Winter river hopping

Had to go downtown to take care of family business today, so I didn't really have much time to do any serious birding. I was wanting to go to Armleder , but since I had family with me, that was not an option. Instead, I decided to go river hopping by stopping at various spots along the Ohio River (I have found some of my best birds this way).

First stop was at Rivertowne Marina, where there were 3 Horned Larks on the entrance road.

2 of 3 horned larks seen. Love these birds!

Decided to drive to the back of the marina. Most of the water was frozen, but did manage to find a juvenile Double-crested Cormorant flapping its wings and a Great Blue getting ready to spear a fish. I don't run into cormorants in winter around here very often.

Juv. DC Cormorant and GB Heron.

Went to another nearby marina and was only able to find a Pied-billed Grebe and a few Canada Geese. Stopped at a few other sites along the river between Cincinnati and New Richmond, but didn't come up with anything noteworthy. However, I did come across a Killdeer (in a parking lot none the less), which is not too easy to find at this time of year.

Winter blahs...

There hasn't been much going on bird wise.

Ring-billed gulls on the wall in New Richmond

Desperately waiting for spring migration!

27th Annual East Fork Christmas Bird Count

Saturday, January 2nd was the 27th Annual East Fork Christmas Bird Count. This is my favorite of the two Cincinnati area counts that I participate in. (I only live about a mile outside of the circle)

I got a late start, so I wasn't able to do much owling. It was very cold and windy, and I wasn't able to call in any owls. (I had count week CW on Eastern Screech-owl).

Despite the cold, it turned out to be a very good day! (Most of the birding was done from the warm vehicle :-)

Here are some photo highlights from the day:

The first Red-headed Woodpecker of the day. We saw 20 more before the end of the day!

A little side-note: Most of the Red-headed Woodpeckers that we got I called in by making a sound that they can't seem to resist. You can make this sound by making a fist and blowing into it like playing a trumpet - make sure your lips are closed. If done right, they will respond within seconds.

One of the Rusty Blackbirds

Leucistic or piebald Northern Cardinal. Isn't this a cool looking bird?!

A nice way to end out a bad year...

While out taking care of business today, I decided to stop and bird a nice looking field adjacent to the Mill Creek in West Chester, Ohio (north of Cincy). Glad I did.

Birds seen included:

4 Wilson's Snipe
6 Eastern Meadowlarks
Several White-crowned, Song, American Tree Sparrows
3 Redtail Hawks
3 American Kestrels
Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Ducks, Belted Kingfisher,

and this Peregrine Falcon diving on some Mourning Doves: (Keep watching, a Peregrine will soon appear!) P.S. - There is no sound!

National Blue Jay Awareness Month

Author Laura Erickson has declared this December to be National Blue Jay Awareness Month! For the details behind her "official" declaration, please visit her Twin Beaks Blog.



**I must profess that I was a hunter before I was a birder. I was brought up around hunting and fishing, which is what led to my becoming a birder. I eventually started paying attention to every natural thing around me and ended up doing very little actual hunting at all.**

Blue Jays are not well regarded by most hunters. When I first started hunting deer, I was told that "If you hear blue jays screaming, do not bother hunting in that spot - they'll give you away!" However, from my own personal experiences, I have found the opposite to be true. Deer are curious animals. I have had more deer come in to investigate all the commotion/scolding put on by jays than be spooked by them.

I have hunter friends that often ask me how they can REPEL Blue Jays! I would ask them in return - "Why would you want to repel a bird as cool as a Blue Jay?"


Of all the many birds that come to my feeders, the Blue Jay is the only bird that my mother will ask me over and over "That is a beautiful bird, what bird is that?"


Not only are Blue Jays intelligent, fun, and interesting to watch, they can lead you to good birds! (My favorite thing about them!)

This Sharp-shinned Hawk was found and was carefully being watched by the local Blue Jays!

Early morning Merlin

Woke up this morning, looked out the window, and found this Merlin perched in the tree across the street. I am starting to see more and more Merlins around my place every fall/winter. (Lighting was terrible. This was a quick snap, as the bird didn't stay long)

Another so-so birding day in SW Ohio

Seeing all my birder friends' lists from recent trips from all over the place has got me wanting to see birds. Since my current financial situation will not allow me to travel to the places where good birds are, I can only bird locally for now. (My life list has been stuck at just under 300 for some time, partly due a lack of funds and the lack of quality bird habitat in SW Ohio - specifically referring to wetland/shorebird habitat)

I decided to stop by East Fork State Park Nov. 16th. I have had the feeling that I am overdue to get a good bird or rarity for some time now, but today was not the day. A quick scan of the beach and the lake with the scope only produced Ring-billed Gulls and 3 Herring Gulls. That was it. As I was getting ready to take off, a woman and her child walked down to the water's edge and the child threw something into the water. About 3 seconds later, I noticed a bird with white wing patches flying in fast from the right. It landed right in front of me. It was my FOS (first of season) Red-breasted Merganser (female). I don't know where the bird came from, but I can see how I missed it as it was feeding(?):

Feeding or drinking? female Red-breasted Merganser

The bird finally stopped feeding(?) and started preening.

After not seeing anything else, I decided to stop by the dam as I had to go that way anyway. Scanned the lake a second time and only came up with 2 Mallards and 6 Pied-billed Grebes. As I was getting ready to leave, a large bird flew in from over the tree line - an immature Bald Eagle that landed in a tree across the lake. At about the same time, another birder came running up to the car asking if I had seen it. I stopped to talk to him and ended up carrying on a long conversation about eagles, people we both know, and eagles. Always enjoy meeting new birders!! About 5 minutes into our conversation about eagles, another immature Bald Eagle flew in from the same direction and landed in the same tree.

I was able to get a distant shot of the eagles from across the lake. There are 2 eagles in the picture below if you look hard enough. (click on image for larger image)