Warm, cold, warm

Tweet 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!

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

Tweet 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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East Fork Christmas Bird Count

Tweet Jaime and I attended the East Fork CBC Saturday. This is always my favorite count to go on because it is near my home and covers places I am familiar with. It always proves that there are good birds all around us, but most go unnoticed by birders. All in all, got good birds, met new birders, very good day.

Went owling before the count and was able to get/call in 2 Great Horned Owls, 2 Barred Owls, and 1 Screech Owl, all of them from the park property, which is not always easy - off to good start.

The morning started out very slow (a little cold), but as the day got later, the birds got better.

There was no tally, so I do not know what others groups may have. I know ours had some good birds.

Some pictures from the day:

Sandhill Cranes in Salt Air (name of small town),



I spotted a distant raptor that looked different from the many kestrels we were seeing (both a good thing). We stopped, got closer looks and confirmed a Merlin (also later saw bird in flight). This was outside of Bethel on country roads. Not a good photo, but better than my other pic of a merlin that was right in front of me (my old crappy camera).



Many raptors. Some of our group's better birds were:

1 Rusty Blackbird
Sandhill Cranes
A Merlin
Harriers
A male Purple Finch
2 Fox Sparrows

May be missing something. Tweet