Forster's Tern, Lancaster
  25. Cliff Swallow, Saunders
  26. Long-billed Curlew, Lancaster
  27. Semipalmated Plover, Lancaster
  28. Cinnamon Teal, Lancaster
  29. Broad-winged Hawk, Lancaster
  30. Lark Sparrow, Richardson
  31. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Richardson
  32. Swainson's Hawk, Nemaha
  33. Wilson's Phalarope, Clay
  34. Glossy Ibis, Clay
  35. Hooded Warbler, Douglas
  36. Orange-crowned Warbler, Douglas
  37. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Douglas
  38. Northern Mockingbird, Lancaster
  39. Spotted Sandpiper, Lancaster
  40. Whimbrel, Clay
  41. Snowy Egret, Platte
  42. Willet, Platte
  43. Snowy Plover, Platte
  44. Piping Plover, Clay
  45. Common Yellowthroat, Lancaster
  46. Bank Swallow, Lancaster
  47. Warbling Vireo, Lancaster
  48. Gray Catbird, Lancaster
  49. Eastern Kingbird, Lancaster
  50. Stilt Sandpiper, Lancaster
  51. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Lancaster
  52. Yellow Warbler, Lancaster
  53. Green Heron, Lancaster
  54. Solitary Sandpiper, Lancaster
  55. Sora, Lancaster
  56. Caspian Tern, Keith
  57. Clark's Grebe, Keith
  58. Clay-colored Sparrow, Keith
  59. Burrowing Owl, Garden
  60. Say's Phoebe, Garden
  61. Marsh Wren, Garden
  62. Thick-billed Longspur, Kimball
  63. Mountain Plover, Kimball
  64. Violet-green Swallow, Sioux
  65. Black-bellied Plover, Sioux
  66. Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sioux
  67. White-rumped Sandpiper, Adams
  68. Summer Tanager, Sarpy
  69. Wood Thrush, Sarpy
  70. Swainson's Thrush, Sarpy
  71. Great Crested Flycatcher, Sarpy
  72. Chimney Swift, Sarpy
  73. Prothonotary Warbler, Sarpy
  74. Baltimore Oriole, Sarpy
  75. Palm Warbler, Sarpy
  76. Northern Waterthrush, Sarpy
  77. Black-and-white Warbler, Sarpy
  78. Least Flycatcher, Sarpy
  79. Indigo Bunting, Lancaster
  80. Tennessee Warbler, Lancaster
  81. Red-eyed Vireo, Lancaster
  82. Western Kingbird, Lancaster

Recent Posts

Nebraska Big Year: April Recap

April 30, 2025

Tags

big-year
birding
django
python