Nebraskaland

JULY 2015 • NEBRASKAland 25 whet eggs collected near Nebraska City about seven years prior. Since then, occasional sightings of the secretive bird were recorded at sites ranging from Lincoln County in the central part of the state to northwestern Nebraska's Pine Ridge, further raising suspicions of breeding. A road-killed saw-whet in juvenile plumage was found in Antelope County in 2002, all but confirming nesting in the state. Young birds had also been seen on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge and near Chadron State Park. "Previously we all 'knew' they were found in the conifers of the Pine Ridge," Mollhoff said. "Except that a guy working with them in northwest South Dakota found the biggest concentration to instead reside in deciduous-filled ravines." So, in 2012 Mollhoff took the owl by the beak, so to speak. He built 27 nest boxes and began traveling the state. He placed the boxes in locations saw-whets had been reported or that had habitat suitable for them. With cooperation of land managers and biologists from agencies such as Nebraska Game and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service, he placed boxes on state and federal property in Johnson, Lincoln, Thomas, Cherry, Sheridan, Antelope, Dawes, Sioux and Scotts Bluff counties. Making a nest attractive for a saw-whet owl requires getting off the ground and Mollhoff's climbing experience comes in handy. Research shows that they most frequently bear young in tree holes eight to 44 feet high. He makes his boxes with three- inch holes for entrances and sized to match tree cavities where nests have been found in other states. "Most of my boxes are in or near the pines, but are also placed in deciduous areas, too, just out of curiosity," he said. The project wasn't immediately a success. During the first two seasons, eastern screech-owls took to nesting in three of the boxes, but no saw-whets. The boxes also attracted northern flickers, American kestrels, and even bluebirds and house wrens on occasion. In year three, however, patience paid off. A box placed about as far west as one can get in the state would attract the birds Mollhoff was seeking – even though it wasn't immediately apparent. In March 2014, he found no birds but Nest boxes in the Wildcat Hills near Gering and the Pine Ridge near Crawford have the distinction as the first documented northern saw-whet breeding sites in Nebraska. This mixed media drawing by John James Audubon from the 1800s depicts a pair of northern saw-whet owls. A second-hand report of saw-whet nesting was made at a meeting of Nebraska ornithologists in 1899, but it would be more than a century later before a nest would be confirmed in the state. Gering Crawford

• Cover