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.

 

Notes From The Field

Ellis Lake/ West Chester Wetlands, Gilmore Ponds, Lost Bridge, Shawnee Lookout boat ramp, & The Oxbow

Sometimes the best made plans don’t necessary go a wry, they’re delayed till a more advantagous time. Reports out of Indiana concerning the Smith’s Longspurs, our target bird for this road trip, have been slim to none. Our connection in Indiana for this elusive bird has been in contact with Jon and they’re still a no show according to him. So the prospect of a 2 1/2 hour drive to dip on this bird didn’t make too much sense.  What we were looking for was some activitty that the birds were passing through on migration. We opted to bird locally.

We meet at Ellis Lake/ West Chester Wetlands just as the Sun started to lighten up this gray, overcast morning. The previous evenings rain left several sky pools on the open field as you pulled into Ellis Lake. Scanning with the spotting scope revealed several ducks and a lone Lesser Yellowleg. A FOS for me.

Ellis Lake on a gray morning.

We walked around the lake, pausing while we listened and looked for any and everything. Yellow-throated Warblers have been showing up in good numbers this past week, so we weren’t disappointed when we both heard one just out of sight, behind a row of trees. Another FOS for both of us. After retracing our back from the lake we walked the bike path towards the stone foundation of the old ice house and the pond where the ice was harvested. It was along this path where we discovered a Great Horned Owl perched pretty close to the path. He was all fluffed up drying his feathers. Unfortunately I didn’t have my spotting scope so I couldn’t digiscope a picture. And trying to take a picture through my binoculars proved difficult with poor results.

This was the best I could do.

Our next stop was Gilmore Ponds Metropark. These two parks are in close proximity to each other, and share a common feature. The Miami-Erie Canal which flowed along the border of the parks. This canal became quite an obstacle if you choose to cross it. It’s just wide and deep enough to persuade anyone from crossing. And we wanted very much to cross it and have a look into the flooded fields that are on the airport property. However in between the fields and us sit railroad tracks. Now the logical, and illegal thing to do would be walk the gravel path that runs along side of the tracks, but if caught we could get in big trouble, let alone maybe killed. Trains are ALWAYS going by. So we opted to walk the trail that runs parallel to the canal, that runs parallel to the train tracks. We hiked several hundred yards till we found a spot where we could get across an not get too muddy. We walked up to the tracks and peeked over, not crossing in fear of getting busted, to a large expanse of flooded fields.

 

We scanned for only a few minutes as we added up species seen. What struck me were all the Swallows. Tree and Northern Rough-winged buzzed around continually over these sky pools. After returning to the park we visited the wildlife blind which was close by. This elaborate blind sits about 10 feet up and offers some good views of the lake in the middle of the park. It also offers a nice place for a pair of Eastern Phoebe’s to nest. The pair were within feet of the blind waiting for us to leave so they could commence with building their nest.

You can see the nesting material in it’s beak.

We left Gilmore Ponds to get something to eat and to figure out where we were heading next. We stopped at a fast food joint so Jon would get something to eat and I could get some nasty tasting coffee. With still a good portion of the day left we decided to visit Lost Bridge and the Shawnee Lookout boat ramp area.

It was at this time when Jon received a phone call. He sat in his car for about 10 minutes talking as I waited. After he hung up he told me it was out Indiana contact, and he told us that the Smith’s Longspurs were there. You’ve got to be kidding. We debated our options and the temptation to pack it in and go was enormous. This is a life bird for the both of us and the decision not to go was a tough one to make. First it’s a 2 1/2 hour drive and it’s already going on to noon. Our contact said they’re going to be here all of April and it gives us time for the males to change into their breeding plumage. Which in turn makes it easier to spot them in a field of corn stubble. So in 2 weeks (If Jon’s schedule permits) we’re heading over to Crawfordsville Indiana and meetup with our contact who will lead us to our prize. It will be a long 2 weeks.

The rest of the day was spent traveling from Hamilton to Lost Bridge, to the boat ramp at Shawnee Lookout park, to the Oxbow, picking up species along the way. The Great Miami River was up so there was no exposed mud flats under  Lost Bridge, however there were a few wading birds feeding in some sky pools before you crossed the bridge. The boat ramp was pretty much a bust with only a few birds to speak of that we picked up.

After we left the boat ramp we drove to The Oxbow along Rt. 50. We had a nice fly over of a Merlin before we made it into Lawrenceburg. Now the Oxbow can be a difficult place to drive, especially after it’s been raining. It floods so easily that the dirt roads become impassable. We were lucky today, the recent rains left the roads open. Yellow-rumped Warblers were on the move as we watched large numbers overhead and in the lower vegetation that run along the road.

Driving further in the The Oxbow we came across large fields of bottom land that have yet to be plowed.

Further back in this field was a small sky pool that was a frenzy of activity with Great Blue Herons and hundreds of Swallows. It was at this time we started to notice all the Double-crested Cormorants flying in. They would fly over in small waves of a dozen or less, but it was constant. We lost count at 150. So we walked back to the truck and drove on looking to see if we could re-locate them. We did find a good many perched in a group of trees.

We drove around some more, stopping and getting out to check certain areas that might be promising. The road eventually winds up behind one of the casino’s so we opted to backtrack to Jon’s car and head home for a nap. It had been a long day.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Field Sparrow
2. Canada Goose
3. Red-winged Blackbird
4. American Robin
5. Red-bellied Woodpecker
6. Mallard
7. Lesser Yellowleg
8. Greater Yellowleg
9. Killdeer
10. Blue-winged Teal
11. Green-winged Teal
12. Common Grackle
13. American Kestrel
14. Merlin
15. Turkey Vulture
16. Black Vulture
17. Red-tailed Hawk
18. Northern Cardinal
19. Song Sparrow
20. Swamp Sparrow
21. White-throated Sparrow
22. Savannah Sparrow
23. Brown-headed Cowbird
24. Wood Duck
25. Yellow-throated Warbler
26. Yellow-rumped Warbler
27. Wilson’s Snipe
28. Downy Woodpecker
29. Northern Flicker
30. Great Horned Owl
31. Blue Jay
32. American Goldfinch
33. Tree Swallow
34. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
35. Barn Swallow
36. Eastern Phoebe
37. Mourning Dove
38. Tufted Titmouse
39. Carolina Chickadee
40. Carolina Wren
41. House Finch
42. House Sparrow
43. Eastern Towhee
44. Great Blue Heron
45. Double-crested Cormorant
46. American Coot
47. Pied-billed grebe
48. Bufflehead
49. Northern Shoveler
50. Gadwall
51. American Crow
52. Pectoral Sandpiper
53. Belted Kingfisher
54. Ring-necked Duck
55. White-breasted Nuthatch
56. Horned Lark
57. Rock Dove
58. Bonaparte’s Gull

Week In Review

For the week of March 11th, through March 17th, this is your week in review.

Well the calendar may say Winter, but the weather with all the severe thunderstorms and mild temperatures sure does indicate Spring to me. And what do we get when nicer weather comes for a visit? People go birding and they come away with some outstanding finds this week. Least Sandpiper, Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, Eurasian Wigeon. How exciting is that? For bloggers like yours truly, this will be a busy Spring, which will keep me in more bird stuff to write about than normal.

So as I reviewed where birds visited this week you can start to see a steady increase in places where they went. Also birders are becoming more conscience to the birds in there own yards and neighborhoods. So here is a list of parks where birders visited: Cowan Lake S.P., Spring Grove Cemetery, Fernald Preserve, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, Armleder Park, The Oxbow, Shawnee Lookout Park, Miami Whitewater Forest, Crooked Run Nature Preserve, and Ellis Lake/West Chester Wetlands. Neighborhoods reporting in include: Milford, Clifton, Anderson Twp, East Gate, and  East Walnut Hills.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Bald Eagle

Falconiformes

1. Merlin

Strigiformes

1. Barred Owl
2. Great Horned Owl
3. Long-eared Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Least Sandpiper
2. Wilson’s Snipe
3. American Woodcock

Podicipediformes

1. Horned Grebe

Piciformes

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

Anseriformes

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

Passeriformes

1. Fox Sparrow
2. Tree Swallow
3. Marsh Wren
4. Eastern Phoebe
5. Chipping Sparrow
6. Yellow-rumped Warbler
7. Vesper Sparrow
8. Swamp Sparrow
9. Field Sparrow
10. Rusty Black Bird
11. Golden-crowned Kinglet
12. Eastern Towhee
13. Song Sparrow
14. White-throated Sparrow
15. Red-breasted Nuthatch
16. Brown Thrasher

Gruiformes

1. Virginia Rail

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 4th, through March 10th, this is your week in review.

In a couple of hours Kathy and me are going to a matinee of West Side Story that’s showing in town. So I’m sitting in front of my computer writing up this story instead of out birding. Especially since we have 2 pretty good birds at Cowan Lake, which is in my neighborhood.

Anyway we had about your same normal activity, except we had some outstanding sightings. Namely the Northern Goshawk and the Eurasian Wigeon. Birders are getting out to a bunch of different locations, just not the species, except for the above mentioned. Another good sign that Spring is right around the corner is our first Pine Warbler sighting.

Area parks where our birders visited include East Fork S.P., Cowan Lake S.P., Whitacre Park, Fernald Preserve, The Oxbow, Winton Woods Park, Armleder Park, Daniel Drake Park, Spring Grove Cemetery, Miami Whitewater Forest, and California Woods. Neighborhoods reporting in include Liberty Township, Okeana, Price Hill, and Milford.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Sharp-shinned Hawk
2. Red-shouldered Hawk
3. NORTHERN GOSHAWK
4. Red-tailed Hawk

Falconiformes

1. Merlin

Strigiformes

1. Barred Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Wilson’s Snipe
2. American Woodcock

Gaviiformes

1. Common Loon

Podicipediformes

1. Pied-bill Grebe
2. Horned Grebe

Piciformes

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

Anseriformes

1. Greater White-fronted Goose
2. Wood Duck
3. Green-winged Teal
4. EURASIAN WIGEON
5. Ross’s Goose
6. American Wigeon
7. Gadwall

Passeriformes

1. Tree Swallow
2. Golden-crowned Kinglet
3. Dark-eyed Junco
4. Eastern Towhee
5. Brown Creeper
6. Pine Warbler
7. Eastern Phoebe
8. Fox 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 February 12th, through February 18th, this is your week in review.

This will be the second week in a row that I’m writing my week in review early. This time I’m skipping Friday and Saturday’s sightings because I’m driving to Michigan on Friday to visit my daughter for the weekend. And despite the fact that there’s not too many sightings being posted, they certainly quality birds for us. We’re getting some northern visitors in the form of Surf Scoter, White-winged Crossbill, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and Common Redpoll. This is exciting stuff. And to think I drove all the way to Toledo to locate the last two birds. Hopefully with these great birds in the tri-state this might motivate more birders to get out and bird.

Parks where area birders visited include Lake Isabella Park, Caesar Creek State Park, Hisey Park, Armleder Park, and the Oxbow. Neighborhoods reporting in include White Oak, Middletown, Maderia, and Campbell County KY.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

1. Northern Harrier
2. Red-shouldered Hawk
3. Black Vulture

Falconiformes

1. American Kestrel

Strigiformes

1. Great Horned Owl
2. Long-eared Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Lesser Black-backed Gull

Piciformes

1. Pileated Woodpecker

Anseriformes

1. Surf Scoter
2. Snow Goose
3. Canvasback

Passeriformes

1. White-winged Crossbill
2. Common Redpoll
3. Tree Sparrow
4. Fox 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 February 5th, through February 11th, this is your week in review.

If this review doesn’t appear to be complete, my apologies. Since I will be out of town visiting my son and birding all day tomorrow I’m putting this together on Friday evening. So all of the sightings on Saturday will not appear here, however you can check on them by going to Cincinnatibirds.com.

  With Groundhog Day behind us this week appears just like every other week we’ve had lately. Area parks visited were pretty much the same as well as the same birds seen. February can get like this, very mundane and gray. We’re on the cusp of Spring migration and by now most birders need a little color on the birds we’re looking for. Or better yet how about a half a foot of snow with plenty of Cardinals feeding on Sunflower seeds. That kind of avian contrast would be spectacular.

Area parks where birders visited include, Fernald Preserve, Miami Whitewater Forest, The Oxbow, Lost Bridge, East Fork S.P., Armleder Park, Glenwood Gardens, Mill Creek, Spring Grove Cemetery, and Riverside Park.  Neighborhoods reporting in include Felicity, Kilby Road area, Kennwood, and Downtown.

Notable birds for the week include:

Accipitriformes

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

Falconiformes

1. American Kestrel
2. Peregrine Falcon
3. Merlin

Strigiformes

1. Barred Owl

Charadriiformes

1. Wilson’s Snipe
2. American Woodcock

Piciformes

1. Red-headed Woodpecker
2. Downy Woodpecker

Anseriformes

1. Gadwall
2. Cackling Goose
3. Tundra Swan
4. Mute Swan
5. Northern Shoveler
6. Redhead
7. American Black Duck
8. American Wigeon
9. Common Goldeneye
10. Northern Pintail
11. Bufflehead
12. Gree-winged Teal
13. Hooded Merganser

Passeriformes

1. Eastern Bluebird
2. Savannah Sparrow
3. American Tree Sparrow
4. White-crowned Sparrow
5. Fox Sparrow
6. Swamp Sparrow
7. Rusty Blackbird
8. Eastern Meadowlark
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. American Pipit
11. Horned Lark

Coraciiformes

1. Belted Kingfisher

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.