Mareca strepera x Anas acuta Status: Rare casual spring visitor statewide Records: The only record is of one at Mormon Canal, Knox Co 29 Mar 2024 (Tommy Childers, Joni Rauert; eBird.org). Comments: Including the Nebraska record, there are only four Great Plains records, the others one in western Minnesota and two in eastern Colorado, along […]
Was 2024 the worst spring migration for warblers of all time?
By Joel G. Jorgensen – Nebraska Game and Parks Commission & Stephen J. Brenner – Audubon Great Plains Late April through May is perhaps the most anticipated time of year for birders in Nebraska and elsewhere. After months of cold, slow, and uneventful winter birding, most birders relish the opportunity to witness the northward push of […]
Cinnamon x Green-winged Teal (hybrid)
Spatula cyanoptera x ANAS CRECCA Status: Casual in spring. Records: There are two records: 7 May 2017 Father Hupp WMA, Thayer Co (Jorgensen photos, ebird.org) 16-18 Mar 2024 Wagon Train SRA, Lancaster Co (Straus et al, photos, eBird.org) Comments: This is a rare hybrid; the two Nebraska records are the only ones on the Great […]
[Fork-tailed Flycatcher]
Tyrannus savana Status: No accepted records Taxonomy: Four subspecies are recognized, breeding from southern Mexico to South America (AviList 2025). The southernmost two subspecies in South America are northward migrants in fall; most North American records are from Sep-Nov and are mostly overshoot migrants of subspecies savana with fewer reports of monachus (Jahn and Tuero […]
[Whooper Swan]
Cygnus cygnus Status: No accepted records Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Whooper Swan is closely related to Trumpeter Swan (Carboneras and Kirwin 2020). Comments: There are two reports of presumed escapees or releases: 19 Dec 2023 Two Rivers SRA, Douglas Co (Elizabeth Winter, eBird.org; Brogie 2024) 6 Mar 2022 Yutan, Douglas Co (Linette Bolin […]
Gray-crowned x Black Rosy-Finch (hybrid)
Leucosticte tephrocotis X LEUCOSTICTE atrata Status: Accidental. Documentation: Photographs: 9 Jan 2024 Toadstool Road, Sioux Co (Mlodinow, eBird Checklist – 9 Jan 2024). Taxonomy: For some time, the three Nearctic forms (Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. tephrocotis, Black Rosy-Finch L. atrata, and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch L. australis) were treated as subspecies of Asian Rosy-Finch L. arctoa, but were […]