ONE Hundred!!!!!!!! AND... #94 - #108

Oh how sweet it is! My #100th life bird (and 2010 goal) has come and gone today in a flurry of shorebird and water fowl wonderfulness. Today's arena of Avian adventure?? Pipe Creek in Sandusky, Ohio. Nestled in the fringes of Sandusky bay and just across the water from the infamous Cedar Point, Pipe Creek is a well tended wildlife area with several impoundments in which to view our feathered friends. All together, with the help of my decorated birding buddy Greg Miller, I added 15 new life birds to my list between 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM.

Terns in flight over Pipe Creek (Cedar Point in the background):



It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside with a cool breeze blowing from the north and temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's this morning. We didn't need to go further than division B because the birds were so plentiful. So here they are in listed order, my march to (and past) 100!!

Up first, the duck with bill to spare, The Northern Shoveler:


Northern Shoveler, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Sticking out like a sore thumb, in white plumage and notorious swimmin' and dippin', the Red-necked Phalarope:



The Killdeer look-alike less one stripe, the Semipalmated Plover:


Semipalmated Plover, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Looking like a mongrel mutt in off season plumage, the Black-bellied Plover:


Black-bellied Plover, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Standing tall among his compatriots, the Greater Yellowlegs:


Greater Yellowlegs, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Standing out in size and blazing "beakage", the Caspian Tern:


Caspian Tern, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Coming in strong at number 100 (place fireworks here) , the Common Tern:


Common Tern, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Wait, that's not a small Great Egret, that's a Snowy Egret:


Snowy Egret, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

With that striped-eye appeal, the Forster's Tern:


Forster's Tern, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The always understated, black-legged, Baird's Sandpiper:


Baird's Sandpiper, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The bird with the deep-dipped dip, the Stilt Sandpiper:


Stilt Sandpiper, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Flying with a flash of white and blue, the Blue-winged Teal:


Blue-winged Teal, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The not-quite-so-blue, white variant, frog-eatin', Little Blue Heron:


Little Blue Heron, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The duck with the big head, the Hooded Merganser:


Hooded Merganser, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

And finally, the all-over-the-place-at-McDonald's, Ring-billed Gull:


Ring-billed Gull, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology


Yes, we bid a fond farewell to the days of double digits and plod ever forward into the gilded halls of 100+ lifers. Our new goal we can now reveal - 150 birds by 2011??? We shall see! Muhahahahahahahahahahahahahah ha ha ha ha ........ Yes, bird watching does things to your brain.

Bird on!


View Pipe Creek Birding (8/16/10) in a larger map


Photo Credits:

Northern Shoveler - J.M.Garg
Red-necked Phalarope - Teddy Llovet
Semipalmated Plover - D. Gordon E. Robertson
Black-bellied Plover - Tim Bowman
Greater Yellowlegs - Mike Baird
Caspian Tern - Dick Daniels
Common Tern - Andreas Trepte
Snowy Egret - Mike Baird
Forster's Tern - Alan Vernon
Baird's Sandpiper - Marlin Harms
Stilt Sandpiper - Len Blumin
Blue-winged Teal - http://www.naturespicsonline.com
Little Blue Heron - Len Blumin
Hooded Merganser - Len Blumin
Ring-billed Gull - Mdf

The Finch Whole Stole Tidbits

In a previous post I said our resident House Finch couple deserved some better photos and today I got some! Yes they are common feeder birds but you have to admit they are pretty cool. The intense raspberry coloring of the dude and the sublime understated streaking of our lady bird... yeah they are ready for a night out dancing, me thinks. So here they are, in my best photo taking abilities at present. All three of these images I took with my super secret spy rig. "What's that," you say? Merely pictures taken with my point and shoot aimed straight through my 8X42 Nikon Monarchs. Sometimes they come out half decent. You do what you can when you can't yet throw down the three grand for a high-end DSLR. One day... So tell me, what's in YOUR backyard??

(Click any of the photos below for a closer view)

Bring on the Funk! #91 - #93

Morning service was over, lunch was settled comfortably in the belly and the hope of never-before-seen shorebirds called to me from afar. Borrowing my friend's spotting scope added to the savor. Leaving at 2:00 from Winesburg I arrived about a half hour later at Wilderness Road in the Funk Bottoms Wilderness Area. What a sight! I counted about 100+ Canada Geese, 300-500+ Killdeer, a half dozen Great Blue Herons, a Great Egret, a pair of American Kestrel perching on the wires and several types of my target birds: sandpipers and wading shorebirds.

The time just flew by (no pun intended), as so often happens when birding, especially when birding new birds. The dizzying similarity of shorebirds along with the hot mid-day sun and the constant looking through scope and binoculars...PHEW! (So worth it). In the end I feel confident that I was able to accurately identify three new lifers: Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher (pictured below in the same order).



Lesser Yellowlegs, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Pectoral Sandpiper, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Short-billed Dowitcher, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Three fine birds all, and not too bad for three hours work. It was 5:00 when I finally packed it in feeling quite dehydrated. A short trip later and I had an Arizona Tea in one hand and a Frosty Twin in the other. Yeah, that's how we roll. Bird on.


View Funk finds 8/8/2010 in a larger map


Photo Credits:

Lesser Yellowlegs - Mdf
Pectoral Sandpiper - Andreas Trepte
Short-billed Dowitcher - Mike Baird

Gotta Fly!

For some reason, the 83 East / New Philadelphia exit off of 77 South seems to be a hot spot for European Starling migration staging. As you can see, there are thousands of birds now gathered in the area. Let the wonder of migration commence!

In Me Own Backyard

Well.... I haven't been able to slip out birding for awhile- you know real life responsibilities and all, but I HAVE been able to bring the winged wonders to me! I finished my backyard bird-feeding station not too long ago, even more than what I'd previously posted. I added a mulch bed, planted a Butterfly Bush and transplanted some Hostas along the border. Since then the word has caught on and we are burning seed for the neighborhood gang! Nothing out of the ordinary but still very fun to watch. Here's a couple of snapshots from out of the back window. The max number I think we hit is around 30 - 40 thanks to the (of course) house sparrow herd.

About 33 birds at one time here - mostly House Sparrows

Our local Blue Jay - sometimes he sounds like a hawk... sometimes a monkey

Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Goldfinch (behind the bag) and House Sparrow

Our resident pair of breeding Cardinals - they fledged 3 offspring this year

A beautiful House Finch - he deserves a better photo...

Total list of all backyard birds so far:

1) American Goldfinch
2) Mourning Dove
3) House Sparrow
4) House Finch
5) Song Sparrow
6) Northern Cardinal
7) Blue Jay

That's all for now - happy birding!

Raise the Rufous!! #90

Ooooooooo yeah. Life bird #90 was sweet. We had quite a party tonight out on Emerson Rd. west of Kidron, OH. I good number of birders came out today from all over Ohio to see a small bird with some big flash.

Around 2:00 pm in the afternoon I stopped by and met a couple from St. Mary's, Ohio. Jean & Debbie Knox traveled for three hours today to catch a glimpse of our bird. Their diligence was rewarded about an hour before I arrived and the bird didn't come by while I was there (such is birding).

Jean & Debbie checking out the feeders.

Anxious for a second chance, I came back around 6:00 pm. A fresh group of birders was huddled in the shade around the front porch. Laura took the prize for having the most awesome birder pride on her car!

Click the photo to see her bumper stickers up close - hilarious (and true)!

From left to right: Mike Smith - Wellington, OH;
Dave English - Chagrin Falls, OH; Laura Keene - Mason, OH.

At about 6:20 a blazing orange fireball came zooming in to light upon a hanging glass full of sweet sugary goodness. Until now I've only had the privilege of seeing Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. What an exceptional moment, for the first time, to see a Rufous Hummingbird up close. By the time 6:30 pm rolled around, the Rufous, along with three Ruby-Throats, were dominating the area, dive bombing and dueling for "king of the perch". It was a special show, worth coming back for!

Laura took some fantastic photos of the bird, which you can see on her Flikr photostream here.

Special thanks to Chris Troyer and his family for their gracious hospitality!

Rufous Hummingbird, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology




View Rufous Hummingbird in a larger map