Springtime Ducks

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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

Tweet 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. Tweet

Spring day, winter birds

Tweet 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!

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2011 Great Backyard Bird Count: A summary

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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/

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Ready for Spring!!!

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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!)

Tweet 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.

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Ross's Goose!

Tweet 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

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Iced fish

Tweet 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

Tweet 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!)

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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