May Day birds at Greenlawn Cemetery

Eastern Phoebe, near the crypt where it nests

I spent two hours at Greenlawn Cemetery before work this morning, looking for migrants. Greenlawn Cemetery is a local Important Bird Area, and is especially attractive to migrants as it features large numbers of mature trees, a former gravel pit that has filled with water, and a little wooded ravine. I tallied 46 species of birds there, including six first-of-year birds: Swainson's Thrush, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo and Baltimore Oriole. A few photos from this morning's visit are presented below.

I have to try and hit migration hotspots when I can this week, as I will be gone for the remaining weekends in May (two weekends in Florida and one in Chicago). Tomorrow, I plan on hitting Whetstone Park in the morning in hope of getting Least Flycatcher, one of my Ohio nemesis birds (the other being Marsh Wren). Sunday, we're going to take Henry on a walk on the pet trail at Highbanks Metropark, which just happens to be a good spot for birding as well, with recent sightings of Summer Tanager and Golden-winged Warbler. I'll be hitting the local ravine every night as well, taking Henry there on his walk. Last night's walk was productive, as I added Wood Thrush and Kentucky Warbler to my neighborhood list, making it an even 50 (oddly, I still need Yellow-rumped Warbler for the list).

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Chipping Sparrow

Blue-headed Vireo

Shawnee State Forest in the spring

Last Saturday's Avid Birders trip was to Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County, with a few visits to places in Adams county afterwards.

Overlooking the Ohio River from Shawnee State Forest.

Shawnee State Forest, or just "Shawnee" for short, is a favorite place for many Ohio birders for early spring migrants. This is a great place to tick off the arriving warbler wave, and Saturday was no exception, with 20 species of warblers sighted or heard by the group (I myself only had 17 species in Shawnee, with an additional species sighted in Adams County). Highlights included great views of Broad-winged Hawks, Orchard Oriole, Scarlet Tanagers, White-eyed Vieroand of course, the warblers. The best warbler of the day was an obliging Cerulean Warbler, who came down and foraged just above eye level for us (on a side note, after getting back and taking Henry the Pug for his walk, I had even better looks at a Cerulean Warbler in Walhalla Ravine!). Shawnee is gorgeous in the spring, with all the dogwoods and redbuds blooming, imparting a palette of pastel whites, pinks and greens to the landscape - a perfect background to the boldly colored birds! I took a lot of photos, but only a few really came out. The best ones are below.

Cerulean Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler, living up to its name

Prairie Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

In all, I saw 81 species on Saturday, a pretty awesome day of birding! I added 30 new birds for the year, so I'm now at 191 species for the year and 168 for Ohio. My first of year birds from Saturday include (species followed by location of first sighting):

Green Heron (Shawnee Marina [SM])
Broad-Winged Hawk (Shawnee State Forest [SSF])
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (SSF)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Edge of Appalachia Preserve, Adams County [EA])
White-eyed Vireo (SSF)
Warbling Vireo (Pike County)
Red-eyed Vireo (SSF)
Bank Swallow (SM)
Cliff Swallow (Pike County)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (SSF)
Gray-cheeked Thrush (Walhalla)
Wood Thrush (SSF)
Gray Catbird (EA)
Blue-winged Warbler (SSF)
Northern Parula (SSF)
Blackburnian Warbler (SSF)
Prairie Warbler (SSF)
Cerulean Warbler (SSF)
Black-and-white Warbler (SSF)
American Redstart (SSF)
Worm-eating Warbler (SSF)
Ovenbird (SSF)
Kentucky Warbler (SSF)
Common Yellowthroat (EA)
Hooded Warbler (SSF)
Yellow-breasted Chat (SSF)
Scarlet Tanager (SSF)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (SSF)
Indigo Bunting (SSF)
Orchard Oriole (SM)

My best year yet for Ohio

As I mentioned in my last CBC post, I probably won't be adding anything to my Ohio year list before we leave for the UP on Saturday. So, I figured I would post a recap of the year.

I ended up with 254 species on my year list, 28 more species than last year. I've seen all but nine of the 205 birds categorized as "easy to see birds" on the new Ohio checklist with codes. The species I missed were Sanderling, Least Flycatcher, Marsh Wren, Summer Tanager, Vesper Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Dickcissel, and Bobolink. I also saw 9 review-list species, which may be a personal best for me. Of the Ohio birds I saw, 17 species were life birds for me: Thayer's Gull (Feb. 24), Long-eared Owls (March 3), Harris' Sparrow (March 10), Black-necked Stilt (April 21), Tri-colored Heron (April 21), Yellow-throated Vireo (April 28), Bell's Vireo (May 11), Mourning Warbler (May 12), Glossy Ibis (May 12), Sedge Wren (May 12), Alder Flycatcher (May 26), Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (May 26), Mississippi Kite (June 21), Lark Sparrow (July 26), Red Phalarope (Sept. 3), Orange-crowned Warbler (Oct. 6), and Black-legged Kittiwake (Dec. 8).

I also added the following birds to my state life list: Long-tailed Duck (Feb. 24), American Bittern (April 28), Yellow-headed Blackbird (May 12), Olive-sided Flycatcher (May 22), Evening Grosbeak (Nov. 10), Pine Siskin (Nov. 10), Red Crossbill (Nov. 18), Pine Grosbeak (Dec. 1), and Common Redpoll (Dec. 8). I have a total of 285 birds on my Ohio life list, which is pretty good considering there are 291 non-review species for the state (I have 22 birds to go to see every non-review list species).

All in all, a good Ohio year!

Avids trip, Sept 8 2007 - Godwits and more

I spent all day Saturday with the folks in my birding group, the Columbus Audubon Avid Birders. We birded most of the day up in the Sandusky region, concentrating on Sheldon Marsh for the confusing fall warblers (which I did find confusing, due mainly to the poor light and/or the inferiority of my binoculars to deal with poor lighting). I did get some good shots of the common Ohio herons there, as you can see below.

Juvenile Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Great Egret

Next stop was the causeway to Cedar Point, or "Chausee" as it is known among birders (I think that's French for "causeway"). Here we had great luck with shorebirds, finding a group of 8 Hudsonian Godwits, a Red Knot, several Short-billed Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpipers, an amazing 25 Western Sandpipers, a Baird's Sandpiper, both yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, and Pectoral Sandpiper. We also had an Eared Grebe, which was very early, but perhaps part of a grebe movement, as four Eared Grebes were found at Buck Creek State Park near Springfield that day as well. I also finally got Bank Swallow for my year list, which is now at 249 for the year, 239 for Ohio.

Hudsonian Godwits

Short-billed Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers

Finally, we ended the day at Hoover Reservoir, where we failed to relocate the Red Phalarope but did see a flock of 9 Buff-Breasted Sandpipers. We ended the day with 97 species.