Hancock County, Ohio Area Birding

Western Meadowlark, Findlay Reservors

2011-05-02T20:51:00.002-04:00

UPDATE: As of May 5, 2011 at about 8PM, there were at least two Western Meadowlarks on oposite side the #2 boat launch. One where I previously decribed and another singing about 100ft south of the launch.

Typically I don't try to bird the exact same location multiple days in a row, but to be honest, the birding has been way too good to ignore.
Jeff Loughman and I headed out to the Reservoirs to try to relocate the Marbled Godwits. We could not, and it appears that most of the ducks on the Findlay Reservoirs also moved on. That's not to say we didn't get anything worthwhile.
On SR568, in a flooded field just west of the Blanchard River we observed 2 Willets and a Greater Yellowlegs, as well as three or four dozen Bonaparte's Gulls. These are apparently the same two Willets that Jill Taber observed earlier in the day.
At the parking lot to #2 (the large reservoir), we heard the very distinctive song of a Western Meadowlark. Upon searching, we found a probable second memeber of this species. Breeding??
From the parking lot, the bird was found along the dike roughly thirty yards to the north.

Marbled Godwits, Findlay Reservoir #1

2011-05-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

At about 6:20 PM on Sunday evening, I heard and saw two Marbled Godwits calling in flooded field west of Findlay Res #1 parking lot. They were still present a little before 9PM

Great day, Saturday April 30, 2011 (worth reading)

2011-05-01T00:38:00.001-04:00

Title says it all. The Hancock County Naturalist had a birding field trip in Oakwoods Nature Preserve on Saturday morning. While the sun refused to cooperate, the birds did! In summary, we had at least 54 species, which is decent considering it was still April and it stayed cloudy and blah weather-wise. Here are some good migrants we observed:
Spotted Sandpiper 2 (Shank Lake)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird chasing a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Almost too cute and funny to watch!)
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 20+
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Northern Parula 3-4 (We never saw any of them, despite wasting a lot of time trying to)
Yellow Warbler 6+
Yelow-rumped Warbler 42
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER 1 (Fishing Pavilion at Shank Lake)
PRAIRIE WARBLER (same spot)

Palm Warbler 13
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black-and-White Warbler 1

After the hike, I had to get to work at the parks, which to be honest quickly went to me looking for more birds.
Off of SR568 by the Blanchard River in a flooded field was three or four Greater Yellowlegs and two Willets. One of the Willets flew while I watched to make i.d. nice and easy. Thank you, Mr. Willet.
Also present was a sizeable flock of Bonaparte's Gulls and one adult LAUGHING GULL.
I have no picture of the Laugher, but it was considerably larger, stouter and darker-backed than the Bonnies present. Nearly Ring-billed sized (also present). Wing-tips were solid black, no white as what one would see on a Franklin's Gull.

At the Findlay Reservoirs, the ubiquitous Coots and Lesser Scaup were present in numbers.
Also observed were a few Greater Scaup, Pied-billed Grebes, and these two birds:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on the right a female Surf Scoter, and the left a female Long-tailed Duck. Always cool.

Finally I stopped by Litzenberg Memorial Woods west of Findlay and walked parts of the south section. There I saw Kingbirds, Common Yellowthroat, Louisianna Waterthrush and Swamp Sparrow.

I have yet to do a complete list, but I believe I ended the day in the low eighties for species seen.

Lots-o- Christmas siskins

2010-12-24T11:54:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas to all,
Jeff Loughman, my mother and myself were able to get permission to go out to Camp Berry on Christmas eve morning. Overcast; the sun never showed itself. Consequently all activity seemed located to just a couple areas. Still, worth going out. Some highlights

Wild Turkey 3- Plus many, many tracks.
Tufted Titmouse 15- Not rare, but they seemed to be everywhere. Often they were the ONLY bird calling.
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Hermit Thrush 3- Feeding on poison ivy berries
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4- Ditto
Lapland Longspur 1- Actually in fields NNW of Camp Berry
White-winged Crosbill 1- Heard him calling. Threw us for a while.
Pine Siskin 44- Probably a low number. We were watching some white-throats and white-crowneds near a little open water when a mass of siskins dropped from the sky. Fun to watch; they always seem to be quarreling with each other.

Common Redpolls in Van Buren SP

2010-11-07T10:58:00.000-05:00

I did some early morning hiking at Van Buren State Park in Van Buren, Ohio, and was rewarded by a flyby of about 3 Common Redpolls. They were with about 6 or 8 Goldfinches. It's amazing how similar some of their calls are to each other. Luckily, I was able to get a good look at one CORE and brief glimpses of two others.
For those of you familiar with VBSP, I heard an saw them as I just got on the access road that leads to the old campgrounds. For those unfamiliar, the access road is located off of TR229 on the NE corner of Van Buren Lake. There is a sign marked Group Camping Area that marks the road.
Not much else exciting was out bird-wise, though I did hear three different Carolina Wrens. After the past few years where these birds have been difficult to spot in Hancock, it's good to see that they are slowly making a comeback.

Early October Birding in Bluffton Ohio

2010-10-09T19:58:00.000-04:00

A group of 7 members of the Hancock County Naturalist traveled to NW Allen County and Bluffton Ohio to visit Bluffton Univeristy Nature Preserve. Beautiful day to be out, warmed up in a hurry. Very few insects.
Observation date: 10/9/10
Some highlights:

Wood Duck 13
Peregrine Falcon 1- adult bird, cruising south
Belted Kingfisher 2- very cooperative pair, posing nicely for us
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9- low count, probably many more
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 47+
Cedar Waxwing 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 22- low
White-throated Sparrow 13
Dark-eyed Junco 7
Purple Finch 1- proably an immature male, only showed partial coloration

(Crossing Riley Creek)

Avocets at Findlay Reservoir

2010-08-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

Jeff Loughman spotted an American Avocet at the Findlay Reservoirs on the dike between the two reseroirs, around 4PM Thursday.
I spotted this bird and possibly a second early on the foggy Friday morning.
On Sunday morning at dawn, Jeff and I spotted two Avocets flying east along the south dike of #1. Few other shorebirds were present.

Some Friday morning fog.

Late breeding season suprises (YTWA, NOPA)

2010-07-10T22:32:00.000-04:00

After not getting nearly enough sleep Saturday morning from working until 4am and then out again at dawn for OBBA field work, I decided to unwind by going to Camp Berry south of Findlay and.... bird, of course.
I was not dissapointed. In addition to arriving late enough (11:30am) to where the mosquitos weren't bad, I was suprised to hear two territorial singing Yellow-throated Warblers and tow singing Northern parulas, all within 200 yards of the pool at the scout camp.
Catching sight of one of the Yellow-throated Warblers, I was pumped to see it feeding a rather well developed young bird. Also the two singing YTWA's were at opposite ends of a rather large open field, so I wonder if that represents two separate pairs. YTWA's are rather rare breeders for Hancock County; I've only observed probable breeding evidence for this species from a small section of the Blanchard River just north of Mount Blanchard. It's possible they could also breed around the Clay Pits and maybe Van Buren State Park. Parula's are a bit more common, but still localized to our larger woodlots.

OBBA work; Least Flycatcher, Prothonotary, Am. Bittern

2010-06-07T21:42:00.000-04:00

Hello, all. I took this week off from my one job to focus on doing Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas sureying for Region 37. Today I spent the morning in Sandusky County, mostly around Gibsonburg. For those who have never been there, I recommend paying a visit to White Star Park just south of G-burg. Away from the quarry, it has a very nice variety of habitat. In particular, there are some great wetlands to be found off of CR 66, 1/2 mile northe of CR 65.
For a few highlights, the parking lot had a persistenly singing Least Flycatcher who went absolutely crazy when a Grackle got too close. Wierd seeing a Grackle getting chased by something a third its size. For OBBA volunteers, I went safe and called this "AB" (agitated behavior), rather than "DD" (distraction display/ dive bombing).
In the wetland, I hear at least two scounter-singing Prothonotary Warblers, and was very suprised to flush an American Bittern. Rather, it wasn't I that flushed the Bittern, but a Great Blue Heron seemed to, after I scared the heron. Both of these species were roughly 150 yards straight back on the trail from the parking lot.
Bobolinks and Eastern Bluebirds were plentiful in the grasslands in the park.

Big movement Saturday

2010-05-15T23:05:00.000-04:00

This'll be a quick post; it's much too late.
Saturday brought the biggest wave of migrants this spring to our area. Saturday morning found several memeber of the Hancock County Naturalists and myself at Springville Marsh in Seneca County. Warblers present included:
Tennessee
Nashville
N. Parula
Chestnut-sided
Magnolia
Black-throated Blue
Black-throated Green
Black-and-white
Redstart
Ovenbird
N. Waterthrush
Mourning
C. Yerllowthrat
Wilson's
Canada

At the same time we were at Springville, Jeff Loughman observed many warblers at Camp Berry, south of FIndlay, including an Orange-crowned Warbler
And at Riverbend Recreation Area, right by the Findlay Reservoirs, Nick Fensler report strong warbler numbers, including multiple Canada and Mourning Warblers, plus a Connecticut Warbler not far from te campgrounds.

Findlay Reservoirs, White-rumped Sandpiper, BB Plover

2010-05-09T18:59:00.000-04:00

The gale force winds from Saturday died down enough for Sunday to enjoy a walk out at the Findlay Reservoirs. It was pretty quiet around 11:30am, but what few things out there made it all worthwhile.

Firstly, there was one, possibly two, White-rumped Sandpipers on the dike between both reservoirs. I could kick myself; the one allowed me to get within 8 feet at one point.

There was also a Black-bellied Plover on the south dike in the extreme SE corner of #2 (the big one). Oddly, the bird seemed to be hanging out with a pair of Ring-billed Gulls.

The immature Common Loon that has stayed out there all spring was still present. Today he was tring out his song. Very odd to here a loon cry in the middle of a bright, sunny day. Still nice, though.

In the woods along the Blanchard River on the east side of the reservors, both species of Orioles were present, as well as a very persistently singing Northern Waterthrush. In both areas, Chimeny Swifts and Barn Swallows were present by the dozens.

Golden-winged Warbler, Litzenberg

2010-05-02T15:48:00.000-04:00

Early Sunday Morning Sue Baxter and I decided to dodge some rain and check out Litzenberg.
While the sheer numbers of species seems a down for early May (52), we did get a few good birds.
Easily the best was a singing male Golden-winged Warbler. Sue an I both got several decent to good views, plus the bird called about a half-dozen times in ten minutes.
This warbler was located in the far NW corner of the north side of Litzenberg Memorial Woods. Follow the main trails directly back all the way to the wooden service-access gate just off the back county road. The warbler was about 25 feet off the trail to the left, and about 15 feet up in an oak.

Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 5
Cedar Waxwing 43 big flock over the parking lot
Golden-winged Warbler 1 male singing and observed
Yellow Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 4
Common Yellowthroat 3

Scarlet Tanager 1 male
Vesper Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Indigo Bunting 2

Scoter, L. Waterthrush

2010-04-02T16:12:00.000-04:00

Hello, sorry for the delay on this end.
FIrstly, this week has seen a steady stream of ducks at the Findlay Reservoirs. Scaup are easily the most common. Few great rarities, but there was a male Surf Scoter near the point on Wednesday morning.
Since the Findlay Reservoirs are the best known birding spot in Hancock County, I offer these two tips:
1) It's best to start at the small reservoirs parking lot on the south end and walk to the point farthest out separating the two reservoirs. Its about a mile walk but almost always your best bet for birds.
2) You can't get there early enough in the day. On clear mornings, the first ducks and gulls start to leave about an hour BEFORE sunrise. I'm not saying good birds wont be out there later, just that the earlier in the day, the wider the selection and the greater the numbers.
Today (Friday) I got off work ealry this afternoon and went to Van Buren State Park and more specifically the east side. Pretty quiet overall, though I did hear a Sapsucker calling, and had a Louisianna Waterthrush in the wet bottomlands along the creek.

It's Spring! (sort of)

2010-03-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

It is definately starting to feel like spring outside. I had my first grackle for Hancock County of the year leaving a "calling card" on my car this morning. Over at Camp Berry, where I stopped by to talk to the camp manager, I heard several Red-winged Blackbirds fly overhead.
At the Wastewater Treament plant just beside I-75 in Findlay sported Several Redheads and a Lesser Scaup.
The Findlay Reservoirs are still iced-over, but will be opening soon. The shoreline is starting to show water. Of course this didn't stop the ice fishermen from being out there. At least three were on #2 at noon on Saturday. I rather enjoy fishing but I'm sorry, I don't get it. You couldn't pay me enough to walk out on solidified water, especially when it's melting!

Long-eared Owl

2010-02-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

On Monday evening around 7:30 (Feb 08) I was called out to the Brugeman Lodge at Riverbend because of non-functioning outdoor lights. As I typically do when I am called out on park duty after dark, I decided to try to call a few owls in. I gave what arguably could have been the worst Screech-Owl call in human history, and suprisingly, a Long-eared Owl responded. I traded a couple calls with the bird (I'm guessing male), before some fairly loud people heading to their cars interrupted us.
I have no idea why the owl reponded; I can't stress how bad my first call was. Perhaps the bird wanted to show the interloper how a real owl calls. I'm not complaining.
Weather has interrupted any chance at checking on this bird Tuesday evening. If you'd like to try to find it, Riverbend Recreation Area is located immediately NNE of the Findlay Reservoirs, perhaps 2 miles east of Findlay. This owl was calling from a pine grove located along side the county road, in between the Lodge and the reservoirs.

Springville Marsh Spring 2010 schedule

2010-02-07T15:47:00.000-05:00

As per several requests, here is Tom Bartlett's schedule for banding birds at Springville Marsh in Seneca County this spring:
March 13 Sat
March 20 Sat
March 27 Sat
April 3 Sat
April 11 Sun
April 17 Sat
April 24 Sat
May 1 Sat
May 9 Sun
May 16 Sun
May 22 Sat
May 23 Sun
May 29 Sat
All time are subject to rain-out. Call Tom Bartlett (419) 447-0005 if in doubt.
Nets are normally up well before sunrise and the first round to extract birds is usually at sunrise. The best rounds are normally the first two or three. Banding is almost always done by noon.
He sent me a .doc file containing this info, lus a few other dates/locations. If you'd like to have the file, feel free to email me (hancockbirding@gmail.com) and I'll send it off as soon as possible.

Lawrence Woods, Hardin County

2010-01-29T18:43:00.001-05:00

    Friday (Jan 29) found me with a very rare day off, so I went down to Lawrence Woods Nature Preserve in southern Hardin County.
    While it was slightly chilly, the themometer I brought along read -2F at 9 AM, it was still a worthwhile day.
    Woodpeckers were out in force; I saw 5 of our 6 woodpecker species. Downies, Hairy, sever Flickers, many Red-bellieds, two Pileateds, and one Sapsucker near the bird blind.
    A Barred Owl was also flushed out by several aggitated Blue Jays.
    The highlight was easily a Northern Shrike, that I saw in a tree line on the south border of the preserve (CH200). The tree line was perhaps 1/4m east of an old barn found on the preserve property.
    If you have never been, I'd recommend paying a visit to Lawrence Woods. It's roughly 4 miles south of Kenton. Take 292 south for Kenton and then take a right on CH190 (there's a sign), the entrance is a little over a mile down the road on the left. Watch out for horse-and-buggie teams.
    On the way back to Findlay, I took a detour to see what was flying around the Wetlands south of Forest, Ohio. 4 Harriers were seen (1adult male, 2 immatures, and 1 I didn't get a great look at). Also present were a Kestrel and a Red-tail that was being harrased by the adult male Harrier.

Chukar

2010-01-17T21:11:00.004-05:00

I spotted a pair of Chukars today (Jan 16) in northern Cass Township, in extreme north-central Hancock County, barely a mile south of Belleville.

Obviously birds released for hunting purposes, apparently at least two survived the hunt.

They were on TR 114, 1/4 mile west of TR 232.

TR114 is a pretty isolated county road with a nice-looking Wildlife Production Area found at the corner of 114 and 232. This location could be good for ticks, chats in summer, ticks, and perhaps a few migrants in spring, as well as ticks.

Note: The picture is a bit blurry because I had it set to manual focus and completely forgot to focus the thing. Ah well, live and learn.

Directions (from Van Buren OH):

Head east on US 613.

About 1 to 1.5 miles past the Allen Twp Sports Complex, there'll be a sea-green house on the left.

Take a left on the county road immediately past this house (this is TR232).

Take the next left (> 0.5miles down) (TR114)

The birds were 0.25 miles down the road on the left side, just past the first woodlot.

December 19 Hancock County Christmas count

2009-12-24T18:41:00.004-05:00

This should be the copmplete list of the Hancock County Christmas count, held last Saturday the 19th. I believe it totals 64 species, 1 "spuh", and 6 count week species. 38 people participated; about equall numbers of field people and "feeder watchers"
Contact me if you have any questions

Canada Geese 4775
Am Black Duck 4
Mallard 943
Bufflehead 1
Common Goldeneye 1 (count week)
Red-breasted Merganser 4 (count week)
Ruddy Duck 1
Wild Turkey 74
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1 (count week)
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 2
Bald Eagle 3
Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 9
Red-tailed Hawk 17
American Kestrel 14
American Coot 3
Sandhill Crane 2
Ring-billed Gull 124
Herring Gull 86
Great Black-backed Gull 12 Lake LeCompte (sp?) near Fostoria. Highest # ever for Hancock.
Rock Pigeon 297
Mourning Dove 284
Eastern Screech-Owl 3
Great Horned Owl 2
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 36
Downy Woodpecker 80
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 11
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 89
American Crow 30
Horned Lark 830
Black-capped Chickadee 53
Carolina Chickadee 3
Chickadee sp. 5
Tufted Titmouse 46
Red-breasted Nuthatch 63
Brown Creeper 8
Carolina Wren 8
Golden-crowned Kinglet 28
Eastern Bluebird 3 (Van Buren)
American Robin 10
Starling 2407
Cedar Waxwing 23
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 (count week)
Am. Tree Sparrow 160
Chipping Sparrow (count week)
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 17
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1 (yes.......)
Dark-eyed Junco 175
Lapland Longspur 2 (count week, where the heck are they?)
Snow Bunting 9 (hundreds were found in county during the week)
Northern Cardinal 165
Common Grackle 17
Brown-headed Cowbird 26
Purple Finch 10
House Finch 139
Common Redpoll 1 (Camp Berry)
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfich 151
House Sparrow 671

Thanks to Betty Hardesty to providing these numbers.

Findlay Reservoirs side note

2009-12-24T07:15:00.002-05:00

As of Monday, the Findlay Reservoirs were largely ice-covered. #2, the large one, was >98% covered with snow on top, and #1, the small one, was 75-80% iced with one sizeable hole remaining.
This is weeks earlier than our ten year average and also flip-flopped from normal. Typically, #1 freezes first.

Waterfowl

2009-12-13T17:02:00.002-05:00

That front from a few days ago really seemed to get the ducks and geese moving. On Sunday, I saw 2 Cackling Geese, Am. Wigeon, Shoveler, Am Black Duck, Ruddy Duck, Mallard and Redhead at Findlay Reservoir #1 (the small reservoir).
A bit later I stopped by Lake Cascades and saw an immature Greater White-fronted Goose. This is about the sixth or seventh record of this bird in Hancock County, about half of which are from Lake Cascades.
Lake Cascades is the large quarry just west of the hospital in Findlay and just east of SR15.

Sandhill Cranes

2009-12-11T12:18:00.003-05:00

Late Friday morning, I saw about 165 Sandhill Cranes from the parking lot of Oakwoods NP, SW of Findlay. They were heading in a SSE direction. In the past, I've seen waterfowl follow this path. In the past, birds along this route tend to show up later around Killdeer Plains. Now, I'm not promissing that's where the cranes were heading, but Killdeer Plains is always good this time of year anyhow.
As a follow-up, Allen Chartier posted on the Ohio Birds ListServ that he saw 45 Sandhills near Carey, probably near the Hancock/ Wyandot County line. I also heard from om Bartlett that there had been at least three flocks of cranes (50, 100, 150 respectively) around Tiffin on Friday. Looks like Friday was the big push for them.

A good Saturday morning.

2009-12-05T12:17:00.002-05:00

We finally have winter. Dodging snowflakes and pushed deer, I went east to a hike at Garlo Heritage Nature Preserve in Seneca County. It is south of Tiffin at the intersection of CR 6 and 19. While the hike was fairly quiet birding-wise, it was still a nice park to visit. Afterwards, I stopped at Forrest Nature Preserve, on CR 6 and drove by Howard Collier Nature Preserve, east of McCutchenville. On the way home, I took a look at Lake Cascades in Findlay. All told, a decent morning.
Some of the birds seen.
Cackling Goose 2 at Lake Cascades. They cooperated and were near the Interior and Lesser Canadas. It's a much easier i.d. when they're all together. :)
Canada Goose -150 at Cascades. Only noteable because most were Interiors, plus three Lessers.
One Canada X Domestic hybrid. It's a monster of a goose. Larger than an average Giant Canada.
Mallards and Black Ducks at Cascades.
Lesser Scaup- 200++ at the Findlay Reservoir #2
Pheasant- female at Collier
Bald Eagle -adult at Garlo
Red-shouldered- Collier
Rough-legged Hawk- patrolling a corn-stubble field on CR6, about 4 miles east of the Hancock/ Seneca County line.
Tons of Crows everywhere-Maybe they're being pushed out of the woods along with the deer?
Everywhere: White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, Tree Sparrows

An afternoon off

2009-11-25T18:11:00.002-05:00

Today (Wed, Nov 25) I was actually able to leave at noon today. I had a long list of projects to do at home in the afternoon, so I went birding instead and ended up doing a nothern Hancock County route.
First, I stopped at the Findlay Reservoirs and was largely dissapointed. 16 Canada Geese, half-dozen loons and Ring-billed and Herring Gull were at I could find.
Next, I swung over to Fostoria Lake Mosier (Reservoir #4). Geese, gulls and about two dozen Mallards were present, plus a couple of Pintails.
Finally, I went west to the Hancock County Landfill, SW of Van Buren. A soaring Cooper's Hawk welcomed me there. No waterfowl were present in any of the ponds, but the woods yielded Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tree Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and more than a few Crows and Blue Jays.
All-in-all not a very exciting birding afternoon, but as the old saying goes the worst day of birding is better than the best day of work. Maybe that's not a saying, but it should be.

Some good late migrants

2009-10-17T18:54:00.002-04:00

I hit Camp Berry, south of Findlay today (Sat the 17th). With this blast of cold, I figured that there would be a push of late Passerine migrants. I wasn't dissapointed.

Several of the migrants/ winter visitors seen:
Eastern Phoebe 2
Brown Creeper 3
Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet about 20-30 each
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler 7 This seems like an awfully high number, but I got very good, clear, short views of six of these.
Yellow-rumped Warbler 34+
Palm Warbler
Purple Finch 4
Sparrows seen were American Tree (many), Savannah, Fox, Song, Lincoln's, White-throat (gobs), White-crowned (2 dozen+), Junco

A sad by-product to migration today.

2009-09-22T18:42:00.003-04:00

I recieved a call from my mother today at lunch. About 7:30 this morning, she found an injured warbler that aparently had a head on collision with a door at St. Michael Church, near the corner of Tiffin and Bigelow Avenues in Findlay. She said the bird was in bad shape and may have two broken wings.
When I saw the bird, my heart sank. It was an immature Connecticut Warbler. Its wings weren't broken, but rather it appeared to have suffered a severe concussion. That it initially survived the hit at all is rather amazing.
The only thing one can do with a bird concussion is to put it in a dark, quiet place and hope for the best, and that's if the head injury isn't too bad. This bird was too far gone and died not long after I saw it.
Migration is a very risky venture for birds. Houses, windows, guide wires, cats, hawks, not to mention hunger and exhaustion all take their toll. It's little wonder that the average mortality in a given year for some of our songbirds can approach 80%.

Fall migrant wave today (Sept 12)

2009-09-12T12:58:00.003-04:00

Jeff Loughman and I decided to hit Camp Berry at dawn Saturday to see what was coming through. Despite the birding starting off rather slow, it definately picked up once the sun burned the fog off.

Several of our migrating highlights:
1 Olive-sided Flycatcher -great view, by the main lodge
1 Winter Wren
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Veery, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's Thrushes- one of each
Warblers
2 Tennessee
6 Chestnut-sided
5 Magnolia
1 Cape May
1 Black-throated Blue
1 Yellow-rumped
1 Yellow-throated- by one of the concrete cabins on the north east side
1 Pine- maybe more
3 Blackpoll
1 Black-and-White
3 American Redstart

Equally surprising was the almost total lack of sparrows. We had just one Chipping.

Tomorrow looks like it will be a carbon copy of today weather-wise.

Fall migrants

2009-09-07T18:04:00.002-04:00

Yes, I've been away for too long. Haven't been able to keep this darn thing as updated as I'd like.
Anyway,
Yesterday (Sept 6) showed a minor movement of shorebirds at Fostoria's Lake Mosier. Several Dunlin, as well as a couple Pectoral Sandpipers, a Semipalmated Plover and a Caspian Tern were present. Of note were the Killdeer, or rather all 173 of them.
Today, I dodged the rain and mosquitos and went out to Riverbend Recreational Area. Warblers passing through were Tennessee, Wilson's, Magnolia, Black-and-White, American Redstart, Nashville, and Ovenbird. Also present were Yellow-bellied, Least, and Acadian Flycatchers, and well as several Empids.

Least Bittern

2009-07-12T23:01:00.002-04:00

Around 12 noon today, I observed a single Least Bittern along Lye Creek in Findlay. The bird was sitting on a large, expose branch directly above a cattail patch.
I was on E. Sandusky Street when I saw the bird, and I was seen south of the road.

Eurasian Collared-Dove

2009-06-17T23:34:00.004-04:00

This is a bit of a late post, but I heard a Eurasian Collared-Dove along the Blanchard River immediately east of the Findlay Reservoirs on Sunday.
Its song is quite distinctive; if you haven't heard it, go to www.allaboutbirds.org and search for Eurasian Collared-Dove.

Late season migrants

2009-05-22T08:27:00.002-04:00

Thursday morning found me in Springville Marsh in SW Seneca County for bird banding. Eighteen species of warblers were seen, but the actuall total number of migrants was rather low. These were probably the late stragglers and I would guess migrants will be through by this time next week.

A few shorebirds

2009-05-18T14:22:00.004-04:00

I was luckily able to visit Findlay Reservoir #1 today in the late morning. Overall, very quiet, but a handfull of migrant shorebirds were to be found:

1 Solitary Sandpiper
5 Spotted Sandpiper
2 Least Sandpipers
1 Sanderling
10 Dunlin

Also Jeff Loughman reported seeing 11 Dunlin in a flooded field just north of Oakwoods Nature Preserve, along TR 144, sw of FIndlay in Hancock County.

A sleeping Dunlin:

Shorebirds at the Findlay Reservoirs

2009-05-17T17:53:00.003-04:00

The surest way to see birds is to leave your binoculars behind.
I took a walk around Findlay Reservoir #1 with a friend this afternoon (Sunday) Before, I concluded that there would be little more than gulls up on the water....

Shorebirds seen:
Spotted Sandp. 3
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3
"Peeps" 15+
White-rumped Sandpiper 2 (almost stepped on one!)

Two loons still were to be found out on #2, and two Bobolinks were calling along the south end of the reservoirs.

Dunlin

2009-05-17T10:39:00.002-04:00

I saw over 24 Dunlin Saturday immediately east of Findlay Reservoir #2 Saturday. They were in a small field that had some ponding. The field is between Res #2 and the Blanchard River, just of TR208, I believe, about 200 yards south of Riverbend Recreational Area.
Betty Hardesty reported a similar sized flock on Tuesday, barely 1/4mile east of here, so there's a decent bet that these are the same birds.
I've noticed this spring a drop-off in shorebird numbers in the usuall haunts this year, namely the Findlay Reservoirs. However, several area birders have seen decent numbers in at least three wetland that were put in late last year. I could be the sandpipers are going to gravitate towards better habitat.
They might be worth checking out for people:
1) East of Findlay Res#2 just east of the Blanchard River, "Younger's Wetlands". This is private property, but one of the ponds is in plain view from the road.
2) Just north of the corner or TR89 (River Road), and SR235. Once again, private property, but easily viewable from the road with a scope. Blanchard Landings park is immediately north of here for easy parking.
3) NE of the Hancock COunty Sanitary Landfill (sorry,no road numbers, I'll check on this). These are public access, but no trails, so be careful walking.

I know there must be others, I haven't spent much time looking for them. If anyone know of others, especially in Hancock or Putnam counties, I would be gratefull for the info.

P.S. The landfill site has some great grasslands around it. I counted at least 18 Grasshopper Sparrows the last time I was there.

Lazy- lazy

2009-05-15T19:27:00.002-04:00

I appologize, I do not update this near enough. I been birding at nearly opporitunity that having two jobs allow. For a brief summary, birding around here from last Friday to this Friday (15th) has been pretty good, with the exception of Saturday the 9th which was just not ideal weather conditions. Nothing spectacuarly rare, with the highlight being a female Golden-winged Warbler on Saturday at Oakwoods Nature Preserve.
In a five day period from Friday May 8 thru Tuesday, May 12, I observed 126 species in the county, which is the exact same numer of species I saw in the same period last year. (119 in 2007).
I promise to post with more regularity, folks.

Big wave hit Friday (May 8)

2009-05-08T22:50:00.002-04:00

Well, the title says it all.
I took the day off from work and hit Oakwoods Nature Preserve, SW of Findlay that morning. Pretty quiet for the first twenty minutes, then around 7:45am, it's like someone hit a switch. Neo-tropical migrants seemed to be falling out of the sky. At one point, I had 15 Black-throated Green Warblers. In one Buckeye tree. The sound was remarkeable; all 15 of them buggers doing their "zee-zee-zee zoo-zee!" call at the same time, along with several Nashvilles. Definately one of my better birding moments in a while. 74 species in 1 1/2 hrs, and the sun never came out from the clouds. I can only imagine what I would have been if it did.
Some highlights:
Warblers- Blue-winged, Tennessee (10+), Orange-crowned, Nashville (14), Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green (20++), Blackburnian, Palm. Black-and-white, Redstart, Ovenbird, Worm-eating (good look), Common Yellowthroat.

Tomorrow (Saturday), should be good in the morning for those dumb or brave enough to go out. Naturally, I'm heading out. The cold from is suppose to hit late morning. It's possible this front might bring over some unusual migrants.

Why aren't you out birding?

2009-04-27T11:17:00.003-04:00

This post is a few days past due; I've been either working or birding.
Firstly, I recieved a call Sunday from Ron S., who informed me that the Golden-crowned Sparrow was last seen Friday morning. Seems like it moved on.
Secondly, the first wave of migrants is here! Jeff and I hit Camp Berry Saturday and Oakwoods Nature preserve early Monday before work. Oakwoods seemed a bit more active. Rather than go through all the birds, I'll just list some of the highlights:
Thrushes: all species at Camp Berry, Swainson's v. common both places
Vireos: Blue-headed, Warbling, White-eyed (Oakwoods)
Warblers: Yellow-rumpeds, Yellow, Black-throated Green, Tennessee, Nashville, Worm-eating (in both places!), Black-and-white, Common Yellowthroat, Palm, Pine, Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky(!), and Hooded.

Also Sue Baxter emailed me to report that she had BOTH species of Tanagers. In her backyard. Not bad birding if you can get it.

About the Golden-crown again

2009-04-23T17:59:00.004-04:00

The public window for viewing the bird has past, and by all accounts it was a complete success. About 150-160 showed up, and virtually everyone got at least a glimpse. The overwhelming majority of people were kind and courteous, and the owners couldn't be happier. That being said, I think they are relieved it's over!
The odds are, one or two people will try to see it after today, but to be honest, I can't imagine the bird staying around for more than a day or two. The will change so dramatically this weekend, with strong south winds, that the bird would be a fool to stay.

Golden-crowned

2009-04-21T17:55:00.001-04:00

Follow this link, it says it all:

http://www.rarebird.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3954

Golden-crowned Thursday

2009-04-16T19:39:00.004-04:00

The Golden-crowned was still present Thursday, early afternoon. I was almost convinced it was leaving last night. Well, shows what I know.

Golden-crowned Update

2009-04-13T11:18:00.002-04:00

As a general FYI: The Golden-crowned was still present Sunday afternoon, April 12. I imagine tomorrow (Tuesday) that one or two other people will check again.

Eurasian Wigeon

2009-04-11T13:27:00.004-04:00

This seems to be a good year for 'goodies'. On Saturday morning a drake Eurasian Wigeon was observed at Springville Marsh Nature Preserve.
It was observed on the "main" pond, that is, enter the marsh via the boardwalk heading straight from the lot (not past the info board). After a while, the boardwalk splits, take it to the left. In about 100yds you'll come to the bird blind. He was out on the pond.
Stricktly speaking, Springville Marsh is Seneca County, in the SW corner on CR24 (Muck Rd.) It doesn't look like much at the entrance, but it's generally worth it to walk the boardwalk.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

2009-04-08T16:48:00.004-04:00

Golden-crowned Sparrow.

East of Findlay, Ohio April 08, 2009

The exact location is currently being kept secret at landowners' request.

The habitat is rural farmland, and the landowners' property is about 5 acres of mostly thick, over-grown grass with many brush piles and several bushes and trees.

It cannot be a coincidence that a Golden-crowned Sparrow (state 1st), and a Mountain Bluebird (state 2nd) show up at roughly the same time, within 45 miles of each other. The only reason this bird was sighted and reported is it just so happened to find an isolated (for Hancock County) house with ideal habitat. It doesn't hurt that the landowners' are wildlife nuts and know when they see an "odd" bird!

This is what gets me; how many other rarities are there in NW Ohio (and elsewhere) that are currently being overlooked? Argh! Enough to make me want to quit my jobs and go birding! So, if anyone out there would like to hire a full-time bird watcher in Northwest Ohio, let me know. I'll be happy to apply. :)

Spring migration warming up.

2009-04-05T21:12:00.002-04:00

It's definately looking a lot like April in the area. I took an early morning, pre-church hike Sunday to Riverbend Recreational Area. For those who don't know, Riverbend is immediately North, North-East of Findlay Reservoir #2, along the river, right where it makes a 90 degree turn west.
Migrants seen were Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, Fox Sparrows, White-throat and White-crowned Sparrows and many, many Juncos and Song Sparrows.
Also of note, observed flying overhead was one Common Loon and about 125 Bonaparte's Gulls, and along the wires just outside of Riverbend were my first Tree Swallows of the year.
The weather is suppose to turn nasty around here Monday and Tuesday; this will probably slow migration up quite a bit.

Early spring migrants

2009-03-30T20:10:00.002-04:00

Migration is well underway. I took a quick trip to Oakwoods Nature Preserve this afternoon with Jeff (Mon.). It was mostly quiet, but a few of the early migrants were present. Seen or heard were Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (2+), Fox Sparrows (6), Eastern Towhee, Golden-crowned Kinglets (several), plus many, many Song Sparrows some of which must have been migrants.

Later in the day I took a quick trip to the Findlay Reservoirs to check on waterfowl. The water was glass-smooth and fairly quiet. Red-breasted and Common Mergansers, Common Loons, Lesser Scaup and Redheads were present.

All in all not exciting, but it's always good to get out and get birding.

Sunday Banding at Springville Marsh

2009-03-17T19:23:00.003-04:00

Hi all,
This is a late post, but the 2009 bird banding season started on Sunday March 15 at Springville Marsh Nature Preserve in Seneca County.
If you have never been to a banding operation, I highly recommend it. I've been to perhaps a dozen different operations, and the SMNP is easily my favorite, but all of the banding operations were highly interesting.
I will try to do a more complete write-up of an average banding day in the future, but to summarize last Sunday, Tree Sparrows and Song Sparrows were in abundance in the nets. The best banded bird was a Fox Sparrow, and the best birds in the marsh were about 35 Rusty Blackbirds.

Waterfowl starting to move

2009-03-07T02:40:00.003-05:00

Friday after brought strong winds, warmer weather, and me to the Findlay Reservoirs to look for waterfowl.

Present on reservoir #2 (the large one) was three rafts of ducks: a small flock of Canada Geese (around 20), a flock of about 50 lesser scaup, and one raft of around 300 mixed divers. This mixed flock contained Lesser Scaup, Canvasbacks, and Ring-necked Ducks. There could have been more species, but viewing conditions were poor, mostly because of the gusty winds making it difficult to keep any piece of optics or persons steady.

The Findlay Reservoirs, for those who don't know, are found a couple miles SE of Findlay. Any half-decent map will show them. If you are new to birding it, I recommend starting at #1's boat ramp, which is on the southern side of the reservoirs about 1/4 mile west of the Blanchard Rivers. From there, walk around reservoir #1 (the small reserevoir). It's an easy walk and gives you good views of both reservoirs.

Even more Peregrine

2009-02-22T15:34:00.005-05:00

The Peregrine is still around the Marathon building, and once again, showing that I have the inability to see it in good light!
I was able to briefly talk to a Marathon employee (Dennis, I think) and the impression I gathered from him was the workers were excited about this falcon's presence.

Peregrine

2009-02-21T11:53:00.004-05:00

The peregrine was found again around 5PM Friday. Its favorite perch appears to be nar the top of the building close to the North-east Corner. If I can ever get there when there's decent light, there might be some decent opporitunities for pics.

Pergrine Falcon, Marathon Building, Findlay

2009-02-16T15:15:00.002-05:00

Based upon a tip from Betty Hardesty, I spotted a Peregrine Falcon this afternoon around the Marathon building in downtown Findlay. Apparently this bird has been seen on-and-off my Marathon employees most of the winter. One can hope that eventually there'll be a nesting attempt. This would also explain the noticeable decline in Rock Pigeons in Findlay this winter!
I found this bird twice in the space of an hour. Once it was perched on an eighth flood window ledge on the south-facing side of the main building, and once on a pole on the far eastern side of Marathon.
Shortly after these shots, the Pergrine took off, heading SE over the YMCA and heading towards Eagle Creek. Parking in mid-day can be a bit tricky at times around the Marathon Building, but there is some public spots on Beech St between Lincoln and Hardin Streets.

And a couple of zoomed in:

Dark Red-tailed Hawk near Oakwoods

2009-02-10T18:56:00.000-05:00

Not a new species, but interesting nonetheless, I saw a very dark Red-tailed Hawk on Monday just NE of Oakwoods Nature Preserve, on TR 144 just outside Findlay, OH

This bird was first seen about 4:40PM perched at the very top of a pole. It was rather skittish for a Red-tail Hawk, and wouldn't tollerate someone out of a car. This and the overall lighting conditions made not the best shots but good enough.

I talked to Jeff, a former Hawk Watch volunteer, who in turned talked to yet another Jeff (Shultz) in Michigan who is rather excellent in hawk i.d. They both thought this was a Western Red-tailed Hawk, or some form of Western and unknown integrade.

No clear shots of the breast but it was a very thick and dark band. It appeared to simply have a whitish throat, with a bit of white near the legs.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Horned Grebe on the Blanchard

2009-02-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, there
A Horned Grebe was seen this afternoon on the Blanchard River, roughly 100yds west of I-75.
This winter plumaged individual was swimming with the wintering Pied-billed Grebe. Also present was a Great Blue Heron, as well as the omni-present Canada Geese and Mallards.

Tough walking; good birding Saturday.

2009-02-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning found Jeff L., his friend Jeff, and myself birding at Camp Berry. Very cold, single digits to start, perhaps 10 to 15 below wind chill. We walked primarily along the Lone Scout Trail, which roughly follows SR 68. We were obviously the first people to walk this trail in a while; the snow was untouched and up to 18 inches deep. We got a workout birding!
Our primary goal was to search for crossbills, and we were largely unsuccessful. A brief listen of a couple White-winged call notes and that was it.
We had good birding otherwise. Probably 30 Pine Siskins, at least as many Cardinals. White-throat and White-crowned Sparrows were found along with several Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Four Wild Turkeys were also seen. The "odd" bird was a Turkey Vulture seen soaring. There was a dilapidated barn near where the vulture was seen, I guess that is where it's been staying.
With luck, I hope to hit Camp Berry, west section, either Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon.

Wood Duck, Pied-billed Grebe; w. Findlay

2009-01-30T20:32:00.000-05:00

A female Wood Duck and a Pied-billed Grebe were seen Friday afternoon on the Blanchard River, on the west side of Findlay. They were both within 100 ft of the I-75 bridge. They were viewable from either North or South River Road. This section of river is currently the only major area of open water left in Hancock County.

Chipping Sparrows

2009-01-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

This winter has seen a fair numbers of Chipping Sparrows apparently over-wintering around Hancock County. Our Christmas count on Dec 20, 2008 had 4 reports of the species, and for about a month my parents' feeders have hosted up to four of these birds, two in summer plumage.

Pine Siskins are plentiful.

2009-01-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Bob here,

This witner has been amazing state-wide for two particular winter finches: White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins. Both have been seen in Hancock County this winter, with Pine Siskins being the most plentiful. As this winter has progressed, they are frequenting feeders more and more. Odds are, if you maintain a thistle sock or thistle feeder, you have had, or will have, Pine Siskins.

If you are familiar with American Goldfinches, you can find siskins. They are the same size as goldfinches, maybe a bit thinner looking, and they act similar. In fact, they are often seen together. Simple tell, if the breast is streaked, it's a Pine Siskin.

Personally, I've seen a couple at my thistle. My parents have had as many as 15, and Jeff L. has had several as well. All of our houses are in Findlay.

Not my pic, but shows a typical Pine Siskin at a typical location; the thistle feeder.