Nebraska Big Year: November Recap
December 01, 2025
Year birds: +1 (353)
State birds: +1 (357)
Life birds: +0 (534, +1 in MN)
eBird Trip Report
This was a weird fall, it was unseasonably warm for pretty much the entire month. It was great to get out an enjoy the weather, but I was getting a little antsy as far as year birding went, since most of my remaining targets are winter birds! As I sit here writing today, I can see the 6 inch shoots of next year's garlic just poking out of the 4 inches of fresh snow we've gotten in Lincoln, as my resident pair of Cardinals munches on seeds in the falling snow.
Anyway, I spent most of the month locally, making many trips out to a few sunflower and weedy fields in hopes of finding a Redpoll. It seems like it is going to be a good year for them, with many irrupting down south of the great lakes, and already a handful of reports here in Nebraska. Despite my efforts, I wasn't able to track one down, so that potential lifer will have to wait until December.
I had a few other birds in mind this month, notably small gulls, specifically Kittiwake. I scanned the beaches and waters of Branched Oak a number of times, but couldn't come up with this less-than-annual rarity.
County Birding
I spent a few weekend days doing some county birding, exploring a few counties I'd never visited in winter and got a number of fun photos, including probably my best ever photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker!
Red-tailed Hawk Variety
As winter sets in, so do the interesting Red-tailed Hawk morphs. I ran into Harlan's, Krider's, and a dark morph Western/Northern Red-tailed this month. It's always cool to see some more variety!
Weird Duck Season
Winter is probably best known for having weird ducks. I saw 25 species of ducks and other waterfowl this season and went on multiple "wild duck chases" to do so.
The first chase was when Steven Mlodinow reported a Mexican Duck in Scotts Bluff. Keegan and I decided to head out early the next day and try to relocate it. We spent 2 hours at the WTP where it was seen, scanned multiple highway-side ponds, with no luck. We eventually tried nearby Lake Minitare and there were thousands of distant ducks. We suspect our target was out in there, and unfortunately had to call it a day. A week later the duck was seen again in one of the exact roadside ponds we had checked! I decided that bird will have to wait until some other time, one 12-hour chase was enough.
Redemption came on the last day of the month. I had just gotten back from a cold morning of birding looking for Redpoll, when Sam Manning reported an American Black Duck in Douglas county! I had 3 hours until I needed to be at dinner, and it was a 1 hour drive each way, so after some quick mental math, I hopped in the car. Keegan and I had just gotten American Black Duck as a lifer in Minnesota on Thanksgiving day, so our hopes were high that we'd be able to pick it out with our fresh experience.
When I arrived, Keegan and Pat were scoping the pond, and they said it had just flown, and my heart sank a little. But we took our time and after a bit of scanning, relocated one of the ducks, phew! I was able to snap a few bad-buit-identifiable photos in the last hours of gray light of that cold winter day, year bird #353.
One month to go!
I'm hopeful that I might be able to get another bird or two this December. Redpoll seems very possible, but the one bird that I really want is a Snowy Owl. So yes, my car doesn't quite get a break yet, I'll be driving gravel roads and scanning shortgrass prairies to see if I can find one. Also in mid-December, I have a trip planned out west with Eugene and Keegan, where we are targeting birds like Redpoll, Cassin's Finch, Evening Grosbeak, and more. No matter what we get, it will be fun to do a trip with others, capped off by the Christmas Bird Count in Scotts Bluff.
Thanks this month to Steven, Stephen, Keegan, Sam, Pat, Caroline (as always for putting up with my absence), and everyone else who has supported me this month and this year. We're on the final stretch!
- American Black Duck, Douglas
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