A Random Merlin

Tweet Haven't been able to get out much with work, so today I decided to make a quick stop by the beach at East Fork after work.  Scanning the gulls on the beach turned up nothing of note.  I proceeded to walk the beach when I noticed an Osprey sitting in a dead tree near the water (the Red-headed Woodpecker tree).  As I approached the said tree, the Osprey took flight and went out of sight.  I then noticed a dark small raptor sitting to the top right of where the Osprey was sitting in the dead tree.  I could not tell what it was at first, so I walked closer.  Upon closer approach, I could see that it was a small falcon.  It was too small to be the recently seen Peregrine.  It looked too chunky to be a Kestrel.  There is only one bird it could be - a Merlin.

 

The bird was still fairly far away.  Merlins used to be hard to find, but no so much now it seems.

The Merlin stayed perched and continued to preen for about a half hour or more.  A non-birder then walked up and asked what I was looking at.  I showed him the bird.  The conversation then turned to Bald Eagles, and about twenty minutes after we were discussing eagles, an immature Bald Eagle flew overhead.  I let him use my binoculars to view the eagle, for which he was very grateful.  

After the Merlin, I watched the Osprey fishing off of the beach.  I don't have much luck with trying to photograph them while they are fishing.  Below is an example:

(The bird is completely under the water)

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Red, white and black

Tweet Fall migration seems to have cooled down locally, with not much turnover occurring.  Fall is definitely in the air here, as morning lows have been in the low 40's recently.  While waiting for the next big cold front to come in with some force and stir things up bird wise, I have been enjoying some of the harder to find birds that have been around all summer.

While Broad-winged Hawks breed around my neck of the woods, I rarely see them outside of migration.  I spied this bird perched on a wire last week.  This bird was very near a spot where they used to nest.  Not sure if it is a migrant or a local.  Using the car as a blind, I snapped these quick shots out the car window.

This bird presented a nice study in identification.  Immature Red-shouldered Hawks often get misidentified as Broad-wings during Christmas Bird Counts.  The thing to look at in this situation is the jizz of the bird.  The bird has a different profile and shape than that of a Red-shouldered Hawk.  However, I am not going to go into the fine points of raptor ID, as this post is about another awesome bird...

The Red-headed Woodpecker!

While hearing them up in the woods for most of the summer at East Fork, I have not payed much attention to their presence.  This is because past experience with trying to see and or photograph them usually has proven to be very difficult.  However, after other birders have spotted them moving around the trees near the lake, they have become very popular locally.

Yesterday, I decided to spend some time with them - just watching them and also attempting to get a somewhat OK picture of one.  They are not the easiest of birds to photograph!

The birds have been very active and territorial, chasing almost everything out of their feeding territory.  I have witnessed scuffles between them and Blue Jays, squirrels, and other red-headeds.

Such a nice looking bird.  There is nothing like watching them fly around over your head.  Many birds were caching acorns for the winter in the nearby dead trees.  I hope this is a sign that they intend to stay in the area for the winter.

The lighting here is a challenge for photography, but I was able to get a couple OK close ups.  They do not stay still very long.

They stay hidden on the backside of the trees and limbs, just poking their head around to see what is going on and then out of sight again

I spent about three hours just watching the Red-headed Woodpeckers.  Just awesomeness - I think I could spend a whole day watching them!

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Some Black Terns and another surprise!

Tweet I finally made it out to East Fork SP on Labor Day to look for any birds that might have been blown it from the remnants of Hurricane Issac.  I got excited when I spotted some interesting birds way out.  As they got closer, I noticed that they were Black Terns.  They always get me excited because they are more seabird looking then our other terns.  Here is some photos that show what I mean.

Here they are far up in the sky.  They don't even look like typical terns.  They are so small.

Here is a slightly closer view.

Here, the bird looks a little more tern like.  And when the bird is perched on land, it looks all tern like.

They are the tern that I see the least out of all our four tern species expected in SW Ohio.

Tuesday Morning, I went back to see if I could find anything new.  The only terns remaining out of the Caspian, Common, and Blacks were the Black Terns.  I didn't notice anything different except for the addition of a first of season Blue-winged Teal flyby.

I then noticed a shorebird hanging with the many Killdeer in the grass up from the beach.  I thought Lesser Yellowlegs and just continued on.  While walking back to the car, I saw it again and said to myself "this is something different."  The bird looked and behaved differently to me.  I then began to think Stilt Sandpiper.  I thought, why would one be so far from the water in the grass?  I don't know.  It seemed to like the grass and sidewalks.

Here is the only picture I was able to get that is identifiable.  The bird was skittish and did not allow for close approach.  The lighting was not good with light mist.

 

I only had limited experience with this bird.  All my previous views of this bird was through a scope at a much farther distance.  Thanks to the birders on the Facebook Group Birding Ohio for confirming the ID of this bird as a Stilt Sandpiper. 

9/5 Update:  The Stilt Sandpiper still remains.  It appears to me to have an injured right wing.  Here are some better pics of the bird from this morning.

Walking down the sidewalk was common for this bird.

You never know what you'll find during Fall migration!  

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