Finally going birding tomorrow!

Through a combination of work and family responsibilities, I haven't really gotten out much in the last couple of months. I am finally going on an Avids trip tomorrow. Won't matter what we see, it's being out birding with friends that I'm really looking forward to.

Highlights of the last couple months:

• I saw the Northern Wheatear that was in Holmes County (Life bird 462, Ohio bird 305!)
• Added about 30 birds to my Massachusetts list when I spent a month working in south-central Massuchusetts
• Twitched after a Yellow Rail in Holmes County, but missed it
• Showed my son his first birds that he actually saw at the new Grange Insurance Audubon Center at the new metro park (American Goldfinches)
  

Woodpecker humor

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/woodpecker.png

Ohio Bird number 304 -White Ibis!

There's been a big post-breeding dispersal this summer, it seems. While not getting the rarities that Indiana has to our west, Ohio hasn't been completely overlooked: we've had two Brown Pelicans in the state (which I didn't see) and a juvenile White Ibis -which I did get to see!

The White Ibis was found in a little wetland along some old RR tracks in Guernsey County. The day it was posted to the Ohiobirds listserve, I was invited by my friend Brad to accompany him and Bill to go see it after work. I picked up Bill and we sneaked through rush hour traffic to get to Brad's house. Brad then took up driving duties and we headed off to Guernsey County. To make a long story short, we got there, saw the bird, and spent another hour birding this location, which was pretty productive - about 41 species of birds were present.

Sadly, it appears that the RR may be private property (Although not posted as such) and many people will not get the chance to see the bird.

New tripod, finally!

I've been wanting a new tripod for a while. The one that came with my Nikon is somewhat flimsy and has been missing a foot for over a year, and tends to tip over in a stiff breeze. My lovely wife has purchased for me a Manfrotto tripod - a low end model for about $130, but still a vast improvement over the current one. I hope to test it this weekend at some point - perhaps on Sunday, when I would like to do a little atlasing for the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas. There's a couple "Priority Blocks" about 50 miles north of here that aren't getting coverage, and while I don't have the time to really devote to covering them, I can at least get some observations recorded for them.

That's about all, really. Haven't had a chance to get out much, what with the current family schedule. There's a possibility I will be spending a good chunk of the fall doing archaeology around marshy areas in Massachusetts, which would have the side effect of providing good opportunities for adding to my Mass. list. And of course, I'm going to the UP this August for a week, and hope to get some good birding in then as well.

More Magee birds

I had my best day ever for bird photography last Sunday, I think. Here's a couple of the highlights:

Black-throated Green Warbler

Cape May Warbler


Tree Swallow

Nashville Warbler

Black-Throated Green Warbler

Bird gets its own private beach

Check this out. The Maleo, a bird that only breeds on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, has been given it's own private beach for the nesting season. This bird buries its eggs in volcanic sand which incubates them, and when the young hatch, they are able to fly immediately - talk about precocious!

Here's the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090515/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_bird_beach_3

Golden-winged Warbler at Magee Marsh

Finally - one of the last warblers on my Ohio list, and a life bird to boot! I saw this guy on Sunday at Magee Marsh. At first it was fairly far out, but then came in really close and I got halfway decent photos. This bird in number 460 for ABA, 303 for Ohio.