SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS 
One of several Brown Pelicans noted in spring 2009 was 
this immatyre found 31 March through 14 April (here) at 
Fort Gibson Lake, Cherokee County, Oklahoma, part of an 
increasing trend of occurrences in the Southern Great Plains 
region. Photograph by Steve Metz. 
ton, NE 19 Mar QGJ)- a Cattle Egret ar- 
rived in Lancaster, NE 30 Mar (LE). A Little 
Blue Heron was northerly in Seward, NE 17 
May 3S was a Yellow-crowned Night- 
Heron 11 May in Omaha (KCR). Vagrant Tri- 
colored Herons wandered to Oklahoma 12 & 
17 Apr (BD) and Cherokee, OK 1 May (SB). 
An ad. and imm. White Ibis made it w. to 
Hackberry beginning 9 May (L&MT). Glossy 
Ibis reports from Nebraska totaled 8 birds 23 
Apr-17 May (PD, JGJ, CG, TJW), and 3 
Glossies were in Kansas; 2 at Cheyenne Bot- 
toms 24 Apr (SS) and one in Sedgwick 9 May 
(PJ). In Oklahoma, one Glossy and one Ple- 
gadis hybrid were seen 24 Apr+ at Hackberry 
(JWA, L&MT), up to 7 Glossies were in Alfal- 
fa 17 May (fide RW), and one hybrid was at 
Red Slough 21 Apr (DA). Early were White- 
faced Ibis in Sequoyah 10 Mar (SB) and in the 
e. Rainwater Basin 11 Apr QGJ)- 
VULTURES THROUGH TERNS 
Early arrivals included a Turkey Vulture in 
Douglas, NE 6 Mar (DB) and single Ospreys 
in Cheyenne, KS 4 Mar (RR) and Sai-py, NE 5 
Mar (PSw). Quite a surprise were single 
White-tailed Kites in Pontotoc, OK 10 & 21 
May (AC, WAC, DW et al.) and in Seward, NE 
30 May (LS). Mississippi Kites were noted n. 
to Dawes, NE, where a subad. was seen 27 
May (WF). A shad die-off concentrated 273 
Bald Eagles in Loup/Garfield, NE 12 Mar (DS). 
An ad. Ferruginous Hawk was still present in 
Tulsa 10 Mar (JD). Red-shouldered Hawks are 
now breeding in Lancaster, NE (LE), a north- 
westward extension. Broad-winged Hawks 
continued a trend of more westerly sightings, 
with singles in Perkins and Grant, NE 25 Apr 
(WF), Dawes, NE 29 Apr (RO), and Keith, NE 
2 May QGJ). Easterly Prairie Falcons were in 
Cedar, NE 25 Apr (DAI) and Fillmore, NE 16 
May (MB), the latter also a late date. Resident 
Peregrine Falcons in Lincoln, NE produced 4 
nestlings by 20 May O^J). 
Yellow Rails, seldom seen, certainly mi- 
grate through the e. edge of the Region; a 
more westerly report was from the Salt Plains 
6 Apr QWA); another was noted in Johnson, 
KS 8 May (DM). A Black Rail was found 22 
Apr at the traditional Quivira site (HH, RL), 
and 3 were seen 15 May in a recently discov- 
ered area in Beaver, OK (EBk). King Rails are 
dependable at Red Slough; others were at 
Hackberry beginning 19 Mar (L&MT, m.ob.). 
Up to 3 Common Moorhens at Hackberry be- 
ginning 9 May (L&MT) may have been nest- 
ing. Purple Gallinules arrived by 28 Apr at 
Red Slough (5 birds; DA). A pair of Sandhill 
Cranes bred again in Morrill, NE, producing 2 
chicks by 23 May (KD). The Common Crane 
was photographed again in Garden, NE 18-21 
Mar (GB); one was there in 2007 also. An ear- 
ly juv. Whooping Crane was in Hall, NE 16 
Mar ORe). 
The Region saw both early and relatively 
high counts of shorebirds 
this season. Black-bellied 
Plover high counts included 
320 at Quivira 9 May (SS, 
DKa, LHe) and 363 in the e. 
Rainwater Basin 14 May 
QGJ), with 20 still in John- 
ston, OK 31 May (BA). Early 
were American Golden- 
Plovers at Sooner L. 4 Mar 
QH) and in Seward, NE 6 
Mar OGJ). Snowy Plovers ar- 
rived 7 Mar at the Salt Plains 
QH); others wandered north- 
ward to the e. Rainwater 
Basin 23 Apr-18 May (5 
birds; PD, JGJ, JG), with sin- 
gles in Antelope, NE 13 Apr 
(MB) and in Lincoln, NE 2 
May OGJ); high count for the Salt Plains was 
2600 on 26 May (fide RW). Piping Plovers 
bred at scattered locations in Nebraska; mi- 
grants included singles at Quivira 26 Apr (SS) 
and Pawnee, KS 12 May (SS), Hackberry 12 
May (L&MT), with 3 on 1 May in Tulsa (PS, 
JL). Two Mountain Plovers were found 5 May 
in Kimball, NE (RE). 
A Black-necked Stilt arrived early at the Salt 
Plains 10 Mar (RS), as did 2 American Avocets 
at Hackberry 23 Mar (L&MT); easterly was a 
Black-necked Stilt in Sequoyah, OK 16 May 
(SB). Also early were Greater Yellowlegs in 
Buffalo, NE 4 Mar (KS) and in Phelps, NE 6 
Mar (PD). There were 23 Lesser Yellowlegs at 
Hackberry on 1 Mar (L&MT); the 4 on 9 Mar 
in Lancaster, NE (LE) were exceptional. Con- 
tinuing the string of early arrivals were a Soli- 
tary Sandpiper 3 Mar (exceptional) at Red 
Slough (DA), 4 Upland Sandpipers 19 Mar at 
Hackberry (L&MT), and 2 Long-billed 
Curlews in Sheridan, NE 31 Mar (BP). Early 
Hudsonian Godwits, all 11 Apr, included 24 
in Clay, NE (JGJ), 25 at Quivira (SS, DKa), 
and 106 at Hackberry (L&MT); some 550 
Hudsonians were counted in cen. Kansas 12- 
15 May (MT, GY, MR, SS). Whimbrel has be- 
come more common in the Region in recent 
years; observations of 25-28 birds spanned 
from 24 Apr (York, NE; JGJ) through 19 May 
(Hackberry; L&MT). Two Long-billed 
Curlews at Hackberry through 28 May 
(L&MT et al.) and a Marbled Godwit 27 May 
in Lincoln, NE (TJW) were somewhat tardy; a 
Long-billed Curlew in Seward, NE 18 Apr 
QGJ) was e. of usual areas. The 20-1- Red Knots 
at Quivira 15 May (SS) made an outstanding 
find; knots are very rare during spring in the 
Region. Early arriving Calidris at Hackberry 
included 2, 8, & 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers 
1, 19, & 20 Mar, respectively, single Western 
Sandpipers 1 & 19 Mar, 1-4 Dunlins begin- 
ning 1 Mar, and 3 Stilt Sandpipers 4 Apr (all 
L&MT). Early Nebraska arrivals were 6 
White-rumped Sandpipers in the e. Rainwater 
Basin 26 Apr OQ)- 2 Baird’s Sandpipers in 
Saunders, NE 8 Mar (CNK) and one in Keith, 
NE 10 Mar (TJW), a Dunlin in the e. Rainwa- 
ter Basin 21 Mar 0GJ)> ^nd 11 Stilt Sandpipers 
in York, NE 10 Apr (SMo). High counts of 
Baird’s included 1700 in the e. Rainwater 
Basin 24 Apr QGJ) and 3000 at the Salt Plains 
6-7 Apr QWA). Buff-breasted Sandpipers ar- 
rived in the e. Rainwater Basin 25 Apr (5 
A farm near Boise City, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, near the western end of the 
Panhandle, had several interesting eastern migrants in spring 2009, including this 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 9 May. Photograph by Steve Metz. 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 3 
461 
