On The Road / # 292

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge/ Magee Marsh/ Maumee Bay State Park

It was a cool and dark morning when I picked up fellow birder Jon Frodge in Franklin Ohio this Saturday. This was a 2 stage pick-up with me picking up Phil Burgio just prior at his house.  This trip to Ottawa has been in the works for some time , and now we’re all pretty excited with the day finally here. With the caffeine-generated birders on board the bird mobile, the trip to Ottawa went without incident until a closed exit in Toledo made for an unexpected U-turn and a minimal delay in reaching Ottawa. We arrived at the visitors center at Ottawa by 9:00 am.

After a quick pit-stop we started to bird the boardwalk behind the visitors center. We didn’t have to go far when we hit a honey hole of birds. There were plenty of warblers to go around for everyone. When the birding is this good you hate to leave, so we didn’t. Unfortunately for Jon we didn’t go too far on the boardwalk. And with the morning waning, and the auto tour calling our names, we opted to depart the boardwalk and head out.

Phil and Jon towards the beginning of the auto tour.

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in simple terms is MASSIVE. I can see why these auto tours are popular. It’s not that you couldn’t walk or ride a bike to some of the hot spots, but this makes it so much easier, especially if you’re hauling cameras, scopes with tripods, and other birding paraphernalia. There is a handy map which you can print off their website which has the refuge and auto tour route mapped out. It’s relatively easy to follow and depending on how many times you stop, it can take several hours to complete.

This was a common sight throughout the day, Great Egrets just everywhere.

Driving East towards one of the hot spots that’s close to the estuary, we came upon these sleeping Trumpeter Swans that were right next to the road.

After crossing a bridge that crosses Crane Creek we came upon an area that held 7 Snowy Egrets, with most of them in trees. This was the best shot I could get from that distance with my digiscope rig.

Up to this point it’s been a wonderful day. A little overcast in the morning with a little bit of a breeze, however when the day wore on the sun came out as did the wind. The temperatures were pleasant so you didn’t need to wear a jacket, unless you have problems with the low 70′s.

Prior to leaving on this trip I found out that they were planning on opening up a section of road that isn’t normally open on the auto tour. This was being done as a request so participants from the Midwest Bird Symposium could enjoy a little extra that Ottawa has to offer. We as well took advantage of this. The auto tour would normally take you between 2 impoundments by following this dike. However this time we were given access by car the ability to drive all the way around a pond called MS 5. This was a treat for all of us since this part can only be accessed either on foot or bike.

And it’s at this pond that I scored my 292nd life bird. I was getting concerned that I was going to get skunked this trip, however when Jon saw what he thought were Black-bellied Plovers, well, my heart skipped a beat for a second. MS 5 is pretty big, so it took some time before we were able to spot these rascals foraging along this mud flat close to the corner of the pond.

We dared not get any closer than this, since we were also trying to figure out if any of the other birds present were Buff-breasted Sandpipers.

(On a personal note, Jon these are the only 2 picture that were any good)

After the auto tour we made our way over to the beach at Magee Marsh. The wind was really blowing and the Sanderlings were busy feeding as they raced back and forth when the waves crashed onto the beach.

We left the beach an headed over towards the west entrance to the boardwalk. We didn’t have to walk to far before we came upon another pocket of good warbler activity. And since you never leave a good spot we stayed here for some time before we wandered down the boardwalk. The further we got the lighter the activity became. After spending some time here we then decided that our last stop for the day, since the day was wearing on, would be Maumee Bay State Park to check out the beach. Rick Asamoto who was also there at Magee to do some birding just came from there with some promising news of 2 Ruddy Turnstones. Another nemesis bird that I’ve been wanting to add to my list for a long time, now within my grasps. However not today. After scouring the beach twice all we came away with were some more Sanderlings and a very cool Lesser Black-backed Gull that Jon spotted, which was another life bird for Phil.

With the light beginning to fade and appetites growing we decided it was time to head over for some food before driving home. It was a spectacular day for birding with 2 good friends. However before we left the park while we drove slowly towards the entrance I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a post right next to the road. Normally you wouldn’t find this peculiar, however as we inched closer the the hawk just sat there. It eventually flew to a tree when we were within a few feet, and I was able to get this picture from the car. Or was it Jon who took this picture? Either way, with the fading light, and with the hawk in a tree, lighting was difficult.

What a great parting shot.

The drive home was long and quiet as we crossed Ohio with the setting sun. We arrived home exhausted from a great day of birding, and one I will look forward to next year. Notable birds for the day include:

1. Rock Dove
2. European Starling
3. Red-tailed Hawk
4. Ring-billed Gull
5. Killdeer
6. Great Blue Heron
7. Mourning Dove
8. American Kestrel
9. Blue Jay
10. Red-winged Black Bird
11. Eastern Goldfinch
12. American Robin
13. Swainson’s Thrush
14. Downy Woodpecker
15. Blackpoll Warbler
16. Magnolia Warbler
17. Red-eyed Vireo
18. Eastern Wood Pewee
19. Common Yellowthroat
20. Black-capped Chickadee
21. Sora
22. Cape May Warbler
23. Pine Warbler
24. Nashville Warbler
25. Tennessee Warbler
26. Tufted Titmouse
27. Red-bellied Woodpecker
28. White-breasted Nuthatch
29. Indigo Bunting
30. Great Egret
31. Mallard
32. Northern Flicker
33. Blue-winged Teal
34. Pied-billed Grebe
35. Black-crowned Night Heron
36. Belted Kingfisher
37. Cedar Waxwing
38. Northern Shoveler
39. Yellow=rumped Warbler
40. Gray Catbird
41. Marsh Wren
42. Trumpeter Swan
43. Philadelphia Vireo
44. Canada Goose
45. Carolina Wren
46. House Wren
47. Bald Eagle
48. Common Grackle
49. Snowy Egret
50. Eastern Phoebe
51. Greater Yellowleg
52. Lesser Yellowleg
53. Least Sandpiper
54. Pectoral Sandpiper
55. Semipalmated Plover
56. Semipalmated Sandpiper
57. Solitary Sandpiper
58. Spotted Sandpiper
59. Black-bellied Plover-Lifer
60. Tree Swallow
61. Barn Swallow
62. Double-creasted Cormorant
63. Caspian Tern
64. Herring Gull
65. Lesser Black-backed Gull
66. Short-billed Dowitcher
67. Turkey Vulture
68. Sharp-shinned Hawk
69. Sanderlings
70. Warbling Vireo
71. Hairy Woodpecker
72. Blackburnian Warbler
73. Acadian Flycatcher
74. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
75. American Redstart
76. Bay-breasted Warbler
77. Black-throated Green Warbler
78. Wilson’s warbler
79. Wood Thrush
80. Northern Cardinal
81. Least Flycatcher
82. Wood Duck

” On The Road “

This road trip was definitely an emotional roller coaster ride for me. Hitting the road at 4am and making real good time, with hopes of reaching the boardwalk at 7:30, only to be shocked into despair  by the loss of my cell phone. Then lifted back up by the thrill of just being up in this wonderful birding area for only a couple of days. And scoring on a lifer of a lifetime.

Of all the places I birded for these past few days, I enjoyed them all equally.

This is where it’s happening! As soon as you make that left hand turn into the drive, your greeted by this sign. The sponsor of the birding festival.

As you drive past the headquarters for Black Swamp Bird Observatory, you come upon the main building for Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. This is called the Sportsman Migratory Bird Center. One thing to remember is that the Observatory is a private organization, where Magee Marsh is run by the state of Ohio. Here is their headquarters.

Around the headquarters there’s plenty to do. The headquarters itself has a gift shop, museum, and displays and exhibits concerning nothing else but birds. Now how cool is that. They have a real nice trail which winds it’s way around the headquarters area.

However the walking path was closed about half way. It seems a Bald Eagle has taken up housekeeping on the back side of the property. I was able to get some poor quality pictures of the nest with one adult Eagle.

If you click on the picture, the image will enlarge.

The place to be though during migration is the boardwalk. However to get there you need to traverse the causeway which bisects the marsh from the beach area.

Sorry for the poor quality picture, but you get the idea.

Rising at 5 am everyday to get a jump on the day, I’d be greeted by sunrises like this as I crossed the causeway towards the boardwalk.

As you exited off the causeway you’d make a left into the grand parking lot. This lot is enormous. Even though it never was completely full while I was there, it would take you some time to find a good spot if you got there even a little late. My plan was to get up at 5, shower, eat, and drive there, and arrive no later than 6:30. It was roughly 18 miles to get to the turn off at Magee Marsh.

 

The parking lot runs parallel to the beach and the boardwalk. There is an East and West entrance to the boardwalk accessible at either end of the parking lot. So if you plan on walking the whole trail, parking towards the center of the parking lot will save you some steps in the long run. For myself, I parked towards the West entrance, since that’s where all the action is. Walking the entire boardwalk took some time. And if it was real crowded, it took longer.

 

However other times, especially towards the East end, the boardwalk would be practically empty, like the evening I spotted the Kirtlands Warbler.

Birds were plentiful on the boardwalk, especially Warblers. There were times that you could almost reach out and touch them. As much as I tried to get some pictures, I had to delete most of them because it was so difficult to get good pictures with the camera I have. And since Warblers move all the time, getting them into focus was quite a challenge.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Bay-breasted warbler

American Redstart

American Redstart (female)

Veery

Another refuge close by was Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

This place was awesome as well, with good trail’s and a headquarters building with a gift shop, and information desk. I visited there twice and on one occasion I was able to digiscope some decent pictures of some birds that would hold still long enough.

The most common bird up there, Red-winged Blackbird.

Tree Swallow

Purple Martin

Great Egret

Eastern Kingbird

The refuge is enormous, at over 9,000 acres it would take you over a week to cover this place on foot. I never made it to the Lake Erie from the parking lot, which was one of my goals.

On my second trip I walked it’s own boardwalk and  wooded lot that was close to the headquarters building. Level terrain with good birds throughout.

The boardwalk was wide, hence no need for hand rails.

After a short walk the boardwalk dives into the woods, where it becomes a nice level hiking trail, with beautiful scenery.

With all the rain they’ve received lately, the landscape was green and lush. Since they are in a later growing zone than us in Southern Ohio, plants and flowers were just beginning to burst.

One thing to remember is that area was once called Black Swamp. It covered most of what is North West Ohio, and seeing this water covered forest floor, the name is applicable.

Always try to look up every now and then. You might see a Bald Eagle.

Came upon a group of birders trying to locate a Golden-winged Warbler. Tough little bird to find.

Here’s my sad attempt at getting it’s picture.

As the trail wound through the woods I thought I would take some artsy pictures of some of the vegetation growing on the forest floor.

One evening I ventured over to Maumee Bay State Park to see if there were any good birds on the beach.

David and I stayed in the camp ground on our visit last year, and with such a beautiful facility a perfect place to stay when I go up again. The park has it’s own extensive trail system with good birding for all ages. I can remember the last time I was there, David and I were tearing down camp while a strom was blowing in off the lake. While we ate breakfast in the resort dining room, the rain was blowing horizontal across the dining rooms huge windows. We were debating whether to go birding or not. We did.

Even with losing my cell phone in the beginning, this trip was too much fun. I took a lot more pictures than what I’ve shown on this post, most of the bird picture will be added to my photostream on my Flickr account. So don’t forget to check it out later.

All told after 4 hard days of birding I came away with 116 different species of birds. That may seem like a lot, but I know I could do better. I had opportunities to see birds that slipped away just that fast. These are the things that keep me coming back for more day in and day out. I did top my total species list from last year, and next year I’ll try to do better. I may have to change up the dates to try and catch some of those elusive types.

So here is my trip list.

1. Canada Goose
2. Mute Swan
3. Trumpeter Swan
4. Wood Duck
5. American Black Duck
6. Mallard
7. Ruddy Duck
8. Pied-billed Grebe
9. Double-crested Cormorant
10. Great Blue Heron
11. Great Egret
12. Green Heron
13. Black-crowned Night Heron
14. Turkey Vulture
15. Bald Eagle
16. Northern Harrier
17. Red-tailed Hawk
18. American Kestrel
19. Spotted Sandpiper
20. Common Moorhen
21. American Coot
22. Killdeer
23. Least Sandpiper
24. Dunlin
25. American Woodcock
26. Ring-billed Gull
27. Herring Gull
28. Common Tern
29. Mourning Dove
30. Black-billed Cuckoo
31. Eastern Screech Owl
32. Whip-poor-will
33. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
34. Red-bellied Woodpecker
35. Downy Woodpecker
36. Northern Flicker
37. Eastern Wood Pewee
38. Least Flycatcher
39. Eastern Phoebe
40. Great-crested Flycatcher
41. Eastern Kingbird
42. Yellow-throated Vireo
43. Blue-headed Vireo
44. Warbling Vireo
45. Philadelphia Vireo
46. Red-eyed Vireo
47. Blue Jay
48. Purple Martin
49. Tree Swallow
50. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
51. Bank Swallow
52. Barn Swallow
53. Black-capped Chickadee
54. Tufted Titmouse
55. Red-breasted Nuthatch
56. White-breasted Nuthatch
57. House Wren
58. Golden-crowned Kinglet
59. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
60. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
61. Veery
62. Swainson’s Thrush
63. Wood Thrush
64. American Robin
65. Gray Catbird
66. Golden-winged Warbler
67. Tennessee Warbler
68. Orange-crowned Warbler
69. Nashville Warbler
70. Northern Parula
71. Yellow Warbler
72. Chestnut-sided Warbler
73. Magnolia Warbler
74. Cape May Warbler
75. Black-throated Blue Warbler
76. Black-throated Green Warbler
77. Yellow-rumped Warbler
78. Blackburnian Warbler
79. Yellow-throated Warbler
80. Pine Warbler
81. Kirtland’s Warbler
82. Prairie Warbler
83. Palm Warbler
84. Bay-breasted Warbler
85. Blackpoll Warbler
86. Black and White Warbler
87. American Redstart
88. Prothonotary Warbler
89. Ovenbird
90. Northern Waterthrush
91. Mourning Warbler
92. Common Yellowthroat
93. Hooded Warbler
94. Wilson’s Warbler
95. Canada Warbler
96. Scarlet Tanager
97. Eastern Towhee
98. Chipping Sparrow
99. Song Sparrow
100. Lincoln’s Sparrow
101. White-throated Sparrow
102. White-crowned Sparrow
103. Dark-eyed Junco
104. Northern Cardinal
105. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
106. Indigo Bunting
107. Red-winged Blackbird
108. Common Grackle
109. Brown-headed Cowbird
110. Orchard Oriole
111. Baltimore Oriole
112. House Finch
113. American Goldfinch
114. House Sparrow
115. Starling
116. American Pipit

“On The Road”

3 little words. Those 3 little words that haven’t been spoken for quite sometime. If I look back I haven’t had a “On The Road” adventure since December 11th. That’s when John, Phil and myself took off for parts unknown North central Ohio in search for the strange and exotic.

With the “Biggest Week in America Birding Festival” starting on May 5th, I’m in my week long prep mode. This is where I get all my ducks in a row for my impending vacation to this festival. It will be 4 fun filed days of non-stop birding. Except when it’s dark of course. Since my vacation doesn’t start till the 9th, I won’t be leaving till the wee hours of the morning, in hopes of arriving at the Magee Marsh boardwalk at sunrise.

This year I’m staying in a hotel about 10 miles away. Last year I camped with my oldest son David at Maumee Bay State Park. I love to camp, but sleep was at a premium, and with the power birding I’m planning, I’ll need it. I won’t have a computer with me, nor do I think the hotel I’m staying in has a public one. However if it does you might get a few reports during my stay. I’ll keep my “On The Road” report, with pictures till after I get back.

So if you happen to see me up there, don’t forget to say “Hi”.