Notes From The Field

I’ve neglected my blog lately…and I’m blaming work. Have you ever had one of those weeks where you come home after a super busy day at work and feel like just vegging out for the evening and go to bed early. That was me this week. And despite having a wonderful day birding with Jon last Saturday, I just couldn’t find the energy to sit down and write a blog post. Sorry everyone.

Like I said last Saturday Jon and myself hit the woods hard looking for migrants at some of our local hot spots. Shawnee Lookout Park, Lost Bridge, The Oxbow, Smith Tract, and Armleder Park.  It was a beautiful day and the birds on a whole were plentiful in some areas, however in others it wasn’t. Trying to find where the wading birds are can be a challenge, and last Saturday was no different as we tried several spots where we’ve seen them before, only to strike out every time.

Warblers were plentiful and as always another challenge for myself trying to get any kind of serviceable photograph. Our day list was pretty good, so instead of boring you with week old birding news I’ll just skip to the list of birds intermixed with some photos. You see I need to keep this blog post short because I still have to get ready for when I go to my favorite birding hotspot tomorrow, Boone County Cliffs.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Bald Eagle
2. Ring-billed Gull
3. Double-creasted Cormorant
4. Bonaparte’s Gull
5. Cooper’s Hawk
6. Red-shouldered Hawk
7. Red-tailed Hawk
8. American Kestrel
9. Killdeer
10. Blue-winged Teal
11. Mallard
12. Northern Mockingbird
13. American Robin
14. Gray Catbird
15. Mourning Dove
16. Canada Geese
17. Tree Swallow
18. Chimney Swift
19. Barn Swallow
20. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
21. Northern Cardinal
22. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
23. Tufted Titmouose
24. Carolina Chickadee
25. Carolina Wren
26. House Wren
27. Wild Turkey
28. Wood Thrush
29. Northern Parula
30. Eastern Towhee
31. Eastern Goldfinch
32. Red-bellied Woodpecker
33. Pileated Woodpecker
34. Hairy Woodpecker
35. Northern Flicker
36. Prothonotary Warbler
37. Green Heron
38. Great Blue Heron
39. Song Sparrow
40. White-throated Sparrow
41. Wood Duck
42. Yellow-throated Warbler
43. Chipping Sparrow
44. Yellow-rumped Warbler
45. Eastern Phoebe
46. Blue-winged Warbler
47. White-eyed Vireo
48. Warbling Vireo
49. Red-eyed Vireo
50. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
51. Brown-headed Cowbird
52. European Starling
53. Red-winged Blackbird
54. American Crow
55. Yellow-throated Vireo
56. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
57. White-breasted Nuthatch
58. Black-throated Green Warbler
59. Field Sparrow
60. Orchard Oriole
61. Baltimore Oriole
62. Common Yellowthroat
63. Indigo Bunting
64. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
65. Turkey Vulture
66. Black Vulture
67. Common Grackle
68. Cerulean Warbler
69. Blue Jay
70. Louisiana Waterthrush
71. Prairie Warbler
72. American Redstart
73. Osprey
74. Hermit Thrush
75. Northern Shoveler
76. American Coot
77. Eastern Meadowlark
78. Wilson’s Snipe
79. Yellow Warbler
80. Eastern Kingbird

Notes From The Field

Brookville Lake, Lost Bridge, Fernald Preserve, Smith Tract Park, & Liberty Indiana

For some reason I’m not finding the time to keep the old blog updated, and for that I apologize. Life outside of birding has been a little hectic for myself and my family so please be patient with me as I’ll try to do a better job.

This last Saturday found my good friend Gene and myself on the road for a full morning and afternoon of some long distance birding. Still wanting to hit the jackpot with shorebirds has been kind of dismal down in this part of Ohio, so we were hoping for a turn of the coin in terms of find some good shorebirds. My plan for the morning was to hit the mud flats at Brookville Lake, however Gene had been at Lost bridge the evening before  and reported some good shorebirds, including a pair of Baird’s Sandpipers.

Anyway you slice it, it’s a 45 minute drive at the least to Lost Bridge from my house, and with the lighter than average traffic it still took 45 minutes. It was still early when we arrived and upon checking out the large dirt field next to Lost Bridge for shorebirds, we were disappointed with the lack of standing water and total lack of birds. And the same could be said about Lost Bridge. Even though there was plenty of exposed sand and mug under, and extending up river and down from the bridge, there was hardly any birds.

Knowing we had a long drive to Brookville Lake we decided to leave and get a head start to the lake. The far northern end of the lake is the best spot for any shorebirds. The water is very shallow, and in years past it has been a hotspot for some great birds, except today.

While driving down to the lake we would stop and do some roadside birding and had some good luck doing that. That’s until we made our way to the lake. The water level was still too high for the smaller wading birds, so we were left with the usual Great Egrets, and Great Blue Herons.

However upon doing some scanning of the Ring-billed Gulls that were congregating I noticed a Caspian Tern had joined the gulls. A nice bird for the day count.

We searched for many a minute for anything that would excite us, but to no avail. We needed a spark to the day so we made our way to Liberty Indiana to see if we could re-locate the Eurasian-collared Doves that have been known to hang out at these grain silos in the middle of town. ECDO are becoming more and more prevalent in this part of the country, even though eBird still considers them a rarity in Ohio, but in Indiana just over the border they aren’t. Anyway it was Gene who noticed 2 doves perched on a wire next to the grain silos. getting my bins on them I noticed the squared off tail and white undertail coverts, plumber in size in relation to the Mourning Dove sitting next to it. Even though I couldn’t see the black collar, the other field marks was dead on.

After having success with finding the ECDO, we started to make our slow drive back. With frequent stops at Fernald Preserve, Smith Tract Park we had a pretty good day count for the middle of August. Some of the sparrow species that were present just weeks earlier are now gone like Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, or they’re just not showing themselves. We did have a great look at both male and female Blue Grosbeaks, which I’ve seen almost every time I’ve been out this Summer.

Saturday was a great example of being able to spot quality birds in good numbers. Granted our objective was to find shorebirds, and we did find a few, however we made the best of the situation and came away with a nice number  of birds during these dog days of Summer. They’re out there, you just have to be both diligent and patient, and you’ll see them.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Bald Eagle
2. American Kestrel
3. Black Vulture
4. Turkey Vulture
5. Red-shouldered Hawk
6. Red-tailed Hawk
7. Osprey
8. Great Blue Heron
9. Great Egret
10. Green Heron
11. Spotted Sandpiper
12. Pectoral Sandpiper
13. Lesser Yellowleg
14. Double-crested Cormorant
15. Mute Swan
16. Eastern Bluebird
17. Eastern Kingbird
18. Northern Mockingbird
19. Tree Swallow
20. Chimney Swift
21. Cliff Swallow
22. Barn Swallow
23. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
24. Purple Martin
25. Northern Flicker
26. Blue Jay
27. House Wren
28. Carolina Wren
29. Carolina Chickadee
30. Indigo Bunting
31. Blue Grosbeak
32. White-eyed Vireo
33. Eastern Towhee
34. Canada Goose
35. Mallard
36. Wood Duck
37. Belted Kingfisher
38. Song Sparrow
39. Field Sparrow
40. Chipping Sparrow
41. House Sparrow
42. Common Yellowthroat
43. Downy Woodpecker
44. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
45. Eastern Phoebe
46. Northern cardinal
47. American Robin
48. American Crow
49. Mourning Dove
50. Eurasian-collared Dove
51. Caspian Tern
52. Ring-billed Gull
53. Common Grackle
54. Red-winged Black Bird
55. Pigeon
56. American Goldfinch
57. Scarlet tanager
58. Gray Catbird
59. European Starling
60. Killdeer

Notes From The Field

Grassland Series

After dipping on the Willets and Marbled Godwit at East Fork S.P. this morning I made the decision to make the big loop around the city and visit my go-to spot for another of our summer grassland birds. The Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) 

Not nearly as reclusive as the Henslow’s Sparrow, however they aren’t a sure thing when visiting any grassland in this area. With a very high pitched, insect buzz of a call this might be the only way to locate these small brown birds. But the good thing is when you do hear them call it’s a good indication that they’re tied up on something.

This is Smith Tract County Park. A undeveloped piece of property that is so ideal for grassland birds during the summer.

Today was a digiscoping day and I was determined to capture a Grasshopper Sparrow so I could continue this series of posts. However there is one bird I neglected to mention. During the summer you can find them pretty much anywhere, however they do prefer brushy open fields.

Indigo Bunting belting out a tune.

One nice thing about Smith Tract is the low number of Red-winged Blackbirds. It’s not like there were none. It’s nice not having to pick out bird calls over the noise they can make when there are multiple numbers of these noisy birds.

Probably the loudest birds there today were the Dickcissels.

As I made my way down the hill towards the flat section of the park there was an area that was holding a lot of water from the rain yesterday. Before I walked around this wet area I scanned the tops of the vegetation. Grasshopper Sparrows were beginning to sing and I wanted to be patient with these spooky birds.

There he was. He was a good distance from me, and this was the best picture I could get. I wanted to circle the wet area and get a closer shot, but…he flew off!

I continued on another 100 yards and kept hearing multiple birds calling on both sides of me. Not sure which direction to go I just stayed put this time. Then I found another one off to my right. Not wanting to blow this opportunity I moved real slow towards this silent bird.

With a beak full of something green this Grasshopper was very cooperative. I would take a few pictures, creep forward a few yards and stop to take more pictures. This was my best from the lot I took.

Satisfied with today’s find and photographs I made my way back to the car, but not after getting a shot of an Eastern Meadowlark next to the parking lot.

Another bird with a beak full of something.

As the dog days of Summer wear on in the Ohio Valley hopefully I’ll be able to continue with this series on grassland/ wetland birds. Only if it quits raining long enough to get out.

Notes From The Field

Bellevue Bottoms, Boone County Cliffs, The Oxbow, Lost Bridge, Smith Tract County Park

It was an early morning risin’ as I set off from my local UDF with coffee in hand towards Jon’s house. Today’s destination is our yearly trip to Boone County Cliffs, which is the biggest 78 acre park I’ve ever visited. But first we’re passing the turn off to the “cliffs” and heading towards a couple of dead end roads which recently has had some good bird reports. Especially Henslow Sparrows and Northern Bobwhites. We’re traveling to an area of Boone County Kentucky that is called Bellevue Bottoms. With it’s close proximity to the Ohio River and Aurora Indiana this part of the tri-state is new to me and has so much potential for some good birding in the future.

I’m assuming at one time these 2 roads (Horsley Ferry and Aurora Ferry Roads) had serviceable ferries that crossed the river, and being dead end there wasn’t too much traffic and walking on the road wasn’t an issue. Northern Bobwhite, Bank Swallow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Orioles, Eastern Kingbird, and Vireos were some of the more numerous species seen. After leaving this beautiful rural setting it was off to Boone County Cliffs.

As we turned onto Middleboro Road we are greeted with a singing Eastern Phoebe perched on a bridge post. And as was the case for the day no camera within reach. So I opted to leave it behind today and just focus on the birds. Sometimes when I go birding I focus too much on getting a decent picture of the bird than concentrating on what’s important, the actual bird. Then when I’m scrambling to retrieve my camera from it’s case, the bird is gone.

Boone County Cliffs is without a doubt in my top 5 places to visit within my 50 mile radius of home. Great hiking trail that winds on for 2 miles deep in some beautiful deciduous woods. A great variety of birds await anyone who visits this gem. However today the target birds are Kentucky and Worm-eating Warblers. Worm-eating warblers especially habitat specific and Boone County Cliffs are noted for multiple nesting “Wormies”. Since I starting visiting here I’ve not missed on this bird, it’s that reliable. With just a good set of ears and some patience anyone can either see of hear them. There call is a high pitched thrill that’s difficult to pick up at first if you’re not used to hearing it. Which was the case this morning. Jon was hearing one in the distance, but I couldn’t pick it up till I heard one close and got “tuned in”.

We were greeted with over active Louisiana Waterthrush’s as multiple birds chased each other around in the area of a small stream that cascades down towards the road we came in on. A thick canopy and under growth close in on both sides of the trail as we started to climb towards the area of the cliffs. Vireos, Flycatchers, Orioles, Tanagers, and my most favorite bird song, the Wood Thrush were everywhere.

This 2 mile trail finally reached it’s highest point, then started to level out with a gently rolling path that followed the contour of the ridge top. We’d pause and listen if a bird peaked our interest, or if a sudden movement caught our eye. As we made our way deeper into the woods we started to hear Wormies a little closer and had a great look of an Ovenbird. The one thing about Ovenbirds and Kentucky warblers is that their calls are very similar. And after we really listened, at both a Kentucky Warbler and an Ovenbird we finally were able to tell the difference when we heard more sing later on.

THEN OUR SOLITUDE WAS BROKEN BY GUN FIRE!

We had heard voices behind us for some time, but being a pretty popular place to go birding we never gave it much thought as this group of people were several hundred yards behind us the whole time. We didn’t know if they were birders or not, but there loud talking made us think they were just hiking. That was until one of the idiots discharged their gun, which in turned scared the shit out of the both of us. Jon then yells back at them that we’re up here and not to shoot their gun again. We reported the incident to the police and made a hasty retreat to our car, not wanting to run into some pissed off locals with a loaded gun. A very disturbing end to a great birding outing.

We took the long way home with stops at the Oxbow were a group of Great Egrets yielded one Snowy Egret, and a couple Prothonotary Warblers. After leaving the Oxbow we made our way to Smith tract County Park. In the past a good spot for Bell’s Vireo and Lark Sparrows. However the area where they’re usually sen has been taken over by a company that is using the area for a huge pipe line project. I real bummer. But on a bright note we did get some good looks as a Grasshopper Sparrow as it sang from the top of some weed.

And since it was an early day we called it over after leaving Smith Tract. Despite the disturbing end to our visit at “The Cliffs”, it was a great day of birding.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. American Kestrel
2. Black Vulture
3. Turkey Vulture
4. Dickcissel
5. Yellow Warbler
6. Common Yellowthroat
7. Yellow-throated Warbler
8. Cerulean Warbler
9. Hooded warbler
10. Worm-eating Warbler
11. Kentucky Warbler
12. Louisiana Waterthrush
13. Northern Parula
14. Yellow-breasted Chat
15. Field Sparrow
16. Chipping Sparrow
17. House Sparrow
18. Grasshopper Sparrow
19. Song Sparrow
20. Cedar Waxwing
21. Gray Catbird
22. Red-winged Blackbird
23. Common grackle
24. Common Crow
25. Northern Cardinal
26. Tufted Titmouse
27. Carolina Chickadee
28. Carolina Wren
29. House Wren
30. Indigo Bunting
31. Baltimore Oriole
32. Orchard Oriole
33. Brown Thrasher
34. Northern Mockingbird
35. Mourning Dove
36. Northern Bobwhite
37. American goldfinch
38. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
39. Great-creasted Flycatcher
40. Willow flycatcher
41. Acadian Flycatcher
42. Eastern Kingbird
43. Downy Woodpecker
44. Hairy Woodpecker
45. Red-bellied Woodpecker
46. Pileated Woodpecker
47. Great Blue Heron
48. Green Heron
49. Great Egret
50. Snowy Egret
51. Canada Goose
52. Mallard
53. Purple Martin
54. Tree Swallow
55. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
56. Bank Swallow
57. Cliff Swallow
58. Barn Swallow
59. Red-eyed Vireo
60. White-eyed Vireo
61. Warbling Vireo
62. Chimney Swift
63. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
64. Double-creasted Cormorant
65. Blue jay
66. Wood Thrush
67. American Robin
68. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
69. Scarlet Tanager
70. Belted Kingfisher
71. Spotted Sandpiper
72. Common Loon
73. White-breasted Nuthatch

January 100 Species Challenge/ 2013

Wanting to get a quick start into this challenge, I awoke early and hit the birding trail making several stops throughout the morning and early afternoon in hopes of adding to my meager list. My first stop was a lake at an RV park on the border with Indiana to get a look at the 1st year Surf Scoter. After that it was off to Smith Tract County Park, Fernald Preserve, Armleder Park, Grand Valley Preserve, then finally ending at a stretch of Fletcher Road which is on the other side of Grand Valley.

Despite the low light conditions and the haze hovering above the water, I was able to squeeze out this terrible picture of the 1st year Surf Scoter.

1 of 2 Northern Pintails seen at Fernald Preserve.

Lapland Longspurs

So the 1st list will be a continuation of the 100 Species Challenge, and the 2nd list will be the remainer of the birds seen today that are already on the 100 species list.

• #20-Eastern Bluebird
• #21-Horned Lark
• #22-Lapland Longspur
• #23-Northern Mockingbird
• #24-Pied-billed Grebe
• #25-Canada Goose
• #26-Bufflehead
• #27-Gadwall
• #28-Mallard
• #29-Ruddy Duck
• #30-Cackling Goose
• #31-Northern Pintail
• #32-Green-winged Teal
• #33-American Coot
• #34-Ring-necked Duck
• #35-Hooded Merganser
• #36-Northern Harrier
• #37-American Kestrel
• #38-Red-tailed Hawk
• #39-Red-shouldered Hawk
• #40-Surf Scoter
• #41-Brown Creeper
• #42-Cedar Waxwing
• #43-White-crowned Sparrow
• #44-White-throated Sparrow
• #45-Yellow-rumped Warbler
• #46-Belted Kingfisher
• #47-Eastern Towhee
• #48-Golden-crowned Kinglet
• #49-Red Head
• #50-Rock Pigeon
• #51-American Robin
• #52-Mute Swan
• #53-Great Blue Heron
• #54-American Crow
• #55-Ring-billed Gull

1. Dark-eyed Junco
2. Mourning Dove
3. European Starling
4. Carolina Wren
5. Carolina Chickadee
6. Northern Cardinal
7. Tufted titmouse
8. Red-bellied Woodpecker
9. Northern Flicker
10. Downy Woodpecker
11. Blue Jay
12. Song Sparrow

Now it starts to get tough!

Notes From The Field

Lost Bridge and Smith Tract County Park

I had the morning to myself, which hung to you like a damp shirt just out of the washing machine. Gray overcast skies with a threat of rain wasn’t going to deter me from getting in some birding this Sunday.

Yesterday a report came in that some pretty good early Fall migration shorebirds were foraging under Lost Bridge on the Great Miami River. This spot can be particularly hot, especially during migration. Migration you say! Yes, Fall migration. It seems we’re starting to see a trickle of what will become a great Autumn. I was reading Jen Brumfield’s blog, NorthNW, and it’s looks like shorebirds are start to stack up in numbers along the Lake Erie coast, and sooner or later they’ll come our way.

I arrived at 8:30 as another couple were already scoping out the action. After everyone introduced themselves it was time to get down to business. Using binoculars was futile as I tried to pick up all the small Sandpipers feeding amongst the rocky edges. As I settled behind my spotting scope then the birds finally came into focus. Trying to pick out a 6″ bird from any distance can be a challenge, however today was a little difficult since it was overcast and the birds blended in so well into the surroundings. Solitary, Least, Semipalmated, Spotted, and one lone Western Sandpiper were some of the highlights as I scanned the area over and over again in hopes that I didn’t miss anything.

Belted Kingfisher

After 90 minutes I decided to pack it in and head for home. However when I started to drive away I thought why not stop off at Smith tract for a quick look. It’s been a few months since I was last there, and I also wanted to see if the resident Common Loons were still there.

This place has some wonderful habitat and it started out pretty quick as soon as I got there. A Bell’s Vireo was singing and I actually got a brief view of this reclusive bird. I also got to get a few pictures of a very cooperative Blue Grosbeak. It’s too bad that it was behind a branch and hiding it’s beautiful coloration.

Blue Grosbeak

And yes the Loons were there. We normally don’t see Common Loons around these parts till the Autumn and Winter, not July. But there they were, a lovely couple.

Common Loons

Disappointing was the lack of any Dickcissels. Normally quite plentiful in this area, I never heard a one. However one bird that were in good numbers were Grasshopper Sparrows. I was only able to get one good picture as it perched on top of a branch and sing.

Grasshopper Sparrow

It was a much needed break from the stresses of work and other issues that seem to fill our lives. Even though I was only out for a few hours I came home with a nice list for the day.

As for my trip this weekend to Mississippi. I’m going to slip my bins into my carry-on in hopes that I might catch a few hours of birding early Saturday morning, but I’m not counting on it.

Notable birds for the day include:

1. Killdeer
2. Great Blue Heron
3. Green Heron
4. Common Crow
5. Canada Goose
6. Osprey
7. Cooper’s Hawk
8. Mourning Dove
9. Northern Cardinal
10. Prairie Warbler
11. Yellow Warbler
12. Barn Swallow
13. Bank Swallow
14. Gray Catbird
15. Mallard
16. Least Sandpiper
17. Semipalmated Sandpiper
18. Western Sandpiper
19. Solitary Sandpiper
20. Spotted Sandpiper
21. Short-billed Dowitcher
22. Lesser Yellowleg
23. Belted Kingfisher
24. Red-bellied Woodpecker
25. Common Loon
26. Bell’s Vireo
27. Field Sparrow
28. Song Sparrow
29. Grasshopper Sparrow
30. Blue Grosbeak
31. Eastern Meadowlark
32. Indigo Bunting
33. Northern Mockingbird
34. Orchard Oriole
35. Willow Flycatcher
36. American Goldfinch