Back in the Action! #109 - #112

Well it's fall migration time and I've been going a little nuts reading everybody's posts about the birds they are seeing but not having the time to go out! Well over the weekend I got my chance. I managed to pick up a few new birds as well. On Saturday morning I visited the Beach City backwaters to follow up on reports of warblers moving through the area. Unfortunately I never got a clear view of any though I think some stayed just out of sight. I did here quite a few White-eyed Vireo, which seems to be a favorite haunt of theirs. Plenty of other common birds where around, but also playing hard to spot in the thick understory. The spot of the day was a Broad-winged Hawk flying overhead. Did that ever silence the birds for awhile!

Broad-winged Hawk, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Sunday afternoon I headed out for the Bobolink area grand tour: The Wilderness Center, Killbuck Marsh and Funk Bottoms. I was almost breathless from excitement heading out, visions of migratory birds flooding Wilderness Rd. in my head. I quick stop at the observation window at TWC yielded a great look at a Chestnut-sided Warbler amongst piles of Gold Finch and Chipmunk. But the "Wilderness" was calling and I stayed not long...

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology


OH THE SORROW when I arrived!!! Almost all the the mudflats where dry and had turned into mere grassland. Being that I also had no spotting scope the few birds still hanging around the area where far out of ID reach. I may have seen the Bobolink, but alas I could not be sure. A bald Eagle in the distance was but cold comfort for my new bird hunger. BUT fret not! I did see a site that tickled both the new bird and funny bone. Strolling past one of the pools (you know the water that used to be in the mudflats before being pumped out = grrr) I spotted some Canada Goose decoys floating quietly in the breeze (double grrr). Low and behold, atop the headless rump of a ducking decoy was defiantly perched a Double-crested Cormorant basking lazily in the afternoon sun. I could have kissed that cheeky bird! THAT was worth the drive for sure.

Double-crested Cormorant, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Sorry to say that my brain must have overheated in the sunshine and I missed my window to stop by the Funk Bottoms observation platform - no Sandhill Cranes for me yet... I did, however stop by Wright Marsh and, thanks to the spotting scope of some young Amish birders, I finally got a peak at a Common Moorhen. As a point of interest Wright Marsh seems to be shaping up nicely. A VERY large mudflat in the works.

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

That's all for now. I WILL live to bird another day! Bird on!


View Weekend Birding 9/11-9/12 in a larger map


Photo Credits:

Broad Winged Hawk - Len Blumin
Chesnut-sided Warbler - Cephas
Double-crested Cormorant - MONGO
Common Moorhen - Jens Nielsen

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!