Your Week In Review

For the week of April 15th, through April 21st, this is your week in review.

Spring migration is in full bloom as more and more of our beautiful Spring migrants arrive around the Tri-state in our typical hotspots. But you better be prepared to know your bird calls since the majority of the trees are leafed out. Being able to ID a Warbler in the top of a totally leafed out tree will require both sight and sound skills. The Ferruginous Hawk is still being seen over at CVG with no sign of it leaving, so if you’ve not seen this bird as of yet, plan a trip before it leaves. We also had 48 hours of excitement as a Black-necked Stilt was sighted at Ellis Lake. And once again this blogger was able to see it and get some pictures as well. Also Caesar Creek had it’s own excitement as both Lesser Black-backed Gull and Surf Scoters were seen earlier this week.

This has got to be the largest “location” list I’ve typed for this column ever and this is just a prelude of what it”ll be like in weeks to come. So to quote Samuel L. Jackson in the movie Jurassic Park, “Hold on to your butts”, here’s the list of where our birders visited this week. Shawnee Lookout, Crooked Run Nature Preserve, Fairview Park, Ault Park, Magrish Riverland Preserve, California Woods, East Fork S.P., Caesar Creek S.P., Hueston Woods S.P., Cowan Lake S.P., The Oxbow, Miami Whitewater Forest, Winton Woods, Smith Tract Park, Fernald Preserve, Eden Park, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, CVG, Ellis Lake/ West Chester Wetlands, Armleder Park, Sharon Woods, Grand Valley, Avoca Trailhead Park, Lake Isabella, and Glenwood Gardens.

Neighborhoods reporting in include: Felicity, Kenwood, Landen, Lawrenceburg Road, Milford, Newtown, Clifton, Maderia, United American Cemetery, Owensville, Oxford, West Wood, Morrow, and Williamsburg.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Bald Eagle
2. Ferruginous Hawk
3. Broad-winged Hawk
4. Osprey
5. Sharp-shinned Hawk

Falconiformes

1. American Kestrel

Pelecaniformes

1. Great Egret
2. Green Heron

Charadriiformes

1. Pectoral Sandpiper
2. Black-necked Stilt
3. Wilson’s Snipe
4. Solitary Sandpiper
5. Lesser Yellowleg
6. Greater Yellowleg
7. Spotted Sandpiper
8. Dunlin
9. Short-billed Dowitcher
10. Forster’s Tern
11. Caspian tern
12. Least Tern
13. Lesser Black-backed Gull
14. Bonaparte’s Gull
15. Semi-palmated Plover

Anseriformes

1. Ring-necked Duck
2. Surf scoter
3. Wood Duck
4. Green-winged Teal
5. Blue-winged Teal
6. Red-breasted Merganser
7. Northern Shoveler

Strigiformes

1. Great Horned Owl

Piciformes

1. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
2. Pileated Woodpecker
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. hairy Woodpecker
5. Red-bellied Woodpecker
6. Red-headed Woodpecker

Gruiformes

1. Virginia Rail

Galliformes

1. Wild Turkey

Apodiformes

1. Chimney Swift
2. Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Podicipediformes

1. Horned Grebe
2. Pied-billed Grebe

Passeriformes

1. Great-crested Flycatcher
2. Horned Lark
3. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
4. Orchard Oriole
5. Baltimore Oriole
6. Brown Thrasher
7. Eastern Kingbird
8. Eastern Phoebe
9. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
10. Wood Thrush
11. Rusty Blackbird
12. Purple Finch
13. Scarlet Tanager
14. Yellow-throated Vireo
15. White-eyed Vireo
16. Red-eyed Vireo
17. Warbling Vireo
18. Brown Creeper
19. Red-breasted Nuthatch
20. Tree Swallow
21. Barn Swallow
22. Norther Rough-winged Swallow
23. Nashville Warbler
24. Yellow-rumped Warbler
25. Common Yellowthroat
26. Cerulean Warbler
27. Prothonotary Warbler
28. Yellow-breasted Chat
29. Kentucky Warbler
30. Black-throated Green warbler
31. Louisiana Waterthrush
32. Black and White Warbler
33. Northern Parula
34. Tennessee Warbler
35. Yellow-throated warbler
36. Pine Warbler
37. Blue-winged Warbler
38. Prairie Warbler
39. Palm Warbler
40. Houose Wren
41. Field Sparrow
42. Chipping Sparrow
43. Savannah Sparrow
44. vesper Sparrow
45. Song Sparrow
46. Swamp Sparrow
47. White-throated Sparrow
48. White-crowned Sparrow

For a detailed listing of the weeks postings, please go to www.cincinnatibirds.com

So as we end this week in review, keep on birding, and don’t forget to post your sightings.

 

Your Week In Review

For the week of March 25th, through March 31st, this is your week in review.

Early migrants are still the dominate birds, making a strong showing as we continue with the unseasonably warmer weather. Wading birds are starting to been seen in small numbers in the usual hotspots familiar to tri-state birders. There’s so much good bird action going on that this blogger is having a difficult time keeping up. This could turn out to be a fast and furious Spring, that I’m sure everyone is excited about.

Area parks where our birders visited include: Caesar Creek S.P., East Fork S.P., Hueston Woods S.P., Miami Whitewater Forest, Fernald Preserve, Grand Valley, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, Sharon Woods, Winton Woods, Ellis Lake/ West Chester Wetlands, Chilo Lock #34, Armleder Park, Gulley Park and California Woods.

Neighborhoods reporting in include: Felicity, Newtown, Clifton, Goshen, New Richmond, and Miami Twp.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Rough-legged Hawk
2. Northern Harrier
3. Red-tailed Hawk

Falconiformes

1. American Kestrel

Strigiformes

1. Barred Owl
2. Barn Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Pectoral Sandpiper
2. Greater Yellowleg
3. Lesser Yellowleg
4. Wilson’s Snipe
5. American Woodcock

Ciconiiformes

1. American Bittern

Gruiformes

1. Sora

Pelecaniformes

1. Great Egret

Piciformes

1. Northern Flicker
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Gaviiformes

1. Common Loon

Anseriformes

1. Wood Duck
2. Northern Shoveler
3. Bufflehead
4. Blue-winged Teal
5. Red-breasted Merganser
6. Hooded Merganser
7. American Wigeon
8. Red Head
9. Ring-necked Duck
10. Ruddy Duck
11. Surf Scoter
12. Gadwall
13. Greater White-fronted Goose

Passeriformes

1. Blue-headed Vireo
2. Yellow-throated Warbler
3. Louisiana Waterthrush
4. Barn Swallow
5. Hermit Thrush
6. Tree Swallow
7. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
8. Brown Thrasher
9. Eastern Phoebe
10. Yellow-rumped Warbler
11. Marsh Wren

For a detailed listing of the weeks postings, please go to www.cincinnatibirds.com

So as we end this week in review, keep on birding, and don’t forget to post your sightings.

Your Week In Review

For the week of March 18th, through March 24th, this is your week in review.

As we celebrate the return of Spring with unseasonably warmer temperatures, we as birders rejoice with the coming of our Spring birds. Birders are out in mass to revel in the latest arrivals from the South as they escape to various corners of the tri-state to find their own personal FOS species. One aspect of this early Spring that has me a little concerned is the leafing out of the trees. As the trees leaf out more and more, when the Wood Warblers finally arrive the difficulty in spotting them in such a thick, green canopy will test even the most experienced Warbler fanatic. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we.

Area parks that our birders visited include: Spring Grove Cemetery, California Woods, Brookville Lake, Winton Woods Park, Mitchell Memorial Woods, Crooked Run Nature Preserve, Fernald Preserve, Sharon Woods, .Caesar Creek S.P, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, East Fork S.P., and Armleder Park. Neighborhoods reporting in include Anderson Twp., Mason, Afton, Clifton and Felicity.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Bald Eagle
2. Northern Harrier
3. Cooper’s Hawk
4. Red-tailed Hawk

Falconiformes

1. American Kestrel

Strigiformes

1. Barred Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Wilson’s Snipe

Podicipediformes

1. Horned Grebe
2. Pied-billed Grebe

Piciformes

1. Pileated Woodpecker
2. Northern Flicker
3. Hairy Woodpecker

Anseriformes

1. Gadwall
2. Northern Shoveler
3. Bufflehead
4. Red-breasted Merganser
5. Green-winged Teal
6. Blue-winged Teal
7. American Wigeon
8. Canvasback
9. Red Head
10. Lesser Scaup
11. Ring-necked Duck
12. Ruddy Duck
13. Hooded Merganser

Passeriformes

1. Eastern Towhee
2. Pine Siskin
3. House Wren
4. Song Sparrow
5. White-throated Sparrow
6. White-crowned Sparrow
7. Field Sparrow
8. Fox Sparrow
9. Savannah Sparrow
10. Vesper Sparrow
11. Chipping Sparrow
12. Louisiana Waterthrush
13. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
14. Tree Swallow
15. Pine warbler
16. Brown Creeper
17. Horned Lark
18. American Pipits
19. Eastern Phoebe
20. Brown thrasher

Gaviiformes

1. Common Loon

Gruiformes

1. Sandhill Crane

Galliformes

1. Wild Turkey

For a detailed listing of the weeks postings, please go to www.cincinnatibirds.com

So as we end this week in review, keep on birding, and don’t forget to post your sightings.

Notes From The Field

Spring Valley Wildlife Area & Caesar Creek State Park

It was pretty foggy this morning as I checked the weather to see if any rain was on the way, and if this fog was going to lift any time soon. Satisfied with the forecast from the Ultimate, Accu-Radar, Super-Duper Doppler, I hit the road with a strong travel mug of coffee. First stop for the day, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, but first… Before you get to Spring Valley you pass by these gravel pits that are quite large and on occasion hold some good waterfowl. Driving into this hand-dandy pull off I set up my spotting scope, only to reveal a pretty empty lake. Ruddy Ducks, Coots, and a few Canadian Geese were all that was there.

The upper parking lot at Spring Valley held 2 other cars as I pulled in. One of the cars had just arrived and a husband and wife from Wilmington got out to start their day of birding. We introduced ourselves, then made our way down the hill towards the boardwalk. At least that was my plan. The couple took a side trail, leaving me alone with the early morning bird songs and the chill of the air from the forest shadows. The sun was out in full force as I stepped onto the boardwalk, and thinking to myself that this fleece jacket was going to have to come off when I get to the observation tower.

The owner of the other car was there already birding, so we introduced ourselves and birded together for over an hour. His name was John Hall, a real nice guy with a lot of experience.

This view from the observation deck is looking East towards the lake and the lower parking lot. All the vegetation is one big marsh.

This is looking West from the observation deck. This is the direction where we were hearing Virginia Rails calling. And this is one of my target birds for the day. When I arrived John hadn’t heard any Rail at first, let alone see any. The Red-winged Black Birds and Canadian Geese were so noisy that it was very difficult to pick out their call. But once you tuned into it, they became more apparent.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement and asked John if he saw that. You could see the cat-tails move as the Rail moved in and out through the thick growth. Then it called. 10 feet away. Then you could see it, skulking in the shadows. As soon as we saw it we pulled out our cameras to see if we could get a lucky shot.

You have to look close, but there he is.

Any day you spot a Rail is a good day, as far as I’m concerned. And Spring Valley was hot for them today as we heard at least 3 to 4 others calling while we were there.

This nesting goose was sitting on 3 eggs.

A few days ago another birder posted a Marsh Wren from here. This is real early for such a bird but I had brought my I-pod with bird calls on it, so why not give it a try and call one in. I had told John that they were reported here, so he was interested. Walking down from the observation deck, and walking no more than 20 feet, I notice a Marsh Wren sitting on a cat-tail. I watched as it dove into the thicket before John could get an ID on it. Then it started to call that familiar song it has. We listened as it seemed to get further and further away from us.

John and I walked back to the parking lot, and that’s where we parted ways. I wanted to drive over to the lower parking lot and scope out the lake and walk the Loveland Bike Trail, which conveniently runs parallel to Spring Valley. There are a lot of marshy areas along this section that also hold Virginia Rails as well as Rusty Black Birds and other cool birds like that.

This is the kind of habitat you’ll see as you either walk or ride along this section of the bike trail.

The turtles were all out of the water sunning themselves on any exposed log they could find.

Spring Valley has this grassy trail that circles most of the property and links up with other trails throughout the park. It gives the birder the best of both worlds in the form of different kinds of habitat to watch birds from. You have the lake on one side, and dense vegetation on the other.

Leaving Spring Valley a little after noon with still a couple of hours to play around with till my 2 o’clock haircut appointment, I made my way over to the Young Road boat ramp at Caesar Creek. This is the shallowest part of the lake and is in close proximity to the Mound Road mud flats, and one of my favorite places to view wading birds. A short walk from the boat ramp revealed some good mud flats, however the birds were real scarce except for some Canadian Geese. Not even a Killdeer, which is unusual.

Scanning with my spotting scope to make sure I covered all exposed mud just in case I missed anything, I noticed the remnants of a tree standing in the water. In this part of the lake a lot of the trees weren’t cut down before they built the lake. What I noticed at the top of this particular tree was something that looked out of place. A dark mass instead of bare wood. Focusing in on it I discovered the carcass of some large bird. From the terrible picture you can see that it’s wing was wedged into the top of the bare trunk of the tree, and the rest of the bird hung dead down the side. I looked for several minutes and couldn’t tell what species it was. Maybe I don’t want to know.

It was time to leave. The drive back to the main road was alive with Spring, as turn after turn opened up with beautiful scenes like this. I had to stop and get a picture of this fence row.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. American Robin
2. Northern Mockingbird
3. Eastern Phoebe
4. American Coots
5. Canada Goose
6. Ruddy Duck
7. Song Sparrow
8. Field Sparrow
9. Red-winged Black Bird
10. Chipping Sparrow
11. Turkey Vulture
12. Black Vulture
13. Northern Cardinal
14. Red-bellied Woodpecker
15. Downy Woodpecker
16. Pileated Woodpecker
17. Hairy Woodpecker
18. Brown-headed Cowbird
19. White-throated Sparrow
20. Blue Jay
21. Marsh Wren
22. Virginia Rail
23. Carolina Wren
24. Swamp Sparrow
25. Mourning Dove
26. Tree Swallow
27. Carolina Chickadee
28. Tufted Titmouse
29. Wood Duck
30. Pied-billed Grebe
31. Bald Eagle
32. Mallards
33. American Goldfinch
34. White-breasted Nuthatch
35. Dark-eyed Junco
36. Yellow-rumped Warbler
37. Great Blue Heron
38. Common Grackle
39. Cooper’s Hawk
40. Red-tailed Hawk
41. Eastern Towhee
42. Common Crow
43. Belted Kingfisher

Your Week In Review

For the week of February 26th, through March 3rd, this is your week in review.

When they say that March comes in like a Lion, they weren’t kidding. My heart felt sympathy goes out to all the victims of the recent tornado outbreak. Even in my little corner of Ohio, we had some pretty gnarly weather. And with this topsy-turvy weather, we had an average week of birding. Area parks where our birders visited include Grand Valley, Gunpowder Creek Nature Park, Mitchell Memorial Forest, Armleder Park, Miami Whitewater Forest, Crooked Run Nature Preserve, Lake Isabella, Caesar Creek S.P., and Fernald Preserve. Neighborhoods where birders reported from include Downtown Cincy., Loveland, Campbell County Ky., New Richmond, South Lebanon, Hebron Ky., and Williamsburg.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Bald Eagle
2. Northern Harrier
3. Black Vulture
4. Red-shouldered Hawk
5. Red-tailed Hawk

Falconiformes

1. Peregrine Falcon

Strigiformes

1. Great Horned Owl

Charadriiformes

1. American Woodcock

Piciformes

1. Pileated Woodpecker
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
3. Downy Woodpecker

Anseriformes

1. Surf Scoter
2. White-winged Scoter
3. Common Goldeneye
4. Lesser Scaup
5. Greater Scaup
6. Mallard
7. Northern Pintail
8. American Black Duck
9. Northern Shoveler
10. Ring-necked Duck
11. Hooded Merganser
12. Wood Duck
13. Gadwall
14. Snow Goose

Passeriformes

1. Eastern Meadowlark
2. Red-winged Blackbird
3. Golden-crowned Kinglet
4. Brown Creeper
5. Horned Lark
6. Tree Swallow
7. Field Sparrow
8. Song Sparrow
9. Swamp Sparrow
10. Chipping Sparrow
11. Pine warbler
12. White-throated Sparrow
13. Common Redpoll

For a detailed listing of the weeks postings, please go to www.cincinnatibirds.com

So as we end this week in review, keep on birding, an

Rare Bird Alert

An unconfirmed Pacific Loon has been reported at Caesar Creek from the end of Harveysburg Road on my eBird alerts that comes across my home page. I checked the Ohio Listserv and the sightings log for Cincinnati Birds and no report has come across. If more comes out about this sighting, I’ll post ASAP.