Donald the birder's blog

Purple Finch!

2012-02-02T02:41:00.003-05:00

A beautiful male Purple Finch made an appearance today (Feb. 1st) at the feeders. It is the first one I have seen this winter. Had to take pics out the window, which I don't like to do.

Stupid stick!

I guess winter was cancelled?

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's February already! Where did fall end and winter begin? The feeders have been busy this winter, but alas no Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, American Tree Sparrows (only 1 all winter so far) and no Fox Sparrows.

Definitely one of the most mildest winters I can remember, as we have only really had one snow that amounted to anything, and that was just a dusting. Hoping for good birds, I set out that day to see what I could see.

Surprise, the best birds found were "Spring" birds. A couple of Eastern Phoebes were hanging out in a mixed species flock at Stonelick State Park. I was lucky to catch this one in the brief little sun available.

As I looked again, I noticed a second phoebe behind this one on the sidewalk. This would make three total Eastern Phoebes I have seen this January. This is strange, since this bird was missed totally on the Cincinnati Christmas Bird Count this winter.

I think the second phoebe must have seen its shadow, as it didn't stay long.

And, here is a bird find for you. See if you can find the bird in the pic below:

What camouflage!

And here is the bird close up.

American Pipit! Found three of them at East Fork a couple weeks ago.

Ducks have been hard to find this winter, as the water up north hasn't really stayed frozen for any length of time. I have found a few, but none close enough for a pic. Here is a far away Ruddy Duck from a few days ago at East Fork State Park. I like Ruddy Ducks, they are so sassy looking.

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The Big Year available on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow!

2012-01-30T12:09:00.011-05:00

The Big Year movie comes out on DVD and Blu-ray (whatever that is) tomorrow, the 31st of January.

I have been provided with a copy of the Big Year DVD from a Fox PR person. The DVD has an extended version with narration by John Cleese. I liked the introduction, but beyond that, I didn't care for the added narration. As this movie represents the first time birding has broke out into the mainstream, I think most non-birders would see the extra added info as overkill.

Uncovering The Big Year With Avery Delacroix

Own The Big Year on Blu-ray and DVD January 31st!

Disclaimer: I have been provided a free copy of the unreleased DVD to view and give my thoughts on here.

Warm, cold, warm

2012-01-04T20:24:00.016-05:00

The warm weather that has been the rule so far this winter had finally given way to some colder air, but only for a few days. Ponds have developed a thin film of ice. The temps are supposed to be above normal again for the rest of the week. I think the warmer weather has kept a lot of the birds up north as the water is (or was) still open.

Birds seemed hard to come by in the two CBC's that I participated in. Ducks were especially hard to find. I did get to count some Sandhill Cranes on one of the counts, an omen as to what was to come crane wise.

Some once common birds I remember from my childhood are now not as easy to find. One example is the American Kestrel. Used to love to see this bird hunt mice in the yard. Here is one of about 3 that I saw on the East Fork CBC. I remember seeing around 15 on this count not too long ago.

Today, the sun decided to make an appearance in the afternoon. I decided to take advantage of that by checking East Fork Lake.

Killdeer are usually hard to come by at this time of the year, but it seems that quite a few are deciding to tough it out. Here is a cold Killdeer from this morning. That is snow in the corner of the pic.

Today was the first day that I have not seen people out in boats on the main lake in a while. Thus, I finally seen some ducks. I was surprised to see this Red-breasted Merganser just off the beach. I think this bird has been missed on both CBC's that I participated in this year.

I heard Sandhill Cranes calling for much of the afternoon, but I couldn't spot them. Then, I spotted a flock coming over the tree line heading towards my direction. I was able to snap a couple pics and tried for the first time to shoot video with my camera.

I love the sound of Sandhills! (I don't care much for the motor drive noise while focusing though)

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It's CBC time!

2011-12-21T20:13:00.009-05:00

Looking forward to participating in a couple of Christmas Bird Counts this season. CBC season is my second favorite time of the year to bird (only to spring migration), as I get to see all my birding friends that I only see once a year. It is also cool to bird in places I wouldn't otherwise bird.

As it seems that it is always raining on my days off, I haven't been able to get out as much as I would like to have. The warmer than usual weather seems to be holding a lot of the birds up north.

However, I have been enjoying a nice show of resident raptors.

While having a bad day recently, I went out to my car to get something and looked up to find this beautiful immature Red-shouldered Hawk perched right above my head in a maple tree. Made my day a very good day!

At East Fork, I have been keeping an eye on the resident Bald Eagle Pair there. I have seen them mate and engage in courtship, so I feel there is a good chance of them attempting to breed at this location this year. Below is a recent shot of the pair from the car.

I have seen at least one immature Bald Eagle also hanging around. A sign that they were successful in the past, as the adult male would have chased it out of their territory otherwise.

With all the rain and clouds recently, it has been perfect weather for seeing Barred Owls in daylight. They often hunt all day on really cloudy days. I got lucky the other day to find this Barred Owl sitting in a tree on the side of the road. I just get this cool feeling when one is looking at me - love them!

Hope everyone is able to get out and put some birds on the map by participating in the many Christmas Bird Counts!

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Cooled down it has...

2011-11-30T18:00:00.008-05:00

Haven't been able to get out much with all of the rain we have been getting here. This year is already the wettest on record for Cincinnati, Ohio, and all the local bodies of water are above their banks. Cool down it did, as last night that rain had changed to the season's first snowfall. It was only a dusting and melted before the sun even came up here.

I was able to get out and look for Saw-whet Owls on Thanksgiving Day at a relative's property. I wasn't able to find any saw-whets, but I did find this Eastern Screech-owl right before sunset.

The low pressure that had brought all the rain and snow had moved out by morning, so I headed down to East Fork to see what had come in. I noticed an increase in waterfowl and grebes. I was lucky enough to catch some Horned Grebes fishing in front of me. I hid behind a tree as the birds swam closer. I watched them for a while.

They seemed curious of me, and swam up to me. Love their red eyes!

As the sun set today, I heard and then saw Sandhill Cranes flying over. All the while, Common Loons were giving their soul soothing call. A nice end to the day.

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Cooling down or heating up?

2011-11-09T11:38:00.010-05:00

The weather forecast calls for cooler temps and the chance of seeing the first snow flakes of the season. The birds have been locally "hot" this fall migration, and I hope that this trend continues through the winter season!

We have had some beautiful weather recently, and I have tried to get out birding as much as possible. The luck continues, as I have found some good birds too.

There has been word that a loon at East Fork could have been a Red-throated, but nobody got good enough views to confirm it (including me). Since a Red-throated Loon would be a life bird, I can't say with any certainty what I was looking at. Maybe one day I will have a Red-throated up close like this Common Loon from the other day at East Fork.

Common Loon winter plumage

I have never seen a Dunlin up close, only scope views. So I was happy to get to observe this Dunlin hanging out with a Least Sandpiper in the surf at East Fork beach.

The Dunlin was fun to watch. As a large wave would come in, the Dunlin would just stand there. One wave was big enough that the bird had to fly up through it!

And the good views of good birds continues. While walking along the beach, I saw some movement ahead of me and found three Snow Buntings lurking in the sand/grass. I usually only see them in the snow, so I forgot how camouflaged they are even in the sand and grass.

They seemed very curious of me, and followed me around for a little while. They would walk up to me and then appear to pose for the camera.

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The Franklin's Gull

2011-11-06T12:11:00.013-05:00

The gulls have been fantastic at East Fork so far this season, with Sabine's, Laughing, Franklin's, and possibly Lesser and Greater Black-backed as well as the regular Ring-billeds, Herrings and Bonaparte's.

Here are a few pics of the Franklin's Gulls that have been hanging out at East Fork. I haven't seen two Franklin's at the same time in a while, so I think just one bird remains. If gulls can be "nice looking", this gull definitely is (even in winter plumage!)

2 Franklin's Gulls (RB in the middle)

What you lookin' at!

And again, birds always staring me down.

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Where did the time go?

2011-11-02T16:18:00.014-04:00

It seems like just the other day that I was watching flocks of warblers moving through the yard. Actually, it has been about three to four weeks ago already. The warblers have been replaced by Juncoes, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. I saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker today. Of course, Yellow-rumped Warblers are still around and will be all winter.

I always enjoy seeing and watching mixed flocks around the change of the season. Birds that are thought of as warm weather birds like Cape May Warblers mingling with birds that are thought of as cold weather birds like Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Black-throated Green Warbler

There is a reason why I don't have pics of warblers on here often! Black-throated Greens are one of my favs, I see them in my yard more during fall migration.

Also see more of another one of my favs, Cape May Warbler. Here is a still bright male photographed during the second week of October.

Cape May Warbler

And of course, Yellow-rumped Warblers are everywhere by the first week of October. Why can't all warblers be this cooperative!

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Here is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that was hanging out with the warblers. I have only seen the red on their crown when I had one in the hand. Dang, they are harder to photograph then warblers!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Here's to seeing some good birds this winter. Hoping to be able to participate in the Christmas Bird Counts this year!

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Birding is Fun! contributor

2011-10-20T20:21:00.005-04:00

Starting this month and continuing on the 21st of each month, I will be writing for the blog Birding is Fun! as well as this blog. See you over there!

Sabine's Gull!

2011-10-16T19:35:00.020-04:00

Another Cincinnati area birder, Allan Claybon, photographed what appeared to be a juvenile Sabine's Gull at East Fork State Park on Saturday. I just saw the post on Sunday evening, so since I only live about ten minutes from that park, I headed out for a chance at this would-be life bird.

I got there about a couple hours before sunset and stayed till it started to get too crowded with people (sunset watchers I guess). I was there for about an hour and a half. I waited for about an hour by the resident gull flock for it to possibly fly in. I saw an adult Herring Gull fly in and land. I saw three Bonaparte's Gulls fly in including the one with three legs. Nothing else. More Ring-billed Gulls. and then, I saw something different looking coming in...

Juvenile Sabine's Gull!!

It flew in and landed on the water briefly, then proceeded to the beach to preen. There were people all around the gull flock, approaching it from both sides. I didn't expect the bird to stay long.

The bird was very skittish and was constantly moving. It stayed on the beach for about three minutes before a couple of young men walked close to the flock. It took to wing, flying just off the beach. A young boy then threw a football into the flock, and the gulls scattered and put down on the lake for the night.

This bird looked contented enough to stay here for a little while. It is very skittish though, so lots of activity close to the gull flock will spook it. Hope it stays. Thanks Allan for this awesome find and lifebird!!

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Book review: The Big Year (Movie tie-in Edition)

2011-10-13T15:09:00.035-04:00

The Big Year: A Tale of Nature, Man, and Fowl Obsession

By Mark Obmascik

In 1998, three birders consisting of Sandy Komito, Al Levatin, and Greg Miller decided to compete in a big year. A big year is where you compete to try to find as many species of birds as one can in the ABA area (mostly North America) in one year.

While I have never competed in a big year myself, this book had brought back many good birding memories. I could relate with the characters in the book, as it made me feel like I was birding with them. It was also cool to read about a birder that I know, fellow Ohio birder Greg Miller!

This book will make you laugh regardless of whether you're a birder or not. While I doubt that many non-birders would pick this book up just as a causal read, I feel that they would be entertained enough to read it all the way through if they did. For those non-birders, you will see just how obsessed us birders are when it comes to seeing good birds.

As most of my readers probably already know, the book has now become a major motion picture!

Whether or not the movie is ornithologically correct or not, I feel that this movie will be a turning point for the future of birding and possibly (hopefully) bird conservation. I have had non-birding friends coming up to me asking what this movie is all about. This is the first time that birding has been in the national mainstream spotlight. That is a GOOD thing!

The Big Year will be opening in theaters everywhere October 14th!

*Disclosure: I had received this book free of charge from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

A two-billed Caspian Tern!

2011-10-07T20:20:00.021-04:00

I swung by East Fork State Park to check the beach after work today to see if anything new had showed up. Many of the same birds reported from earlier in the day were still there. A Forster's Tern, four Caspian Terns and the juvenile American Golden Plover were still on the beach.

As I preceded closer to be able to see over a small ridge of sand, I noticed that one of the Caspian Terns looked odd. It appeared to have a deformed lower mandible at first. The bird walked closer to me and I was able to determine that it was a growth from beneath the lower mandible. It appeared to be a second bill. The growth was shorter than the lower mandible, so it did not appear to hinder feeding.

The bird behaved normally, with the exception that it would point its head to the ground (I see terns do this often) and plunge its bill in the sand for a few seconds. I always said that it looks like they have a carrot for a bill, but this one actually does!

Very odd! Any comments to the contributing biological causes/factors welcomed.

**Update to the deformed birds. Was talking to another birder, Allan Claybon, who was there earlier in the day yesterday. He photographed this Bonaparte's Gull with 3 legs and another Caspian with the same bill deformity. Weird stuff!

Here is the link to his Flickr photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsxbirder/6221946174/

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The life bird rule

2011-10-04T12:27:00.009-04:00

Often times I wonder how one can go for years and not see a certain bird, and then once you have seen it, it seems that it is no longer hard to find. Well, that has happened to me again today.

I have found another American Golden Plover this morning at East Fork. I was also able to show it to another birder that I have only talked to on the internet. Always love meeting online birding friends in the field!

This time, the bird is a juvenile. I love the pattern on the back of this bird.

Not a gull to laugh at!

2011-10-03T20:54:00.018-04:00

For many years while I was starting out birding, I would simply pass over the gulls without paying much attention to them. I think I was intimidated by all the many ages and the possibility of encountering hybrids. As a challenge, I decided to get to know the common gulls that are regularly seen in my neck of the woods.

Many years later, I am still not where I would like to be in gull identification skills. However, I am glad that I took the time to try to master the local species. I find gulls fun birds to watch behavior wise, as they are always putting on a show in some way.

Here is my favorite of the gulls regularly seen around here, the Bonaparte's.

But the local birding buzz has been from another gull species.

No, not a laughing Herring Gull, but

A 1st winter Laughing Gull spotted by another Cincinnati area birder at East Fork recently. Laughing Gulls are not common in Ohio, however I have seen them at this location before. There are a few other LAGUs currently being seen around Ohio as well.

Laughing Gulls are usually seen along the East and Gulf coasts. They are quite common in Florida.

And, again the bird is starring me down!

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American Golden Plover!

2011-09-23T16:24:00.012-04:00

Found an American Golden Plover today hiding behind a tuft of grass while birding the beach at East Fork State Park. This would be a life bird. I originally thought that it was black bellied, but I now see the pics and the back is more brown speckled. Such a cool looking bird!

Again, why do birds always stare me down!

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Midwest Birding Symposium wrap-up

2011-09-21T19:17:00.016-04:00

I had a great time at the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium. The best part was meeting many of my online birder friends in person. Unlike went I went in '09, I was able to do a little more birding this time.

Here is the sunrise over Lake Erie Saturday morning from the shore at East Harbor.

Maybe this is a good omen, but it seemed that almost all the birds that I encountered were white. Bonaparte's Gulls, Caspian Terns, Forster's Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, Great Egrets, Snowy Egret, Trumpeter Swans.

I always enjoy watching Great Egrets, they always look so pure and regal. Here, one was fishing close at East Harbor.

That's gotta hurt!

The best time I had was meeting for the first time fellow bird blogger Robert Mortensen from Birding is Fun! Since he is a Utah birder, he needed many eastern birds for his list so that he could hit that #400 mark.

While checking the internet for any good birds sighted close to Lakeside, I was approached by another fellow bird blogger and friend Kelly Riccetti from Red and the Peanut along with Rob. Rob informed me of some of the birds that he still needed for his life list and asked if I could help him find #400. I felt honored and challenged, so I quickly thought up a plan.

We headed to East Harbor State Park where I guided earlier in the morning. The first bird we happened to spot was one that he needed, a beautiful Chesnut-sided Warbler! Here is Rob texting the news of reaching #400.

And the victory dance, abbreviated.

Rob Mortensen on #400!

Later, Rob and I decided to try for a couple more lifers for him. He still needed Barred and Eastern Screech-owl. After hearing about a report of a Barred at Meadowbrook Marsh, we headed there after the evening programs on Saturday.

I used my owl calling ability to call for the screeches and barreds. We struck out on barreds, but we quickly had 3 Eastern Screech-owls respond to my calling. They even swooped above our heads. Had a wonderful time birding with Kelly and Rob! Looking forward to birding with them again in 2013!

On Sunday, I went on the auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for the first time ever. I saw more white birds.

Here is a Trumpeter Swan peeking over the impoundment wall.

Why do birds always stare me down?

Not really many shorebirds at Ottawa, as the water seemed a bit too high. Did see another white bird though, a nice looking immature Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret (immature)

A special thanks to all the many wonderful people that make the Midwest Birding Symposium happen and those that attended and made it such an awesome event! Looking forward to 2013!

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Midwest Birding Symposium I

2011-09-16T13:18:00.011-04:00

Made it to Lakeside. I am camping at East Harbor State Park where I am volunteering as a guide. The first bird that I saw in the "area" was a Great Egret. They are as common as Great Blues here, but at home they are hard to find.

Also, there are Great Blues too.

Thursday evening, I went on the Sunset Cruise. The water was a little choppy, but not too bad. Saw a gorgeous sunset.

Perry's Monument on South Bass Island

Even chumming for Gulls off the back of the boat with popcorn.

Saw about 15 species of warblers this morning. Started off slow, but picked up and stayed good for at least an hour.

Here is a Palm Warbler hiding from this morning,

A closer up view:

Also had Philadelphia, Warbling, and Red-eyed Vireos.

Red-eyed Vireo hiding

Getting ready for the Midwest Birding Symposium!

2011-09-14T22:13:00.008-04:00

Will be heading to Lakeside, Ohio tomorrow morning for the 2011 Midwest Birding Symposium. Been looking forward to it for a while. I had a wonderful time in 2009.

I will be guiding bird walks at East Harbor State Park on Friday and Saturday during the symposium. Have been out practicing my fall Warblers at East Fork State Park. There is a reason that you don't see many warbler pictures on my blog. I am lucky if I can see them good enough to make an ID! Here are some pics from the other day.

I always feel rusty every fall, but I find that it is mostly unwarranted - a good thing :-)

Magnolia Warbler through the vegetation

A little better,

Tennessee Warbler

And here is why you don't see many warbler shots on my blog: (see if you can ID this warbler, look at the head)

And here is another,

Don't have a prize, just for fun. I will post the answers soon.

A Raptortastic day!

2011-09-14T18:38:00.012-04:00

While searching for shorebirds along the beach at East Fork without much success, I decided to proceed to the woods nearby. I was primarily looking for warblers and any other migrants, however the woods was dead quiet.

I Then caught a glimpse of one of the three Osprey that regularly fishes the lake. It decided to land right above my head and I was able to get this cool shot right before it decided to dive for a fish in the lake!

Osprey

I then heard the call of a Bald Eagle. I could see it flying above the trees, but it proceeded to move on. I then saw it land in a tree on a far away bank. It was an adult.

Far away Bald Eagle

The crows were harassing the eagle constantly, so the eagle took flight and landed in a tree farther away. Much to my surprise, the eagle vocalized and another adult Bald Eagle flew in from behind me and landed right next to the one above.

They proceeded to engage in activities that would suggest that they are thinking about nesting somewhere along the lake shore again this year.

I continued watching the eagles and the ospreys fish for probably about an hour. I love to watch them splash down and to see how big the fish is that they catch. They always seem to have better luck than me when fishing, but their lives depend on catching dinner.

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Tips for beginning birders

2011-09-13T17:05:00.004-04:00

I had just recently conducted an interview with the birding blog Backyard Chirper Blog about tips for beginning birders. You can read the entire article at: Tips for identifying species at your bird feeder with expert Donald The Birder

Some cool beach birds...

2011-08-31T17:39:00.017-04:00

During migration, I like to hit the beach at the local reservoir in the early morning to see what birds are moving through. I go at the first hint of daylight and leave when the people start to show up.

There has been quite a few birds around the south beach at East Fork State Park. I have had all the regularly occurring terns that one would expect to see here during migration - Black, Common, Forster's, and Caspian.

Here, a Caspian Tern flies into the beach.

The Caspian decided to land in front of where I was standing.

(Looks like it has a carrot for a beak!)

Here is a Juvenile Common Tern. Notice the thinner bill, dark carpel bar and hood that is not split.

Also, been seeing a good variety of shorebirds. The beach at East Fork is about the only local spot (less than a 1 hour drive) to see shorebirds around here when water is not low.

Here is a little Semipalmated Plover. Sooo cute!

Also, there was this pair of shorebirds pictured below. The one I IDed as a Least Sandpiper immediately. The other one gave me fits. I originally IDed it as a Semipalmated Sandpiper, but the odd leg coloration gave me fits (legs should be black, not orange. I will have more of this bird and its ID in a later post.)

Least and Odd Sandpiper

Below is a juvenile Sanderling from today. The orange legged bird in the picture above was suggested by a few to be a Sanderling. The bird above is a juvenile, but as you can see, it is not a Sanderling. (Notice that the Sanderling has no hind toe, which enables it to run back and forth chasing waves on the beach.)

The Sanderling was not afraid of me at all and came to within a foot. It was comical to watch the bird poke at the sand castles that were on the beach. The bird even knocked a few down!

Sanderling poking in sand castles

There was some more cool birds in the woods that border the beach. I often hear Yellow-billed Cuckoos here, but I don't get to see them much. This bird was just sitting out in the open!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Also, lots of Cedar Waxwings. Always love the waxywings!

Disgruntled Cedar Waxwing

And, as I was watching the beach birds, an adult Bald Eagle flew by scattering everthing. Here is a fast, far away shot of it. It also dove and caught a fish, but I didn't get it on camera.

Bald Eagle

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Nice (Yellow) Legs!

2011-08-17T17:29:00.010-04:00

It isn't often that I get to see yellowlegs up close. If you have never seen them up close, the brightness of their yellow legs is stunning.

Here is a juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs that I found foraging along the beach at East Fork the other day. Man, those are some bright legs!

Why are you looking at my legs?

The yellowlegs are comical birds to watch, constantly running and stabbing at the sand. I watched this bird for about half an hour.

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Young Red-headed Woodpeckers!

2011-08-15T17:37:00.006-04:00

After seeing Red-headed Woodpeckers numerous times at the end of my road, I was finally able to confirm that they are breeding in the area today. They used to be VERY hard to find around here, however I am seeing more and more of them.

Here is a pic I took this morning out the car window of an adult Red-headed Woodpecker after just feeding a juvenile. If you look closely, you can see the young one.

And here is a pic of the juvenile -

The sighting was entered in to the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II.

Someone Terned off the heat!

2011-08-10T19:40:00.021-04:00

Thunderstorms have given way to a much nicer, cooler, and less humid air mass. Being cooped up for about two weeks due to mid - high 90° temps, I had to take advantage of the nice weather.

August is the time that I start to see terns appearing on the beach at East Fork. I love terns! I have to go early to avoid the people. I found this gorgeous Forster's Tern there the other day.

Forster's Tern

And a quick drive by of the beach yesterday produced this nice looking Black Tern. It just flew in and landed in the corner of the beach with the local Ring-billed Gull flock.

Black Tern in non-breeding plumage

Ospreys are also moving through, two have been fishing the lake for the last couple of days.

Osprey

Got lucky and found this beautiful Prothonotary Warbler this morning while looking for a Red-headed Woodpecker that I heard calling. I never found the Red-headed, but I got good looks at the Prothonotary.

Prothonotary Warbler

It's already time for the American Goldfinches to start nesting. They start nesting later than other birds as to coincide with the abundance of food from blooming thistles. Here, a female gathers nesting material from a cattail.

Female American Goldfinch

Young of the year Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been hanging around the yard eating peaches from my peach tree. Here is one that spooked when I opened the back door. Notice that it is just getting its red crown.

Young Red-bellied Woodpecker

Also been seeing a lot of butterflies and dragonflies. Here, I leave you with this photo from today of a Twelve Spotted Skimmer.

12 Spotted Skimmer

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Still too hot to bird!

2011-07-27T18:26:00.011-04:00

With temperatures ranging from 95 - 100° F, I haven't felt much like going out of the air conditioner. However, I was able to get out a few times early in the mornings before the heat of the day and swarms of people to see if anything was moving birdwise.

I checked the beach at East Fork SP, and was able to find a Least Sandpiper.

Least Sandpiper

While watching the Least, another peep flew in. Luckily, they were close enough that I didn't need my scope (the way I like it).

Since I have been feeling a little rusty on my birding skills as of late, I welcomed the chance to practice my peep ID.

The two peeps joined up, giving me the chance to compare them. I was quickly able to ID the one that joined the Least as a Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers

The size difference is only slight really. The Semi sand has black legs, while the Least has yellow legs. This is not always discernible though.

The Semipalmated appears longer legged to me. Here is a pic of it by itself.

Also, been seeing lots of deer on my morning walks. Here are a few pics of fawns from a few weeks ago (because I like baby pics).

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Too hot to bird!

2011-07-06T20:29:00.009-04:00

Between working and the muggy, hot summer days, I haven't had much of a desire to go out birding recently.

Since birding is usually slow here in the summer, I often turn my attention to lepidoptera and odonata. Here are some of the butterflies that we found on the 1st annual East Fork Butterfly Count.

Least Skippers were everywhere...

Least Skipper on daisy

We also saw Hackberry Emperors, a butterfly that will often land on humans to get at the salts in your sweat.

Hackberry Emperor on hat

And we saw a few Peck's Skippers...

Peck's Skipper

And, since this is a bird blog, here are some pictures of some birds that I have ran across while out in the field recently.

This year seems like a good year for Indigo Buntings, as I have had up to four males in the yard this year.

Indigo Bunting male

And, I found these cute little baby Killdeer at Armledder Park. There were three of them.

Baby Killdeer

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Female Canvasback at Armledder Park?

2011-06-23T23:32:00.007-04:00

Today, I decided to spend some quality time exploring Armledder Park in Hamilton Co., OH to become better familiar with it.

I found a large flooded area that was just off the paved trail that I presumed to be the "bean field" that many birders are familiar with.

The first bird of note there was a Spotted Sandpiper feeding right in front of me. It was also calling. I slipped in the mud and fell into stinging nettles, which caused the bird to flush. I also noted an odd duck with mallards. I IDed this duck as a female Canvasback.

June 8th, 2008 is the latest record of this duck in the area, occurring at Miami Whitewater Park.

Here are the pictures I took, the bird was very far away and I did not have a scope.

And in the background is a Great Blue Heron for size reference.

Comments welcome.

From water everywhere to scorching heat

2011-06-15T22:04:00.012-04:00

After a long while of having many of my birding spots under water, the waters have finally receded. This had left behind lots of mud, and some mud loving shorebirds.

I walked right up to this Least Sandpiper which was sleeping in the mud. I did not see it till it lifted its head. I was so close, I had a hard time focusing my camera!

I startled it up, it walked around me till it was later spooked to flight by a person with a dog. Was able to get a good shot of it.

Least Sandpiper

Also spotted these Semipalmated Plovers in the mud. They are so small when seen up close. They look and move like little wind up toys.

Semipalmated Plover

One flew to the lake to take a bath, here it is taking off.

The swallows were also taking advantage of the abundant food available left by the receding waters. I was able to see Bank, Cliff, Barn, Northern Rough-winged, and Tree swallows at the same time.

Barn Swallow

This was the first time that I seen a Cliff Swallow close up. It just started to rain when I took this picture. They are a nice looking bird!

Cliff Swallow

The receded waters must have left an abundance of food around. Here are some pics of birds seen in the remnants of the flooded woods.

Pileated Woodpecker - this bird was on the side of the road!

Pileated Woodpecker

These birds were everywhere!

Baltimore Oriole

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Then came the heat. Temps in the high 80's and then 90's quickly turned the good birding off. It left a lot of amphibians and reptiles high and dry. Here are a few that I had come across.

Found this Painted Turtle in the middle of the road while out birding. I had put him back in the pond. Love this turtle's colors.

Painted Turtle

My nephews had found this little Western Chorus Frog (at least I think it is) on the patio. It was small enough to fit on my thumbnail.

Western Chorus Frog?

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2011 Queen City Bird Festival

2011-05-17T12:40:00.022-04:00

On Saturday, May 14th, my friend Ashley and I took two of my nephews to the Queen City Bird Festival held at Hueston Woods State Park. They had a good time!

They got to make origami birds...

And see cool birds up close...

Red-tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

And got to chill out with Susan Gets Native's Storm, Lucy and other of Raptor Inc.'s birds...

And see more up close birds at bird banding...

Male Indigo Bunting

And then we went birding...

Looking at a Yellow Warbler

Jon from Oxbow Inc. showing James how to use a scope

And they got to make a pine cone bird feeder...

And make a bird mask (They chose an owl)...

Ralph showing off his owl mask that he made at the 2011 Queen City Bird Festival!

Yard Birds, Flood Birds

2011-05-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

Haven't been able to get to some of my regular birding spots lately because the roads to get to them have been flooded. For this reason, I have been spending more time in my yard. So far this year, birding has been great in my yard. A lot of new yard birds!

I don't usually see many warblers in the spring in my yard, however this spring has been different...

Northern Waterthrush - new yard bird!

Wished I could get better views of the warblers in the yard, but this is the typical warbler view that I get -

The underside of a Yellow Warbler

Here is a little better picture of a warbler -

Blue-winged Warbler

While watching warblers in the yard, I found this female Red-breasted Nuthatch. I have never seen one in here in the spring.

Female Red-breasted Nuthatch

Both Orioles have been plentiful and singing away in the yard.

Baltimore Oriole singing

It is interesting to listen to all the immature male Orchard Orioles singing. Each one has a different song.

Immature male Orchard Oriole

The adult males, which look quite different, chase the young males away.

Adult male Orchard Oriole

Eastern Kingbirds have been flying high above the yard... (Love this expression)

Eastern Kingbird

A pair of House Wrens has moved into my swing set where a pair of Carolina Chickadees had been nesting. The wrens violently fought the chickadees off. The wrens are new nesters for the yard.

House Wren singing

Field Sparrows sing their ping-pong ball like song constantly from the field adjacent to my yard. Here, one tries to play hide and seek.

Field Sparrow

However, the flooded habitat has its advantages as well.

Such as these Willet that I found on the side of the road on the way home from work.

Willet

It is odd to see shorebirds walking on roads that I used to drive on. There is a road behind the spotted sandpiper, under the water.

Spotted Sandpiper

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Why Spring is my favorite season...

2011-04-22T20:22:00.021-04:00

Because the Goldfinches turn yellow...

Molting American Goldfinch male

And some of my favorite species return...

Blue-winged Teal

Caspian Terns

Forster's Tern

Meadowlarks are everywhere proclaiming "It's the Spring of the year!"...

Eastern Meadowlark

And Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are back...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

And love is in the air...

Blue-winged Teal pair

Canada Goose with goslings

And even the "Winter species" look cool...

Common Loon

Bonaparte's Gull

And butterflies and other insects add color to the dull landscape...

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

And wildflowers are in bloom...

White Trout Lilly

Dutchman's Breeches

And first of season birds abound...

Purple Martin

Spotted Sandpiper in the setting sun

Hope everyone get outside on this Earth Day to enjoy our beautiful planet!

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Wild Birds Unlimited's Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack Review

2011-04-11T19:00:00.002-04:00

I was asked by Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) to review a product of my choice from their site. Since I have heard good things about this product called Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® , I decided to choose the Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack.

At the end of this review is a chance to win free products from WBU, so you will want to take advantage of that!

The combo pack contained one tub of Original Bark Butter, a tub of Bugberry Blend Bark Butter, a mixed nut blend (Nutty for Nuts), a chipped sunflower seed, berry and meal worm mix blend (Bugberry Blend) and a tub of suet type nuggets (Bugberry Blend Nuggets).

The first of the non-suet like products that I tried from the Combo Pack was the mixed nut blend. Now, I have put out mixed nuts that I have purchased from the grocery store before, but with only minimum results. That being said, I was very surprised at the variety of birds that the Nutty for Nuts blend brought in. This blend was very popular with Northern Cardinals, which I would not have expected. But I think I was most surprised to see Red-winged Blackbirds chowing down on it.

The Bugberry (non-seut) Blend was also very popular. I presented it in a tray feeder that would allow for the most diversity of species. The Pine Siskins loved it! Many people ask me if this species feeds on anything but Nyjer seed, well I now know that they love Jim's Birdacious® BugBerry™ Blend. The Bugberry Blend Nuggets only lasted a few hours, as the Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and Tufted Titmouse cleared them out fast.

I will have to say that Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® lived up to its reputation. This is the product that made me choose the Combo Pack. Both varieties were very popular with the woodpeckers.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker chowing on Bark Butter.

I usually only rarely see Pileated Woodpeckers in the yard. So imagine my surprise when I pull in the driveway to see a Pileated fly from the backyard right over the car! The Pileated Woodpecker visited for about three days and preferred that the Bark Butter be spread on the trunk of a tree.

Male Downy Woodpecker on Bark Butter.

Yummy Jim's Birdacious® Bark Butter® , need some more!

The American Robins loved the Bark Butter. This American Robin was feeding on the bits of Bark Butter that was dropped by the woodpeckers.

Here is a complete list of species that the chowed down on the Jim's Birdacious® Treats Combo Pack :

Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Robin
Pine Siskin

None of the products in this combo pack lasted more than a few days, so I would highly recommend all of these products!

You might also want to try these other products from Wild Birds Unlimited:

Wild Bird Seed

Thistle Seed

Black Oil Sunflower Seed

Suet Feeder

Wild Bird Feeders

Window Bird Feeders

Birdacious® line of products

You may want to keep up with new products as well as get bird feeding tips by subscribing to the Wild Birds Unlimited Newsletter. You can also find them on their Facebook page.

Also, for a chance to win any product of your choice of up to a $50 value from the Wild Birds Unlimited website, simply reply to this post in the comments stating what product you like or think you would like to try from WBU. This giveaway will be open till Monday, April 25th, 2011 at which time I will pick a winning commenter at random by putting all the names in a box.

***I had put all the names in a bowl with a lid and shook them up. I then had my mother pick a winning name at random.

And the Winner is...

Dawn

Thanks to all readers who participated and good birding!

Springtime Ducks

2011-03-16T22:54:00.019-04:00

Today was the first off day that I had in a long while that was sunny and not pouring down rain. I had to get out and do some birding. The water is still very high just about everywhere, conditions that are very favorable for good water birds.

There were many coots walking around on the grass at the beach when I arrived at the lake. There were also a good deal of people walking around with dogs, but luckily for a change they were all on leashes. The birds only seemed to pay moderate attention to them.

Scanning the large flock of coots revealed about a dozen or so Bufflehead mixed in.

Male Bufflehead

The males were displaying and chasing one another.

And the females were uninterested of course...

After watching the Buffleheads, I rescanned the flock and found my first of the year/season Blue-winged Teal!

Blue-winged Teal

One decided to start swimming towards to me!

The teal came all the way up to the shore and stared me down, as if to say "I know I am a handsome duck, so quit staring at me!"

I preceded to walk along the shore, looking for birds and rescanning the flock of coots. I noticed 3 Bald Eagles flying high above the lake. Also, my FOS Double-crested Cormorants and Bonapartes Gulls. Scoping out the lake revealed a huge raft of ducks consisting mostly of scaup and bufflehead.

A group of highschool rowers started to pile into the park, so I decided to head for the car. That is when I noticed this sad sight:

A Ring-billed Gull with a lure stuck in its neck. There really wasn't anything that I could do, as the bird spooked and starting swimming to the middle of the lake. This is why fishermen should try to prevent the snapping of line as much as possible. However, I didn't have to end the day on this sad note. As I was getting near the car, my FOS Tree Swallows came out of nowhere and were flying all around me. Spring is here!

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Book review: The Crossley ID Guide - Eastern Birds

2011-03-10T10:35:00.049-05:00

When I was just starting out birding, I steered clear of photographic guides. Most of the guides at this time had poor quality photos and only one photo per species/sex. Most also did not include photos of immatures whatsoever. However, with the arrival of digital photography, this has all changed.

The "Crossley ID Guide" emphasizes the use of "Jizz" for ID rather than focusing on field marks, a term that many birders aren't familiar with. For a definition of what "Jizz" refers to in birding, here is the Wikipedia entry for it.

Since birds are always moving and the observer doesn't always get to see birds in ideal conditions, this is a difficult task to accomplish. That being said, in my opinion, Richard Crossley does an excellent job portraying the jizz of the species being studied. He does this by including many photos of each species in their preferred habitats, much like one would see in the field. The plates are very busy, with both close and far away photos as well as different angles and lighting situations.

The use of text is very short and limited when describing a species, instead focusing more on creating a mental image of the bird using actual photographs. Crossley also includes a text description before each group of birds.

This guide is huge, much too large to take into the field in my opinion. Rather, this is a book that I would keep in the car or on my desk to refer to later (I rarely take any field guides with me in the field while birding).

The Crossley relies heavily on the use of the alpha codes for birds. I know many birders who absolutely despise the use of them. I use them quite often myself and see them being utilized more and more all the time. With the use of cell phone technology (which I know nothing about), it is a good bet that the four letter codes aren't going anywhere soon. You can find all the birds and their four letter codes in the front of the book, a feature I find handy.

I have heard it said that this guide cannot be used for identification. I disagree. I have always suggested that a beginning birder acquire as many field guides as they can. "The Crossely ID Guide" is definitely one that both beginning and seasoned birders will want to add to their library, as it goes beyond the typical field guide in that it actively invokes the birder to hone in their observational skills.

Disclosure: I had received this book free of charge from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Spring day, winter birds

2011-03-02T23:22:00.025-05:00

Such a beautiful day, with temps in the 50's and sunny skies, I just had to get out to do some birding. I couldn't figure out if I wanted to go to the state park or check the river. Both have water out of their banks, which usually means I see good birds. Since it was 2 in the afternoon, I decided to go to the park, since it was closer. I am glad I did!

When I first got there, I seen a couple with their scopes on something, Snow Geese! I got my scope out and put it on the birds. The couple had left as soon as they seen me coming with my scope. I wished they would have stayed, as I am pretty sure that I could see at least one Ross's Goose with the Snow Geese in the middle of the lake. The heat distortion and north winds/waves made it hard to see (I have a somewhat flimsy tripod!). The glaring afternoon sun's reflection off the water didn't help with getting pics.

Looks like a Ross's with Snow Geese (far away)

As I was looking at the Snow Geese in the scope, a Red-necked Grebe popped up in the foreground - a life bird! The bird looked as if it was going to fall over on its bill, as it looked to be leaning forward. I got good looks at it, but it was hard to keep track of, so I was unable to obtain a picture.

A male Bufflehead also flew in and landed right in front of me on the lake - love them!

Male Bufflehead

No sooner had the Bufflehead touched down, I heard a loud ruckus from the 100's of RB Gulls. They all took to the air and so did the Snow Geese. It took me a while to find out the cause of all the commotion, ah ha - an immature Bald Eagle flying over the lake.

Immature Bald Eagle

I was able to get distant pics of the Snow Geese in flight with the possible Ross's mixed in. (They still were very far away!)

⇧I was thinking the 5th goose from the top right might be a Ross's. The bottom 4th goose from the right also looks different to me. (Click on the photo to go to Flickr for a larger image.)⇧

Here⇧ , from a different angle, the 7th bird from the right looks like a Ross's to me (RB Gulls are also in the pic).

The geese put down back on the lake, but farther away. I decided to leave the lake and take a hike in the woods looking for other signs of Spring. There wasn't much going on in the woods, so I decided to swing back by the lake. The Snow Geese were gone, but a skunk decided to start towards me from up on the hill, so I decided that it was time to leave!

Mr. Skunk!

2011 Great Backyard Bird Count: A summary

2011-02-25T10:08:00.026-05:00

I will have to say, this year's GBBC was one of the oddest I can remember, much different from last year! The mild temperatures and rain changed the usual feeder visitors. On Monday, it poured down rain (2.00") the entire day. I didn't see or hear one Carolina Wren, Dark-eyed Junco or White-throated Sparrow the whole weekend/period!!! Lots of blackbirds consisting of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. Didn't get any rusties, dang. Just a couple of days before the GBBC, I had two American Woodcocks in the backyard, but I couldn't get them for the count. They must have been just passing through, as they didn't display. Highlights include a Killdeer as well as a Barred Owl calling at dusk on Sunday. I was also able to spish in a Yellow-rumped Warbler Saturday. I have found that the Pine Siskins like the rain, as Monday, I was able to count twenty of them. Here is the complete list for the entire 2011 GBBC (not in taxonomic order) 26 species total:

Canada Goose
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Barred Owl
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Crow
Blue Jay
American Robin
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
Killdeer
Northern Mockingbird
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
European Starling

Red-winged Blackbird courtesy of USFWS/

Ready for Spring!!!

2011-02-16T21:45:00.021-05:00

The male Cardinals have been singing, Redwing Blackbirds are calling, and the American Woodcock has just returned today to the fields behind the house.

It looks and feels a lot different from this time last year! :-)

Won't be long, and Tree Swallows will be here, followed by Brown Thrashers and the first migrant warbler, the Louisiana Waterthrush (I don't see Pine Warblers around my place)!

The thing I will miss most about winter is my winter yard birds. The Pine Siskins have dwindled down to just a few left. I will miss their constant chattering and bickering.

Another bird that I will miss, is the American Tree Sparrow. They are beautiful sparrows that just don't get enough respect. I love their sound, two-toned bill and dotted belly.

Spring is my favorite time of year, all the new life that is all around, the love that is in the air. Looking forward to hearing my first Spring Peepers, Chorus Frogs and seeing my FOS birds!

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Kumlien's Iceland Gull (another life bird!)

2011-02-15T22:04:00.007-05:00

Another birder found and IDed this gull on the Ohio River in New Richmond, Ohio the other day. It has been hanging out for a while. I believe that I had seen this bird for a while and was passing it off as an odd Herring Gull. I am not as familiar with gulls as I would like to be!

This morning, before work, I was able to obtain these photos of the bird.

And just to add some color to the grays and whites, this male Wood Duck flew in and was preening nearby this morning.

Ross's Goose!

2011-02-11T16:11:00.006-05:00

I found this Ross's Goose at East Fork State Park on Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. This is a life bird! (Click on all for larger)

And there was this far away Long-tailed Duck

Iced fish

2011-01-25T19:44:00.019-05:00

Having a bad case of cabin fever, I just had to go out for a walk today. Don't know if it was the early onset of all the cold and snow or what, but for some reason this winter is seeming especially long.

The roads in the local state park are still snow covered and some are closed. I decided to go walk the beach down by the lake to see if anything was hiding out. It was very quiet. Every once in a while, the eerie creaking and snapping of the melting ice would pierce the silence.

The first birds that I noticed were the numerous Great Blue Herons fishing from the edges of the ice.

Great Blue Heron

As I made it down to the water's edge, I noticed a flocks of gulls standing on the ice. Some took flight at my appearance. An initial scan of the flock revealed only Ring-billed Gulls. I continued to walk the water's edge.

With a ruckus, a group of gulls took flight. I could notice that they were fighting over something as they flew overhead. I guess they felt that they had to share their find, as they dropped this right in front of me:

Catfish head

I continued on. I could hear a tapping sound behind me, so I turned around to find this Herring Gull pecking at a fish under the ice.

It managed to pull the fish from the ice. This got the attention of the nearby Ring-billed Gulls.

Hey buddy, this shad is mine!

I am always surprised at the response of local birders in reference to my seeing Herring Gulls in the winter. I have run into at least one in almost every trip here this winter so far.

Heading towards the car, I heard the birds giving a ruckus. I figured there must be a raptor close by and I was right. This Cooper's Hawk was staring right at me.

Cooper's Hawk

The sun only came out for a short time today while I was out, only to succumb to the gray clouds again. So it is I leave you with this picture of two male Canvasback ducks in the setting sun from the other day.

Canvasback

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More Pine Siskins

2011-01-11T19:18:00.012-05:00

The snow has brought in more Pine Siskins. I decided to take my camera out with me while filling the feeders today (the siskins are fairly tame). I lost count at 47!

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Christmas Bird Counts: a pictorial summary (and some yard birds too!)

2011-01-03T14:00:00.018-05:00

I participate on two Christmas Bird Counts every season, the Cincinnati, Ohio and East Fork Counts. Here is a quick pictorial summary of some of the best birds that was found by my party or by myself.

David Brinkman and I found a pair of Ring-necked Ducks on a small subdivision pond in Milford, OH (this is the male) on the Cincinnati Count.

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (A.K.A. "The Palestine Buteo" for those who were at the Cincinnati tally)

Bob Foppe and I found this Barred Owl in Bethel, OH on the East Fork Count, 1st bird of the day!

I found this Merlin near Bethel, OH.

Below are some of the cool birds that I found in the yard recently!

Purple Finch on the left, House Finch on the right (both males).

Found this Golden-crowned Kinglet feeding on sap wells in the backyard.

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Birding on thin ice

2010-12-20T18:56:00.026-05:00

I stopped by the local state park (East Fork) to do a little birding this afternoon. The roads in the park were not all treated from the last snow storm we had, so I had to park on top of the hill and walk down to the beach (plus the gate was closed). In a way, this was a good thing, as it kept the dog walkers from being on the beach. The downside was I didn't feel like lugging my scope back up the hill so I didn't take it.

It was quiet and seemed as though there wasn't much around at first glance. Since I walked down the hill, I decided to spend some time here just to see what I could see. The first birds that I spotted was a group of Mallards with some Gadwall in with them. Also spotted some Horned & Pied-billed Grebes, a couple of Common Loons, Black Ducks, and Canada Geese.

As I walked up and over a little rise to see a cove to the west of the beach, I noticed something moving on the shore. Ah, an American Coot.

American Coot

As I continued to walk to the water's edge, the coot decided to walk right up to me. It came to within about 3 ft. of me! I continued to scan the shoreline. I could see a bird that looked like a shorebird on the other side of the cove. Looked like a Wilson's Snipe to me (not easy to find here this time of year). I tried to get a better look, but didn't realize that I was standing on ice!

Wilson's Snipe

The bird appeared to be resting, but that was short lived, as the ice I was standing on gave way and I fell into a small ditch (luckily it was only about a foot deep). All that commotion startled the snipe, and it flew away or at least I thought it did.

I continued walking the shoreline when I saw something pop up from behind a rock in front of me. It was the snipe. It was hiding behind a rock! After my mishap, I couldn't blame it.

Wilson's Snipe hiding behind a rock

Oh, and the coot? It thought the whole debacle was hilarious!!! No kidding, I took this photo not ten seconds after I fell through the ice.

American Coot laughing at my mishap!

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Snow Bunting!

2010-12-15T16:06:00.012-05:00

Although it was very cold (17° F when I left), I decided to go birding after I got off work to see what I could see before I get snowed in from the approaching winter storm. I headed down to East Fork hoping to find a rarity, as there has been some good stuff showing up at other places as of late. I did not find any rarities for say, but I did find a bird that I haven't seen in years. :-)

As soon as I got out of the car, I scanned the gulls, but found nothing "good". The lake was devoid of waterfowl likely due to duck season being in. There was only one Common Loon on the lake that I could see.

As I walked along the beach, I heard and then saw Horned Larks. I heard a call that was different. They took flight and I could see the white wing flashes of a Snow Bunting. As soon as I was able to relocate the bunting against the snow, a lady with a dog came down and told her dog to "get da' birds". She knew that I was looking at birds. The flock took flight and briefly landed close enough for me to get these shots of the bunting.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting with Horned Lark

A bird that makes the cold and snow worth it! (well maybe ;-)

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Pine Siskins return!

2010-12-12T20:36:00.013-05:00

The winter storm has brought the Pine Siskins back to the feeders. I have seen five at one time so far, but I can hear more in the sweetgum trees next door.

Pine Siskin Hanging out

Pine Siskin with American Goldfinches

Since it is still coming down outside, maybe there will be more (or maybe a redpoll - wishful thinking) tomorrow.

Ethan Kistler, the Nomadic Birder, has once again made these cool maps to keep track of the winter irruptive birds that move into Ohio this winter, check it out here:

Thanks, Ethan!

Cold day birding

2010-12-09T20:28:00.009-05:00

I tried to wait until it warmed up some to go out birding today. I waited until about 1:30pm to venture out. Unfortunately, it didn't warm up all that much!

First birds of the day were these Black Vultures who just flew up off of a deer carcass on the side of the road as I drove up.

Black Vultures

I decided to hit the local reservoir, East Fork. One good thing, there was nobody else out walking or fishing that I could see that would have scared off the birds. As I scanned the lake, the first bird I saw was a male Common Merganser right off the beach. I tried to take a pic, but my camera did not like the cold and the batteries died. I did not feel like walking back to the car, so I turned the camera off and put it under my shirt to warm it up.

I walked the beach and could see waterfowl off in the distance that I could not ID without my scope, so I was headed back to the car anyway. On the way to the car, I could hear Horned Larks, but I could not see them. I kept walking and three Horned Larks flew up and two landed on the sidewalk way in front of me. If they all would have landed in the grass, I would have never seen them! My camera came to life just enough to get these pics:

Blurry, far away Horned Larks

My camera starts acting wonky when it gets cold!

Horned Lark

One can really see how camouflaged they are!

After I got my scope out, I could see lots of ducks - Mallards, Black Duck, Common Goldeneye, Gadwall, Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and Common Loons. I also spotted two Adult Bald Eagles flying high above the lake.

Nothing spectacular, but a good day nonetheless. After about an hour, I quickly became cold and decided to head home.

Beware of the Sapsucker!

2010-12-07T19:35:00.014-05:00

There is a sugar maple that is right next to the side door in the yard. Today, while coming into the house from work, a bird flew at me and then quickly put on the brakes and went behind the trunk of the maple tree. I went in to get my binos and camera, and went back out to see what it was.

The bird flew at me again, in an attempt to drive me off. Now I see why. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was defending his sap wells against me. I guess it felt I was a threat to his food source.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sucking sap

The sapsucker continued to keep its eyes on me.

As I was watching the sapsucker, a Fox Sparrow briefly flew in. Also, this Eastern Bluebird landed very near the sapsucker to see what I was looking at.

Eastern Bluebird male

And of course there were many chickadees chickadeeing...

Carolina Chickadee

*****************

Rusty out the window

2010-11-27T20:51:00.008-05:00

Looked out the window this morning to find a mixed flock of 200+ blackbirds. About 10% were Starlings, 10% Rusty Blackbirds with the rest being Common Grackles. Here is a picture of one of the Rusty Blackbirds from out the front window.

Nice looking Rusty Blackbird

Such a nice looking bird!

Jefferson Salamander?

2010-11-24T20:52:00.019-05:00

The other day, my nephews somehow came across this salamander, not sure where they got it from. It appeared to be cold and was very slow moving. I originally identified it as a Jefferson Salamander because they said it was found in the leaf litter. I haven't seen a salamander around my house in years!

Ambystoma spp.

However, after doing some research, I have discovered that the Ambystoma spp. complex is very genetically complicated. This cool link explains the weird genetics going on with this genus. It is worth checking out! -- http://www.ohioamphibians.com/salamanders/Unisexual_Ambystoma.html

***Update: This is a Small mouth Salamander. or mostly Small mouth.

The birds are a movin' !!

2010-11-19T18:53:00.018-05:00

Today was a busy day, so I wasn't able to get out to bird until about 1pm. It was still cloudy, cool and dreary. I have noticed that the birding usually stays good all day in such conditions and today was no exception.

I started off by checking out the beach at East Fork. The colder weather finally brought some birds down here. The first bird that I IDed as I got out of the car was an Osprey flying toward me from the west. They are not easy to find in November here.

November Osprey

I could notice a lot of loons out on the lake, so I got out the scope and WOW! I lost count of the Common Loons at 100. I was able to also ID Gadwall, American Widgeon, Ruddy Ducks, 2 Redheads (ducks), Horned and Pied-billed Grebes.

One of the 100+ Common Loons

I then walked to the brushy/grassy western side of the beach were a lot of grassland/open land type birds are often found. I wasn't disappointed. I noticed a small bird running in the cockle burrs as I approached. It did not fly, but ran. I got the binos on it and was able to ID it as a Savannah Sparrow. Savannah Sparrows are also hard to find this time of year in this area. It then flew into the lake and started bathing right in front of me. It appeared to be having a good time, as it was chipping loudly the whole time.

Savannah Sparrow bathing in the lake

It then flew up to perch on a rock giving me awesome views!

Savannah Sparrow

Before leaving, I took a drive down to the close by boat ramp to see if anything was "hiding" over there. The water is low, so I was able to walk out on the mud/sand farther then usual. Here, I found my (surprisingly) first and only coot of the day on the mud with some Mallards. They always look so odd on land.

American Coot

The sun had come out while I was at this location and while looking out on the lake, I could make out the profiles of something interesting. The birds finally swam closer in and I was to ID them as Red-breasted Mergansers. No sooner have I IDed them, they took off flying to the west. I will leave you with the only picture I was able to get of them. It was a nice day to be out birding!

Red-breasted Mergansers in flight (flying away from)

*****************

Watch where you walk!

2010-11-10T14:52:00.017-05:00

Usually when someone tells you to watch where you are walking while out and about to avoid stepping on something, birds are not what comes to mind. Well, yesterday I came very close to stepping on a Winter Wren.

The woods was very quite yesterday morning, so I phished at a brushy area to see what would pop up. My eyes quickly caught birdy movement, but I couldn't make out what it was. I continued to phish and up popped a Winter Wren!

It didn't stay in view long, as they seldom do. I was able to get the above quick shot before it disappeared to the ground.

I then went about my walk. The woods was quiet enough to hear leaves falling. I could hear something ruffling around in the leaves on the ground. I didn't pay much attention to it, as I thought that it was a rodent under the leaves. I then saw a little head pop up from the leaves - it was the Winter Wren.

It was very camouflaged and very hard to see in the poor lighting of the forest floor. I have shown a few birders their lifer Winter Wrens, as they are sometimes hard to spot. Many people's first instinct is to look on top of the log, like a Carolina Wren, but I say "look UNDER the log".

As I continued walking, the Winter Wren followed me. I think he was taking advantage of the insects that I was kicking up with my shoes. At one point, it came within only a few inches of my shoe and I almost stepped on 'em! If it wasn't for that little tail sticking out of the leaves...

See if you can spot the Winter Wren in the photo below (click on the pic for a larger pic).

Odd company...

2010-11-04T19:24:00.012-04:00

I cruised by the Ohio riverfront in New Richmond on my way home from work today like I do every day checking for anything odd or interesting that might be there (bird wise that is). I have seen some good birds here before. (Sooty Tern, Harlequin Duck, White-winged Scoter)

An odd grebe swimming with a Pied-billed Grebe caught my attention, so I stopped to check it out. The sun was glaring on the water and I only keep my back up binoculars in the car, so I wasn't able to get a good look. It was bigger than the PB next to it and had a different profile and bill. Its colors differed, but the lighting was bad. My first impression was a Red-necked Grebe. Since Red-necked Grebe would have been a life bird, I did not feel comfortable calling it.

Something with a different profile hanging out with the resident domestic geese caught the corner of my eye. Same color, but different shape - Great Egret? I drove closer to find that it was indeed a Great Egret. Not easy to find here in November. I would not have expected it to hang with the New Richmond River Geese.

I decided to go home and get my proper birding implements (including camera) and return. The odd grebe was gone of course, but I did relocate the Great Egret. And also found a Common Loon far out on the river and 8 American Coots.

Great Egret

A quiet afternoon stroll in the woods

2010-11-01T21:17:00.018-04:00

Took a nice, quiet walk in the woods this afternoon to enjoy the last of this gorgeous fall weather. There wasn't much going on bird wise, as the woods were kind of still. I went by a brushy area near a pond and started spishing and was able to get the birds out of hiding. A lot of Yellow-rumpeds and sparrows. White-throated and a Swamp. Then I noticed a Fox Sparrow, the first of the season for me. I continued spishing and ended up with three Fox Sparrows in view at the same time! Unfortunately, they were too far in the brush and combined with the afternoon sun, I wasn't able to get any pics of them.

My spishing also got the Barred Owls railed up. The deer also came in to investigate what all the commotion was about.

I then came up to a small pond and found this dragonfly flying around. This is an Autumn Meadowhawk, the most likely dragonfly species one would expect to see flying around at this time of year (hence its name).

Autumn Meadowhawk

Continuing on to the woods, I came across this five point buck (or ten point) that must had just gotten into a fight prior to my spotting him. One side of his rack has been broken off. He must had won the fight, as he was with five does. His tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth. He did not look happy to see me there.

A sign?

2010-10-28T16:52:00.011-04:00

Such a beautiful day, I had to go birding.

Decided to check out the East Fork beach and surrounding areas this morning to see if that huge low pressure system brought anything good in.

As soon as I got out of the car, an Osprey flew over. The wind was howling out of the northwest. Something large and white caught my eye just over the rise to the west. What the $#%@ is that? I got closer to find this:

Headless cement goose

A headless cement goose. Someone had to have carried this dang thing down to the water's edge and put it there. Don't know what this is supposed to mean. Maybe it's a sign I should quit watching birds?

Nah, that ain't happening.

After I found out what the goofy looking white thing was, I went back up the little rise to hear and then see a flock of about 20 Horned Larks flying around. They decided not to land on the beach. I then spotted an adult Bald Eagle soaring over the lake.

I then decided to head up to the two ponds on top the hill to look for land birds. Glad I did. There was a lot of activity. Found a Swamp Sparrow, lots of Yellow-rumped Warbers, Robins and other birds. Also found this cool looking leucistic American Robin.

Leucistic American Robin

While watching the leucistic robin, I noticed something smaller bathing in the water in front of the robins. Purple Finches! Two of them. They are the first of the season for me. (Crappy pictures)

Female (or immature) Purple Finch(es)

A female Belted Kingfisher was fishing the pond as I was watching the Purple Finches. I love kingfishers.

Female Belted Kingfisher

The woods were going crazy with bird activity, so I decided to go find out what was going on. I often see Barred Owls in this area, so I decided to imitate one to see what would happen. A Barred Owl went (vocally) nuts and so did the other birds.

Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, YS Flickers, GC Kinglets, Cedar Waxwings, WT Sparrows.

This White-breasted Nuthatch almost landed on my head.

White-breasted Nuthatch

And the flickers were going crazy!

Yellow-shafted Flicker female

A white-crowned day

2010-10-27T13:26:00.023-04:00

I woke up at around 8:30am to the sound of birds singing outside the window. I got up and opened the back door and could hear the songs of White-crowned Sparrows. I love their songs! I could see sparrows flitting around in my brush pile, so I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.

I phished and the White-crowneds popped up!

"Hey, look at my cool hairdo!"

"Hey, I'll have a head like that some day!" or maybe not

Also saw an Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around.

A gorgeous fall day spent birding

2010-10-14T21:43:00.028-04:00

I spent a gorgeous fall day in the backyard watching the birds flit about the golden-yellow sugar maple leaves in the backyard.

The drought has had the birdbath super busy lately, as I had to fill it up three times today. The day started off cool, in the mid 40's. The trees were filled with shivering, puffed-up Chipping Sparrows this morning. They all seemed to hit the birdbath at about the same time!

I keep my lawn a little longer than usual in the fall. The sparrows seem to love the seeds on the grasses. The yard was filled with over 20 chippies this morning.

Chipping Sparrows (fall plumage)

The Chipping Sparrows were chasing each other through the trees constantly. Every time I would look at a bird, it was a chippie. Then, a yellowish bird caught my eyes behind the leaves. The bird was playing hide and seek.

"Hey you, what am I?"

"How about now?" ah, a Tennessee Warbler (Had it misidentified on my camera)

"Hey, you takin' my picture?"

Where's the water?

2010-10-10T21:24:00.014-04:00

Woke up this morning to find a Yellow-rumped Warbler in the bird bath asking "Where's the water"?

Yellow-rumped Warbler

I quickly filled it up and am glad I did! The birds (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers) kept it busy all day. Even saw a Cape May Warbler visit it very briefly!

The yard was filled with good birds all day despite the fact the we had a near record high temperature in the high 80's. Saw for the first time in the yard a Swainson's Thrush visiting the poke weed for some berries. Also saw a Palm Warbler (working goldenrod), White-crowned Sparrows and a Red-breasted Nuthatch that visited the peanuts I have put out. A nice, warm fall day off spent in the backyard.

Morning banding

2010-10-09T11:50:00.016-04:00

Decided to stop by a bird banding demonstration at East Fork before having to go to work this morning. Wasn't much bird activity, but they did catch a few common birds.

I liked this idea, to keep it from biting, a bracelet was used. (cardinals hurt when they bite!)

Female Northern Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Chickadee in mist net

Cute little Carolina Chickadee

Indigo Stem Borer

2010-10-07T09:32:00.003-04:00

Indigo Stem Borer Moth Papaipema baptisiae

More dreary day birding

2010-10-04T19:24:00.025-04:00

Another cloudy, chilly, misty day.

Outside in the yard this morning, I heard Pine Siskins and looked up to see 3 flying from a sweetgum tree in the neighbor's yard. FOS (First Of Season) for me. Since I had the day off and the birds seemed to be moving, I decided to head to East Fork State Park.

I arrived at about 11 am at the beach. Scanning the gulls, I was able to pick out 5 Herring Gulls. Many people would probably not think that much of five Herring Gulls, however in SW Ohio they are not often encountered in this number. One was a very dark juvenile bird, one was an adult, and the other 3 were in various stages of plumage.

Adult Herring Gull with Ring-billeds

The gulls starting vocalizing and took flight. I saw an Osprey, but they usually don't react much to them. I then looked over my head and saw this immature Bald Eagle flying in from behind.

Immature Bald Eagle

I then decided to take a walk in the woods up on the hill from the beach. The land birds were moving away from the wind. I had a mixed flock of Cedar Waxwing, many Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow-rumped warblers, a Common Yellowthroat and one Nashville Warbler.

Moving on to the ponds, I spotted this male Wood Duck with some females. He was displaying to one.

I continued on to find my FOS White-throated Sparrows. I missed their call.

White-throated Sparrow

The Blue Jays were raising a ruckus in the trees ahead, and I later found out why. A Barred Owl took flight in front of me heading for cover from the harassing jays.

Before leaving the park, I decided to check the beach/lake to see if anything new came in. I am glad I did as I quickly spotted my FOS Bonaparte's Gull. It was constantly pruning and looked kinda rugged. Must have just migrated in.

Winter plumage Bonaparte's Gull

Fattening up

2010-09-30T08:51:00.016-04:00

The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are fattening up for their southward migration. I had 4 yesterday and only have seen 2 this morning so far. I usually see Ruby-throats until early to mid October at my feeders.

This is one reason that I keep my hummingbird feeders up. It is not true that the hummingbirds will not migrate if you leave your feeders up until after Labor Day. In fact, I would say that it helps them on their southward migration, but this is only my opinion. As one can see from the photos below, the Ruby-throated is fattening up for the coming migration. Hummers also eat insects and spiders etc., so the feeders aren't their only source of food.

Another reason that I leave my hummingbird feeders up all fall (I leave mine up till Christmas here!), is that I hope for a western vagrant hummingbird species. Every fall, some Selasphorus (Like Rufous and Allen's) hummingbird species move east of the Mississippi River and show up at feeders in the Midwest and East. Other western species have shown up as well.

Here are some sites with more info:

HBRC Tri-state Hummingbird Study

Add your fall feeders to this map (Ohio only I think)!: Fall Vagrant Hummingbirds Project

Fattened up Ruby-throated Hummingbird in a peach tree

A little surprise...

2010-09-22T23:21:00.015-04:00

While up-righting my potted plants on the patio from the storms this afternoon, this little Eastern Garter Snake came out from underneath one of the plants and jumped at my hand. It was not a happy camper!

I think it may be close to or had just shed its skin.

It wasn't much bigger than the night crawlers that I use for fishing!

Dreary day birding

2010-09-16T17:46:00.008-04:00

The morning started out dreary with light rain/mist and low clouds. Being that it was my day off, I decided to look for birds ( a big surprise there ;-)

The first bird that I saw out the back door was this bright Northern Parula - this photo is from the back door in poor lighting. Definitely brightened up the day!

Northern Parula

I then decided to head for East Fork State Park. Got a later start then I wanted to, but the birding was good for warblers in the backyard early on.

Saw more Ospreys, 5 in total. One was dive-bombing an adult Bald Eagle high above the lake!

Osprey

Also saw 40 Blue-winged Teal way out over the lake. A Sharp-shinned Hawk also attempted a sneak attack on some European Starlings and Killdeer right in front of me. Not a bad way to spend my day off!

An evening spent with the birds

2010-09-10T23:40:00.013-04:00

Was going to spend my off day birding the morning, but didn't feel up to it. I finally felt better by afternoon and had to get outside to clear my mind. I am glad I did, as I needed it.

Due to the time of day, I figured not many warblers would be moving. So I headed to the beach at East Fork State Park to look for any shorebirds or terns or whatever else could be around.

The first bird I saw was this far off Osprey flying out over the lake, stirring up the gulls.

Osprey

Scanning the gull flock, I only seen Ring-billeds at first. I then noticed a large tern flying around, a Caspian Tern. It decided to hesitantly land in front of me on the beach.

Caspian Tern

(Looks like it has a carrot for a bill when one looks at it head on!)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-08T16:48:00.007-04:00

Painted Lady

Red-spotted Purple

Great Spangled Fritillary

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Tern of the Season

2010-09-03T23:40:00.014-04:00

With everyone talking about the possibility of good birds showing up with the unusual weather pattern currently over Ohio, I decided to spend some time at East Fork looking for birds.

The air was much cooler than it has been and the winds were blowing pretty good out of the west. The water was very choppy. I didn't get there until around 4pm, so there were people swimming and walking dogs on the beach. However, I was able to spot a non breeding Forster's Tern coming in from out over the lake. It landed very near me on the beach with the Ring-billed Gulls.

The way to tell this bird from the non breeding Common Tern would be the lack of dark black across the crown of the head. Forster's has a kind of black eye mask. Also, the Common has a black carpal bar (shoulder) which the Forster's lacks.

I did spot 4 Black Terns in winter plumage as well way out skimming the surface of the lake. Later, I also spotted a flock of 3 Pectoral Sandpipers flying out over the lake.

I will definitely take the change of season, even if it is only temporary! (Supposed to be back to near 90° next week.)

A Nice Looking Wood Duck

2010-09-03T14:25:00.010-04:00

Found this handsome male Wood Duck yesterday on the bank of the Ohio River in New Richmond, Ohio. I often see woodies hanging out with the Mallards at this location.

A Nice looking male Wood Duck

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-01T11:35:00.005-04:00

Red Admiral

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Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T09:09:00.004-04:00

Tiger Swallowtail on sunflower.

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Book Review: Nightjars of the World

2010-08-18T12:51:00.053-04:00

When I first heard that there was a new book coming out about nightjars, I immediately became excited. Ever since I seen my first Common Nighthawk at age 11, I have been fascinated by the nightjars. So when I got an email from the publisher's publicity department that I could receive a review copy of Nightjars, Potoos, Frogmouths, Oilbird, and Owlet-nightjars of the World by Nigel Cleere, I quickly jumped on it. And I am glad I did, as I love this book!

Princeton University Press's Nightjars of the World is a hard cover book that covers all 135 species of nightjar. It is set up on the order of a field guide, complete with range maps and biology for every species. However, due to its size and the fact that it covers every species of nightjar in the world, it would be better used as a home reference rather than a field guide in my opinion.

The wonderful color photos (over 580!) no doubt make this book. Every species is photographically represented, including some for which there is no known photos of the birds in the wild. In this case, high quality photos of museum skins are used.

This book will give many the opportunity to learn about species that they would not have known even existed previously. For example, I was blown away when I saw the photo of the awesomely cool wings of the Pennant-winged Nightjar. They look like they have streamers at the end of their wings when in flight. Another cool nightjar, the Swallow-tailed Nightjar of South America has a 16-21 inch swallow tail. There are many more cool looking birds in this book that you will want to learn about!

I also like the fact that this book covers the biology and natural history of the Caprimulgiformes (nightjars) in a way that birders will be able to understand and ornithologists will be able to appreciate. The book points out that there is still a lot of unknowns when it comes to the biology of many of the Caprimulgiformes. This book will inspire many, professionals and birders alike, to want to learn more about this mysteriously cool group of birds.

This is the kind of book that can turn someone with any interest in birds into a full fledged birder. Every birder with a passion for nightjars will want to add this book to their library. A definite must have for the amateur ornithologist.

Nigel Cleere did a fantastic job with his book Nightjars of the World, and I highly recommend it - 5 out of 5 stars!

Disclosure: I had received this book free of charge from the publisher for the purpose of reviewing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T12:18:00.004-04:00

Polyphemus Moth

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My search for a Black-bellied Whistling Duck (NOT)

2010-08-14T15:29:00.014-04:00

With the recent reports of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks being seen around the Eastern U.S. and the one up on Lake Erie, I decided to go out and check some local ponds that no one would think to check. I struck out on a BBWD of course, but did find my first of the year Pied-billed Grebe I think. Yes, my first for the year, as I cannot remember seeing ANY so far this year. They just haven't been around. Where are they all???

Pied-billed Grebe and Canada Goose

Also, I found a Green Heron. Not a place one would expect such birds, but I have found some good birds in this pond over the years. (It is that little pond that is under the word "Eastg" and above "Clepper" on the right side of the map)

View Larger Map

I am planning on going back out and checking some more spots that I think might be hiding something good tomorrow.

The bird that started it all

2010-08-02T22:13:00.027-04:00

I have often been asked (by birders) "What bird was your spark bird?" or (by family and friends) "How did you ever get started watching birds?" I probably answered with "I don't know for sure, maybe the Ruby-throated Hummingbird" or "Watching a hummingbird". I was fascinated by many birds when I was young, so I never really put much thought into the one bird that started the ball rolling.

But as I look back, I remember one bird that I could not ID for anything. I was only 11 years old at the time and wasn't what one would call a "birder". I did not own a field guide, but I often would look at my dad's old Golden Guide to Birds. It only contained the most common or most likely to be seen birds, plus some of the pages were missing. The bird that I was seeing was not in it. I remember asking my dad and grandfather what the bird was with the response "I don't know". Back then, there was no Google, I didn't have the internet. I searched and searched to no avail. I then started on a mission to find out what bird it was that I was seeing.

I remember seeing many of them flying over the fields around my house in the evenings. I thought to myself that they must be some kind of seabird. Given their shape and flight style, I thought maybe a gull or a tern at the time. I started to look at more bird books and my grandmother bought me a membership into the Cincinnati Nature Center. Before I knew it, I had become a birdwatcher. Oh yeah, that bird?

Common Nighthawk / Bob Hines, USFWS

That's right, the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). I don't remember how or when exactly I came to the conclusion as to what those odd, crepuscular birds were that I was seeing. I only remember there were many of them and that they were quick fliers.

Common Nighthawk / Dave Herr, USFS

Today, I don't see nearly as many as I did when I was younger. I remember watching them for long periods of time as they migrated south around the end of August. They seemed as if they would never stop coming, a constant stream of birds.

I also later participated in a project designed to learn more about the Common Nighthawk's migration called Project Nighthawk (from 1999-2005). This also heightened my interest in the Common Nighthawk. Participation in this project put me outside for the last two hours of daylight of every day from mid-August till I stopped seeing nighthawks. As it is almost that time again, I still look forward every year to seeing the large, migrating flocks of Common Nighthawks on their southward journey!

Common Nighthawk chicks / Patrice Lynch, USFS

P.S. - (I have never seen CONI chicks before, by the way)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T11:34:00.006-04:00

Female Eastern Pondhawk

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Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T10:50:00.008-04:00

Adult Antlion

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More cool, colorful bugs

2010-07-14T22:25:00.046-04:00

Last Saturday, my travels brought me to Miami Meadows Park. I originally went there to see a rock concert, but the music just wasn't my taste and I quickly became board. Instead, I went to the natural areas of the park to see what insects I could run across.

I started out at a little pond that I often see cool dragonflies and damsels at. There was a man and his son fishing on the other side of the pond, but they quickly left when they seen me. They must have thought that I was nuts taking pictures of the weeds.

There are always plenty of Eastern Forktails flying around. I love this small damselfly, as I think they are rad looking. Their cool neon green thoraxes and neon blue tail tip are awesome. I am always amused at when I try to point them out to someone, as they are so tiny that many people can't even detect them.

Eastern Forktail wheel on heal all or self heal

Walking around the pond I came across more odes, like this female Widow Skimmer

Female Widow Skimmer

and this awesome Halloween Pennant. I love the pennants, their wings are the coolest. This is the first time I was able to get a good look at a Halloween close up.

Halloween Pennant on a sedge

I looked down to see a duskywing on the clover at my feet. I decided to take a pic, as I can't usually ID them in the field as they are always gone before I can get a diagnostic look at them. Sometimes it is difficult for me even with pics.

Horace's Duskywing

I had narrowed this duskywing down to either Juvenal's or Horace's, but wasn't sure. Thank you Crystal - a.k.a. Rangerous for the ID help!

I then moved from the pond to the nearby field which was full of teasel and and Orange Sulphurs.

Orange Sulphur on teasel

While trying to take a picture of a dragonfly, I heard a small child ask their mother "mom, what is that guy taking pictures of?" she answered "I don't know honey, just keep moving". There were probably over a thousand people in that park that day. Most of which will never take the time out of their busy lives to experience and appreciate the beauty and awesomeness of the nature that is all around them. :-(

After not seeing much more in the fields, I moved on to the wet woods. I could hear a Pileated Woodpecker and Acadian Flycatcher calling. Got to see the pileated before it was spooked by kids on bikes. I also noticed a hummingbird sitting on a stick above my head. As I went farther down the trail, I came to a forest clearing that was glistening in the setting sun. The clearing was sparkling with the wings of many Eastern Comma butterflies chasing each other. It was almost magical looking. One landed at my feet on the broken boardwalk, casting a cool shadow!

Eastern Comma casting a big cool shadow

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T10:30:00.008-04:00

Red Admiral

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Just trying to stay cool...

2010-06-18T16:56:00.008-04:00

Haven't been outside as much as I would like to recently due to the heat.

However, I did run across this Mallard family just trying to stay cool along the bank of the Ohio River in New Richmond today while out and about. Mommy Mallard was trying to keep the little ones cool :-)

Mallard family

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-09T13:18:00.006-04:00

Question Mark and Morning Cloak nectaring

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Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-02T02:58:00.007-04:00

Great Blue Heron

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2010 Queen City Bird Festival

2010-05-18T23:59:00.031-04:00

Saturday, May 15th, my mother and nephews, Ashley and I attended the 3rd Annual Queen City Bird Festival held at Hueston Woods State Park in Butler Co. Ohio. The Queen City Bird Festival was created by my friend Jill Russell from the Avian Research and Education Institute. She is the one that brings it all together and makes it all happen. Other local organizations and institutions that also help make it all possible include Oxbow Inc., Audubon Miami Valley and the College of Mount St. Joseph.

As in previous years, I helped out by running a station for children teaching them how to identify common birds that they may see around their feeders and yards. I am always surprised by the breadth of knowledge of these kids. There were numerous educational and entertaining events for the young birders ranging from bird bingo and face painting to bird banding and bird walks. A highlight for many was a flyover of an adult Bald Eagle right over the crowd!

The Keynote Speaker for the event was Thane Maynard, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. I always get moved to do more for conservation after hearing him speak about the progress that has been and is still occurring with endangered species.

Thane Maynard brought along his friend Charlie, an African Penguin. He was a big hit with the kids!

This year, I was able to bring two of my nephews to the event. They loved it! They told their siblings about it and they want to go next year!

My nephews at the Queen City Bird Festival with their Audubon Plush Birds they won.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-12T14:17:00.010-04:00

Killdeer nest or lack thereof...

Get wordless at Wordless Wednesday

Birdathon 2010: A summary

2010-05-09T23:03:00.068-04:00

The 2010 Birdathon was held May 7-8th. The goal of the Birdathon is to raise money for local conservation organizations by seeing as many different species of birds from 5pm Friday to 5pm Saturday (24 hr period) in a pre-determined radius centered on the Oxbow in SE Indiana (Oxbow area). Pledges are solicited from friends and members, the more species seen collectively, the more money that is raised for the local conservation organizations. This year my team consisted of Dave Brinkman, Dr. Jon Seymour (President of Oxbow, Inc.), and myself. Although our team entered in as "non-competitive" this year, we still ended up with a good number of species I thought. For the first time in my Birdathon experience, we decided to camp at Miami Whitewater campground instead of sleeping in the car. I am glad that we did. Before setting out, we got word that there was a tornado watch in effect until early morning. We put the tent up before the 5pm start time while it wasn't raining. Good thing we did. It thunderstormed Friday night, so we stayed in the car until the lightning stopped. The winds were roaring loud all night, but I somehow managed to stay dry and get some sleep in.

And now on to the birds...Both Friday and Saturday, we went to the new Fernald Preserve in northern Hamilton Co. I have been wanting to go here for a while, but it is a drive for me. I really enjoyed this place. The place was a hopping, as I was able to see Dickcissels, Bobolinks, and hear Grasshopper Sparrows all in the same field. The small but very productive biowetlands held all kinds of good birds including shorebirds, Blue-winged Teal, and an American Pipit. I am glad to be able to have a place like this to see so many different species of birds in one place. I was thinking while there that this could be reproduced with only a little work just about anywhere there was open space to do so. It is a shame that it takes something like Fernald's history to guarantee quality bird habitat in SW Ohio, but that is the sad times we live in I guess. I am hoping to go back to this preserve soon.

Friday, we failed to relocate the reported Wilson's Phalarope at the Fernald Biowetlands. We ran into another team that had said they just seen it 15 minutes prior to our arrival. We searched again, still no phalarope. Dang, that would have been a life bird for me!

Lesser Yellowlegs at Fernald Preserve

Saturday we saw quite a few Wild Turkey, including some male toms displaying to hens.

Male tom turkey displaying at Miami Whitewater Forest

We got word that there was another Wilson's Phalarope at a place called lost bridge. I was really hoping to get this bird here, since I just missed it at Fernald. The first visit yielded a Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpipers. But still no phalarope.

So we headed out to bird other locations in the area. We ran into another group who stated that they saw a shorebird they were unsure of at lost bridge, so we decided to return there to see if we could find the "odd" bird. Glad we did. Just as we were getting ready to leave the spot, Dave spotted the Wilson's Phalarope flying in fast from the left - life bird for me! It landed in front of us briefly, but then disappeared. Luckily, after a long while, we were able to relocate the bird. Got some good looks at it while it was feeding right in front of us!

Lifer Wilson's Phalarope at Lost Bridge in Hamilton Co. , OH

We also stopped by a place where Lark Sparrows had been seen. This would be another life bird for me. As we approached the area where they were supposed to be, Dave found one on the road in front of us. It fled quick, and I was only able to get a brief look at the head pattern and white outer tail feathers - dang!

At 5pm on Saturday, all the teams got together at Winton Woods for the final tally and pizza. It was nice to see so many birding friends that I haven't seen in a while, some in years. Each team discussed their best bird and best moment of the birdathon. Every year, I see more and more 18 years and under young birders at this event - love this! Kathy McDonald led the Queen City Birder's/Ohio Young Birder's Clu b team. They got first place in the under 19 years category with 95 species!

My team got 118 species and the winning team got somewhere around 147 total species. But everybody was a winner, raising money for conservation and having fun!

More details on the SW Ohio (Clermont Co.) chuck

2010-05-05T23:51:00.053-04:00

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, I heard a Chuck-will's-widow calling in a field behind my property. It was shortly after dusk and the call was repeated for at least approximately 5 minutes. A Barred Owl called right before the chuck started to call. A lot of times owls will get birds to call that normally wouldn't call.

I heard the call loud and clear for at least 3 minutes, until the noise of the neigborhood made the call harder to hear (dogs barking and kids screaming). Since the dog was closer than the chuck, I was unable to get a recording, as I only have a digital camera to do so.

Chuck-will's-widows by Louis Agassiz Fuertes (from Wikipedia)

The habitat that the chuck was in is an old field with Andropogon spp. and other grasses. It has mixed maples, pin oak, and multifloral rose that I can identify.

Here is a photo of the habitat from the area of where I heard the chuck:

Here is an attempt to provide a map of the approximate area of where the chuck was calling from:

View Larger Map

This would make a second record for Clermont Co. for Chuck-will's-widow. The first is of an injured bird found by Raptor Inc. in Milford on or around Dec. 12th, 2004. Details on this bird can be found on the Ohio Ornithological Society's website HERE.

*Addendum: Thanks goes to Bob Foppe for supplying me with info of a chuck specimen found in Clermont Co. on 5/20/1945 from the Owensville area, possibly from the St. Rt. 222 and US 50 area.

Looking at different online sources, one gets a very cloudy idea of the range of Chuck-will's-widow in Ohio.

The source that I put the most faith in is Cornell's All About Birds site. It shows the chuck ranging only in the Adams County/Shawnee - Portsmouth area (southernmost tip of OH) for Ohio.

This site, whatBird.com, shows chucks ranging from Cincinnati eastward to the Ohio-West Virginia border. This is not what I am familiar with, as a chuck in SW Ohio is a rare find.

Here is an article that I found on the Ohio Ornithological Society website that discusses chucks in Ohio in more detail.

I thought that I might have heard it again on Monday night, May 3rd, but it was far off sounding. I have not definitely heard it since that first night.

A beautiful, shorebirdy day!

2010-05-03T19:25:00.023-04:00

Being such a beautiful day, Ashley and I stopped by East Fork State Park's south beach in Bantam today for some birding. We got a later than I wanted to start, ending up getting there at 2pm. The water was up from the recent rains, so no beach was exposed, just grass. There were quite a few people sunbathing and swimming, so I wasn't expecting much.
Getting out of the car, all I could see were a couple of Ring-billed Gulls and a crow. Some movement caught my eye, and right in front of us a Spotted Sandpiper flew up and out over the water. It started calling, and quickly returned to take perch on a log right in front of us. It posed and gave a look like "look at me, I'm looking at you".

This Spotted Sandpiper is not nearly as intimidating as the mean lookin' Brown Thrasher.

I scanned the shoreline and approximately 50 foot in front of a couple sunbathing, were 12 Willets! They were right in front of us practically and I didn't even notice them. I went back to the car and got the camera. The sunbathing couple gave us an odd look, but didn't say anything when they found out what we were looking at.

We were able to get good looks at them fairly close up. They did not seem at all concerned with us or the closer sunbathers. Then a guy with a dog came up and let the dog off the leash (arrrgghh!!). The birds got antsy and flew out over the lake, calling and circling.

Love those Willet wings!

How I spent Earth Day

2010-04-22T21:43:00.037-04:00

Spent this Earth Day out working in the yard. I started off with sowing some butterfly weed seeds in a raised bed. I have not had much luck with butterfly weed in the past, I have only had it actually come up once. I used to grow common milkweed in the front yard for the monarch butterflies, but the neighbor would harass me about growing weeds despite my attempts to educate her about how it is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. From what I have read, monarchs are going to need all the help they can get this year due to the loss of 50% of the population on their wintering grounds in Mexico. While preparing the bed, I heard my first of the season (FOS) Baltimore Oriole singing high in the maple trees. I also heard and then seen a Brown Thrasher fly over my head, heading for the birdbath.

It then gave me a look like "what you lookin' at!"

I could hear the sound of numerous Eastern Meadowlarks singing their "It's the spring of the yearrr" song. I love that sound! I managed to spot one very far off at the top of a sweetgum tree.

Knowing it was Earth Day, I tried not to have to use the lawnmower, but I couldn't. Have to get caught up before the rain. While coming in from putting my lawn tractor away, I came across this cool looking Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella in the driveway.

This is what those brown and black wooly bear caterpillars (the ones that are supposed to foretell how bad the winter is going to be based on the amount of black on them) turn into when they become an adult.

Ahh, Spring, love is in the air...

2010-04-12T22:36:00.022-04:00

Last Saturday while on the way to the store, I stopped by the Ohio River in downtown New Richmond, OH like I always do to see what birds I can see. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear a Wood Duck whistling. It didn't take long to spot it. This lonely male Wood Duck was calling and displaying to a couple of female Mallards. He would tuck his bill into his chest and whistle, then bring his head back up. They did not want any of that and quickly abandoned him.

He then swam up by the marina/floating restaurant and out from underneath the marina/floating restaurant an American Coot appeared. The Wood Duck swam towards it whistling, and the coot went back under the structure - didn't want any of that either.

Thinking back, I can only remember seeing 1 female Wood Duck at this location ever. Hope he's able to find a girlfriend Wood Duck!

Morning walk and avipoxvirus again

2010-04-06T12:30:00.022-04:00

Being such a beautiful day, I decided to take a walk down the road. Eastern Meadowlarks are everywhere! Broom sedge is coming back to many of the fields that I used to remember it in. The meadowlarks are taking advantage of it. When I was a child, I remember finding lots of Bobwhite in broom sedge as well, I would love to hear that sound again.

My curse of finding dead or sick birds on my walks seems to be back :-( . This female American Goldfinch landed not too far from my feet in a driveway as I was walking. The bird must have been able to see somewhat, as it flew away when I got closer. Here is a dead bird from avian pox that I found last year on a local walk down my street.

I have never seen avian pox on the birds that visit my feeders. I clean them often and I usually don't feed birds in the spring and summer (a money saving strategy!). My birdbath (cleaned daily) has been empty since I moved it to mow and never put it back. I found this bird near where the grackle was found last year. I really would like to find the source of this, maybe a neighbor's feeders?

7th Annual Amish Bird Symposium

2010-03-08T11:24:00.065-05:00

Last Saturday, March 6th, I attended the 7th Annual Amish Bird Symposium in beautiful, rural Adams County, Ohio. I have to say that this is one of my favorite birding events to attend, as it is just the right size and doesn't have too much going on all at once. This event always seems to get better every year, and this year was no exception.

This year, the event was held at a new location, the Wheat Ridge Amish Community Building. With this new location brought for the first time indoor plumbing, an insulated building and plenty of room to enjoy your Amish made lunch. The only thing that reminded me that I was still in an Amish building was the gas powered mantle lighting.

Every year, the symposium starts off with a speech from a member of the Amish birding community. I enjoy listening to them as they have different perspectives on birding than most of us. I listen closely, hoping to get a little hint or secret as to how they attract all the rarities ;-)

Susan from Raptor Inc. was there with her rehab birds (always a very popular draw!), as were several birding related vendors which had items on sale.

Storm the Barn Owl was adding wild sound effects to many of the speakers' presentations!

The speaker list for this event is always impressive, and this year was no exception! Thane Maynard , Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden , gave an optimistic talk about the work and the progress that is being made with endangered species conservation.

Susan Gets Native, Lucy (Peregrine Falcon), and Thane Maynard.

Donald Kroodsma , author of The Singing Life of Birds, opened up a whole new world to me that I have never really paid that much attention to. Very interesting and informative talk. Wildlife photographer Ron Austing showed off some of his stellar bird photography and volunteer naturalist Chuck Jakubchak gave an informative talk about bird nests.

After the presentations, some symposium attendees took a trip to the close-by Adams Lake State Park for some local birding.

Ring-necked Ducks on Adams Lake.

I had a wonderful time. Met many old friends and some new ones too! Looking forward to this event again next year!

2010 Great Backyard Bird Count: A Summary

2010-02-15T21:03:00.047-05:00

There was snow cover on the ground during the entire period, which kept the feeders very busy.

Sparrows as a group were the most numerous birds, breaking many of my previous all time highs for the yard. I had 15 Eastern Towhees (tie), 38 American Tree Sparrows (record), 35 White-throated Sparrows(record), 8 Dark-eyed Juncos, 1 Fox Sparrow, and 8 Song Sparrows (record) *Highest # counted at one time, per the GBBC rules

The new 1 foot of snow on Presidents Day brought in more good birds, including 10 Brown-headed Cowbirds and 1 male Eastern Bluebird. The birds were fighting for the feeders and I even had a male towhee try to stay on the feeder as I was trying to fill it. He made an odd squealing sound as I approached him.

Wasn't able to get all of my expected woodpeckers, but was surprised by a brief sighting of a Red-headed Woodpecker that was down the street (flew over yard, but didn't stop at feeders). Broke my all time high for the yard for Red-bellies (8 at one time).

Somehow I managed to miss my resident Red-shoulder that I had seen the day before the count. I did get feeder raids by both expected accipters though. Also had flyovers of a Red tail, 1 Turkey Vulture and 3 Black Vultures. Was able to call in an Eastern Screech-owl at dusk. The Great-horned was heard calling from the big woods across the street at dusk while filling feeders.

Complete species list for weekend:

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

I had 34 species seen or heard in or from my yard for all 4 days combined.

Winter river hopping

2010-02-08T18:30:00.015-05:00

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...

2010-01-30T18:25:00.008-05:00

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

2010-01-03T13:22:00.018-05:00

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...

2009-12-31T15:37:00.007-05:00

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

2009-12-06T08:23:00.032-05:00

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

2009-11-25T09:46:00.008-05:00

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

2009-11-16T21:44:00.026-05:00

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)