Notes From The Field

Grassland/ Wetlands Series

Shaker Trace Wetlands/ Fernald Perserve

Southwestern Ohio isn’t noted for their miles and miles of grasslands/ wetlands. The small pockets that dot this area are few and far between, and on a much smaller scale. So this last Saturday my focus was on 2 of our larger preserves that contain some of the Summertime residents that frequent these grasslands/ wetlands. And if you happen to have read last weeks blog post you’ll also notice that I’m returning to Shaker trace Wetlands. You can’t talk about open grasslands/ wetlands without birding at this small corner of Miami Whitewater Forest.

So I was on the road by 6 am. and arrived just before 7 am. just as the sun started to heat things up a bit. The reason for such an early start was to try again to catch the Henslow’s Sparrow singing, and get a digiscoped picture. This way I can keep my distance from the bird, and hopefully get some awesome shots. Today’s trip is about taking pictures of birds that frequent this kind of habitat, and as birder’s what to expect to see.

These open grasslands/ wetlands come alive in the morning. Birds are everywhere and as I identify birds by ear as I hurry along towards where Jon and myself sighted the Henslow’s last week. A great variety of species come to mind as I try to ID each one by sound. But my focus is finding a good spot to set up my scope and camera and waiting for them to sing. And I didn’t have to wait long.

The bird jumped up onto the top of a small bush and started to sing. So I set up my rig and set about getting some pictures despite the sun being in an awful angle, that placed a bad glare in the finished photograph.

As you can see the sun is low in the sky which creates a lot of glare in this picture. So changing position, without spooking the bird was important.

With the bird positioned in such a bad place when it comes to the angle with the sun, I made the decision to move slowly and re-locate myself for a better shot.

Huge difference in quality and lighting.

I love it when they throw their heads back and sing.

The Henslow’s Sparrow was named to honor clergyman, geologist and botanist John Stevens Henslow, by his good friend John James Audubon. John Henslow was also one of Charles Darwin’s teachers and mentor. It was Henslow who was first approached to be the naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle for that 2 year voyage to South America. After Henslow’s wife dissuaded him from going, it was a letter from Henslow to the ship’s captain suggesting that Charles Darwin was the man suitable for the job. And we all know how that voyage went?

I stayed in the area watching the Henslow for about an hour before moving on. I continued on the bike path till I came to the “Farm Road”, a mowed swath cutting directly through the heart of the grasslands/ wetlands. This was my path.

The American Goldfinch is one of the most colorful, and easily seen as I made my way across.

It’s during this time of year that the Tree swallows become more and more bold as they protect their territory.

The Willow Flycatcher is easily recognized by it’s voice and the kind of habitat you find it in.

The warbler of the grasslands, the Common Yellowthroat. I just don’t understand how this bird stayed still for so long. Even a blind squirrel…

Another one of my seasonal favorites, Field Sparrow.

A Dickcissel sings from it perch in the middle of the grassland.

As you make your way deeper along the farm road waterfowl fly back and forth. Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, Green and Great Blue Herons soar overhead as Red-winged Black Birds call unceasingly. As we approach the end of the farm road we start coming into the trees that border Shaker Trace. It’s from this vantage point where the lay of the land is spread out in front of me.

It’s from these dense, shrubby vegetative areas when I start to hear the “chattering” of the Yellow-breasted Chat, our largest warbler species. Now it’s one thing to hear them, with their distinct song, but locating them and getting a picture has always proved a challenge for me.

Then I looked up…

…and there he was perched in the top of this tree. But he was constantly moving from one tree to another, but always in the same general location.

It wasn’t just one “Chat”, it was multiple “Chats” that kept me entertained as I walked along the western border of Shaker Trace back towards my car. They would call from high up in the trees, and their calls would travel with me.

After leaving Shaker Trace it was onto Fernald Preserve for more Dickcissels, Blue Grosbeaks, and hopefully Grasshopper Sparrows.

Stay tuned for more.

Upcoming Post

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers day to all you dads out there. And with it being Fathers Day my posting from yesterdays field trip will be slightly delays till I can get all the pictures reviewed and in order. It was a busy digiscoping day and with the focus being on Summertime grassland birds I feel that taking my time is in order. Hopefully by tomorrow.

A Birders Haiku

Dedicated to the birder, as we begin the week.

Goldfinches basking

like yellow leaves on a tree

small grains of sunshine

By Phil Burgio

Notes From The Field

Miami Whitewater Forest & Campbell Lakes Preserve

In the waning days of Spring, as more and more migrants depart to their respective breeding grounds, our thoughts turn to our own summertime residents. Here in the Ohio valley our woodlands are teaming with Wood Warblers, Tanagers, Vireos, Thrushes and Flycatchers. However for myself and others we’ll brave the blazing sun and heat as we head out into our local wetlands/grasslands. These are the  summertime homes of reclusive Sparrows, Dickcissels, Bobolinks, Blue Grosbeaks, and Meadowlarks. And it’s these species we’ll be focusing on as Spring turns into Summer in just 10 days.

So yesterday morning I picked up Jon and we made our way to Shaker Trace Wetlands at Miami Whitewater Forest. With 123 acres of wetlands and 296 acres of planted prairies this is just one of the tri-states best birding spot. And today’s target bird is the Henslow’s Sparrow. Some recent chatter on Cincinnatibirds message board gave us a good idea where to start our search. As we walked the bike trail that bisects this area Yellow Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Towhees, and Red-winged Black Birds called from either side. As we passed into the vast openness of grasslands we started to pay attention more closely for the Henslow’s “hic-cup” type call.

It was Jon who stop and paused first. Above all the other birds singing, trying to pick out a small 2 note call is tough.

Willow Flycatcher greeted us as we made our way out onto the grasslands.

Then both of us heard the call. Now all our attention is tuned into the Henslow’s whereabouts. And since Jon heard it first, it was me who spotted it as it crept along the grassy border where the short and tall grass meet. We both got on it and verified it was indeed a Henslow’s Sparrow. Then it flew to a nearby bush where it perched on top and started to sing.

And since I didn’t have my digiscoping rig with me I really had to try and get close to capture any kind of picture. As we positioned ourselves to get a better look it flew down into the long grass. We moved onto a mowed path that ran parallel to the bike path and the bird jumped out. Quickly I took some pictures.

As far as I was concerned, this was a successful trip with such a great bird. Not wanting to bother this bird because of our concern that their nest was close by (there were actually 2 Henslow’s) we retreated down the trail, and made our way towards the bird blind that overlooks the wetlands. We scanned from the blind for a few minutes before heading out onto the overgrown dike that cuts across the narrowest part of the wetlands. This time were looking for a Least Bittern. We never got any look at the Least Bittern, however we heard what we thought was one calling. As we moved closer to the bird, it quit calling.

We moved on and made our way back to the car where we continued to explore more of the shadier portions of the park. The sun was up and beginning to melt our brains. We drove to the Timber Lakes region of the park where dense trees cover deep ravines. Wood Thrush, Hooded Warblers, and a Ovenbird were some of the species either seen or heard. However the highlight were all the Cerulean Warblers. From the tops of the towering trees we could hear them sing. Multiple birds were putting on a vocal display as we searched for any movements. We’d see a single bird fly from one tree to the next, but with such dense follage picking them out from all the leaves was next to impossible.

As the morning wore into the afternoon we drove over to a new place for me, Campbell Lakes Preserve. Once a gravel quarry with 4 lakes that are now used as play fishing lakes, this property now under the Hamilton County Parks District control, this is the same park where a Least Tern was seen for a day just last week.

Encompassing 183 acres, besides the lakes that dot the park this is how the land scape basically looks. Perfect grassland habitat. As we walked along we made our way towards the Great Miami River for a look over the bluff. As we approached this dead tree I couldn’t help but notice a Brown Thrasher calling.

It was then joined by 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers.

Another one of our target birds for the day.

Blue Grosbeaks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Orchard Orioles, and a hunting American Kestrel were just some of the birds seen while we visited this new, but soon to be re-visited park. And with all good things, this day had to end.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Carolina Wren
2. House Wren
3. Red-winged Black Bird
4. Northern Cardinal
5. American Robin
6. Least Bittern?
7. Song Sparrow
8. Field Sparrow
9. Henslow’s Sparrow
10. Grasshopper Sparrow
11. House Sparrow
12. Chipping Sparrow
13. Warbling Vireo
14. Red-eyed Vireo
15. Yellow-throated Vireo
16. Indigo Bunting
17. Eastern Kingbird
18. Willow Flycatcher
19. Acadian Flycatcher
20. Eastern Wood Pewee
21. Eastern Phoebe
22. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
23. Mallard
24. Canada Goose
25. Wood Duck
26. Turkey Vulture
27. Red-tailed Hawk
28. American Kestre
29. Red-bellied Woodpecker
30. Downy Woodpecker
31. Hairy Woodpecker
32. Pileated Woodpecker
33. Red-headed Woodpecker
34. Orchard Oriole
35. Baltimore Oriole
36. Common Grackle
37. Tree Swallow
38. Purple Martin
39. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
40. Barn Swallow
41. American Goldfinch
42. Blue Jay
43. Eastern Meadowlark
44. Killdeer
45. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
46. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
47. Brown Thrasher
48. Eastern Bluebird
49. Mourning Dove
50. Yellow-breasted Chat
51. Cerulean Warbler
52. Hooded warbler
53. Yellow Warbler
54. Common Yellowthroat
55. Ovenbird
56. Northern Parula
57. Blue Grosbeak
58. White-breasted Nuthatch
59. Brown-headed Cowbird
60. Northern Mockingbird
61. Eastern Towhee
62. Gray catbird
63. Cedar Waxwing

Spotlight On Ohio Birds

Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla)

Family:  Parulidae

Order:  Passeriformes

Description:  4 -5″ (10 – 13 cm)  ADULT MALE Has mainly olive-green back, with darker flight feathers and tail. Head and neck are mostly blue-gray, but note rufous crown patch and white eyering; throat and underparts are bright yellow. Legs are dark. ADULT FEMALE Similar to male, but less colorful, with dull underparts, browner head, and reduced crown patch. IMMATURE Similar to adult female, but even paler, with whitish throat and belly and no crown patch.

Voice:  Song is in two parts, first bouncy and whistling, second rapid and trilling: t’se-t’se-t’se-t’se, se’se’se’se’se; call is a thin tsip.

Habitat:  Common summer visitor (mainly May-Aug) to deciduous and mixed, brushy woods; often in secondary growth. Winters in Central America.

Nesting:  A neat cup of moss, bark, leaves, and grasses, lined with fine grass, pine needles, hair, or other fiber. Located on the ground under brushy vegetation or small trees.

Range: 

FYI’s:

• The Nashville Warbler sometimes uses porcupine quills as nest material.
• Most first-year Nashville Warblers migrate along the Atlantic coast, while adults tend to migrate along inland routes.
• The Nashville Warbler does not regularly breed near Nashville, Tennessee, but was first observed there in 1811 by Alexander Wilson, who named the species.
• The western population of the Nashville Warbler was once considered a separate species, called the “Calaveras Warbler.” It is slightly brighter than eastern birds, with a brighter yellow rump, more extensive white feathers on the lower belly, and a slightly longer tail.

Resource material provided by:

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology/
http://www.allaboutbirds.com

http://www.audubon.org

Breaking News

Here’s some exciting news from Macaulay Library at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They’ve just released the Cornell Guide to Bird Sounds: Master Set of North America, downloadable to your personal MP player.

With 4,938 individual tracks covering 735 species of North American birds this massive undertaking by Cornell will only set you back $49.99 and just 4.71 GB of free space on your MP player. And this includes pictures as well.

But don’t wait too long because the price will go up by $10.00 after the introductory time period. What a bargain! This is definitely going into my I-pod.