34 
Nebraska Bird Review 
1968 CHRISTMAS COUNT 
Eighty species were recorded in the 
1968 Christmas counts, and two 
others were recorded as present dur¬ 
ing the count period but not sighted 
on the count itself. This is more 
than the 77 and 1, respectively, in 
the 1967 counts, which would be in¬ 
creased to 78 and 1 if Meadowlarks 
had been split, but is less than the 
81 and 3 and 86 and 5, respectively, 
reported for 1966 and 1965, Even 
after allowing for the fact that last 
year Scottsbluff did not report the 
number of individuals, and that no 
report from Beatrice or Wymore 
was received this year the individual 
count was down, 12,326 compared to 
17,475. House Sparrows accounted 
for 3,475 of the drop and Tree Spar¬ 
rows for 1,375. There were other 
changes, both up and down, of 
smaller amounts. Scottsbluff report¬ 
ed 14 Red^■shafted Flickers, Kearney 
and Omaha one each, and all others 
were reported as Yellow-shafted, 
The columns are arranged in an 
approximate west (left) to east 
(right) order, with the northern¬ 
most point shown first when points 
are of about the same longitude. 
The symbol “P” is used to indicate 
species present during the count 
period but not observed on the count 
day. 
Greeley. January 1. Fifteen mile 
diameter circle centered 7 miles 
north of Greeley on highway 281, to 
include Greeley, Pibel Lake Recrea¬ 
tion Grounds, the Moody farm 
northwest of Greeley, and points in 
between. Two miles by foot, 60 by 
car. 1 PM. to 5 PM. 90% open fields 
and pastures, 5% mixed woods, 5% 
pond and stream areas; Breeze from 
southwest, partly cloudy, 5° to 20°, 
a foot of snow on the ground, with 
drifts deeper, rivers and ponds com¬ 
pletely frozen except at springs. 
Scott Moody (reporter). Rev. Keith 
Bruning. 
Hastings, December 28. Fifteen 
mile diameter circle with center 2 
miles south of town on highway 281 
and 1.75 miles west. This includes 
the city with its parks and Parkview 
Cemetery, Lake Hastings, Crystal 
Lake, and woodlands along the Little 
Blue River. 8 AM to 6 PM, clear, 
5° to 17°, wind 5 to 15 mph, 23 
inches of snow, lakes frozen, many 
side roads closed. Ten observers in 
8 parties, 15 party hours; 6 miles 
on foot, 82 by car. Mrs. George An¬ 
derson, Bill Fink, Miss Geraldine 
Heartwell, Mrs. William Helzer, Mrs. 
Ray Horrigan, Mrs. Clifford Ken¬ 
nedy, H. L. Marsh, Burton Nelson, 
Mrs. O. W. Ritchey (reporter), Mrs. 
Harold Snyder. 
The Thrasher had been staying in 
Mrs. Anderson’s yard all fall and 
winter, eating at the feeding station. 
The House Finch was observed 
carefully for several days. It was 
identified by Mrs. A. M. Jones, but 
observed on the count day by Bill 
Fink. 
Kearney. January 2. All points 
within a 15 mile diameter circle, 
centered at Platte River bridge south 
of Kearney, to include Harmon 
Park, Kearney Cemetery, Kearney 
Lake, Cbttonmill Lake, Port Kearney 
State Park and Recreational Area, 
Platte River, Odessa Bridge, and city 
streets of Kearney. 8 AM to 4 PM. 
Clear in the morning, overcast in the 
afternoon, 12° to 18°, wind SE at 
10 mph, 25 inches of snow, river 1% 
open. Seven observers in one party, 
total party hours, eight. Laurie 
Brown, Linda Brown, George W. 
Brown (reporter), Marian G. Brown, 
Randy Brown, Ronny Marrow, Bar¬ 
bara Schroder. 
Lincoln, December 29. All points 
within a 15-mile diameter circle, 
centered at 14 and A, (as in pre¬ 
vious years). 8AM to 5PM. Clear, 
becoming cloudy at 10:30 AM. - 2° 
to 16°, wind NW 5 to 18 mph, 8 
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