April 2025 • Nebraskaland 35
warblers. Eli is quick to identify many species. "Without Eli,
we have a lot of question marks," Corey said. "We really rely
on him like with the sparrows. It's hard to be conclusive, but
that quick, he's got it."
"Corey and I, when we're birding with the kids, we don't
have to work as hard to fi gure out what stuff is," Andi added.
The boys sometimes walked to Hanscom Park near their
home in midtown Omaha to look for birds, once spotting
a Cape May and hooded warbler on the same day. Until
recently, they relied on their parents to drive them to birding
spots farther from home. Those drives were for searching rare
birds reported on eBird, a website and app created by Cornell
Lab that allows birders to track and share their sightings.
"That's what really got me into it," Eli said of eBird.
Their bird identifi cation skills didn't go unnoticed with
birders met during the outings. Colleen Childers of Grand
Island and Boni Edwards of North Platte, both accomplished
bird-watchers, met the family when they were all among
birders gathered to see a limpkin that had stopped in Omaha
Silas, Eli, Corey and Andi Weber watch a bird in the woodlands at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue last spring. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
Eli Weber photographed this cinnamon/blue-winged teal
hybrid on the wetland at Fontenelle Forest last spring. ELI WEBER
