Notes From The Field

How long has it been since I was out birding? It seems like forever, but after a quick text to Jon arrangements were made an we were on our way despite the very hot and humid conditions that seem to settle over the Ohio Valley during the summer. It can be difficult to get motivated during these dog days to get out a do a little birding during the morning hours before the heat turns up, and this was our plan for the day, and Butler County was our choice for birds. Our first stop was Fernald Preserve.

We arrived early and started out scoping out Lodge Pond for any water fowl. The normal cast of characters were their, the resident Mute Swan, Wood Ducks with additional family members in tow, a lone American Coot and one Mallard. Not a great start to the day, but not unexpected. However not wanting to give up so soon we started to work the preserve and came away with some good birds.

A Yellow-throated Warbler working the Evergreens that line the entry road into Fernald Preserve.

Another very common warbler during the summer months in pretty much all grassy habitats in Ohio, and I’m sure elsewhere, the Common Yellowthroat.

 As Jon and I hike back towards a wooded section of Fernald Preserve we spooked up 2 Green Herons that were hiding in this pond with heavy brush along the edge. This one landed in the top of this small tree where it stretched it’s neck for a better view.

Before leaving we meet a photographer who had photographed this unusual warbler in the same area along the evergreen lined entry road. The photo was the best but we got out of the car and looked around a little to satisfy our natural curiosity. Well we never found the mystery warbler but we did stumble upon a very cooperative Blue Grosbeak. One of my favorite summertime birds and one that I’m always trying to get a good photo of.

After Fernald Preserve we went to a new place, Governor Bebb Metropark. Birders have had some good luck with Henslow’s Sparrows and I’ve yet to see any this year.

Governor Bebb was a Whig politician who was born in Butler County in 1802. He was the 19th governor of Ohio from 1846 to 1849. After his governorship he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the Examiner of the Pension Office in Washington D.C.

So to honor a native Ohio son they have this real nice 264 acre preserve named after him. Part of the preserve besides the fields, meadows and woods is a historic village that has several historic log buildings. They even have the Bebb Cabin built in 1799 near to where my wife grew up.

The sun was really cranking up the heat as the morning waned into the afternoon, but Jon and I wandered the mowed path through the meadow where the Henslow’s have been seen. Unfortunately no Henslow’s were seen let alone heard. But it wasn’t a total bust as we worked a wooded edge when we heard a Summer Tanager back in the woods.

Not a very good photo since I was shooting into a darker forest from a sunny location and at quite a distance.

The butterflies were pretty spectacular at Gov. Bebb Preserve, which included this Giant Swallowtail

Wood Nymph

The sun was baking now and it was time to call it quits. However we did have a pretty good list for the day despite the heat.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Pigeon
2. Mourning Dove
3. Wood Thrush
4. Barn Swallow
5. Tree Swallow
6. Cliff Swallow
7. Chimney Swift
8. Purple Martin
9. Robin
10. Northern Cardinal
11. Northern Mockingbird
12. Eastern Towhee
13. Song Sparrow
14. Field Sparrow
15. Chipping Sparrow
16. Mute Swan
17. Wood Duck
18. Mallard
19. American Coot
20. Eastern Kingbird
21. Eastern Wood Pewee
22. Willow Flycatcher
23. Acadian Flycatcher
24. Summer Tanager
25. Common Yellowthroat
26. Yellow-throated Warbler
27. Yellow-breasted Chat
28. Red-winged Black Bird
29. Eastern Goldfinch
30. Dickcissel
31. Blue Grosbeak
32. Indigo Bunting
33. Eastern Meadowlark
34. House Wren
35. Gray Catbird
36. Brown Thrasher
37. White-eyed Viroe
38. Red-eyed Vireo
39. Yellow-throated Vireo
40. Red-tail Hawk
41. American Kestrel
42. Turkey Vulture
43. Black Vulture
44. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
45. Killdeer
46. Red-headed Woodpecker
47. Red-bellied Woodpecker
48. Northern Flicker
49. Down Woodpecker
50. Green Heron
51. Great Blue Heron
52. Eastern Bluebird