State Bird #298: Wood Stork!

Three juvenile Wood Storks are hanging out in Coshocton County right now. I went out to see them last night with Brad, Paul and Jeff from my birding group, and we ran into Bill and Troy while we were there (along with about 30 Amish birders).

Wood Stork is an incredibly rare find for Ohio, with only a handful of previous records (I think - I need to check on that). Here's a photo of the birds from last night.

Glacier Ridge Shorebirds and waders

Yesterday I spent a fair amount of time at the Honda Wetlands Education Center at Glacier Ridge Metropark, primarily to see the Marbled Godwit. There was also a fair amount of other birds actively feeding around the boardwalk, which of course was ideal for amateur photographers like myself to practice taking pictures of birds. Besides the godwit, I got great photos of other birds. Here's the best of the lot.

Marbled Godwit

Juvenile Semipalmated Plover

Virginia Rail

Solitary Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Marbled Godwit- third times the charm!

I went out after work last night to try for the godwit again, and this time the bird was right there in all its glory! I'll have pictures up shortly. This is my 398th ABA bird and Ohio bird 297!

Waiting for Godwit

So, there's a Marbled Godwit hanging out at Glacier Ridge Metro Park. It's been there since Saturday. So far, I have been stymied TWICE in going after this bird which is about 25 minutes drive from my house:

-yesterday the park was closed for a marathon

-today I went at lunch and the bird was not making itself visible.

I should note that the bird was seen within a half hour of my arrival AND departure at the park.

I'm going again after work. This bird is NOT getting away from me that easily!

"Shall we hang ourselves?"

More shorebirding

I went out on what may have been the least well-attended Columbus Avids trip I've ever taken part in on Saturday - 5 people showed up (including me)! We went back up to the Bellevue area in search of more shorebirds. I was also hoping to snag a couple birds for my state list, but alas, I was stymied in that regard - no Eurasian Collared-Doves in Fort Seneca, missed Cattle Egret by a day at one location, and heard about a Marbled Godwit at Ottawa NWR (which happened to have the auto tour cancelled for the day).

Still, I got to study a lot of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, and didn't manage to turn any into a Western Sandpiper. I suppose that means I'm getting better at identifying shorebirds, but it sure doesn't feel like it! I did add one bird to my Ohio year list - White-rumped Sandpiper. We also had good looks at some Stilt Sandpipers and juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers. So, not a total bust for the day, and any day birding is pretty much a good day in my book. I'm starting to look forward to the fall warbler migration, which actually should be starting around here - have to start taking the dog on the ravine walks on weekend mornings again...

Going to be a lot less bird-related travelling next year

Because I'm going to be a dad! My wife is due in February, so most of my birding will probably involve a stroller in local parks next year - perhaps I'll be able to get to go on a couple Columbus Avid trips, but I expect to be mostly a homebody next year.