Red-necked Birding...

Tweet Winter and Spring continue to battle it out.  This winter just doesn't seem to want to end anytime soon.  As I write this post, it is raining and 38°.  It is supposed to end as snow, and then be close to 70° Monday. But despite this crazy weather, it is officially Spring and the birds definitely know it!

This colder than average winter has been one to remember birding wise here in SW Ohio.  After the invasion of northern ducks, came an invasion of Red-necked Grebes.  My last post has the closest shot and view of one that I have ever had...  Until this invasion.

There has been as many as 20 or so Red-necked Grebes reported at one time on East Fork Lake.  This is an unprecedented number for the whole SW Ohio area, let alone just one location.  And the odd thing is, they are staying around and many are in full breeding plumage.  Some males are even displaying.  Again, I don't know what this means in the big picture, but I choose to just enjoy them.

I have never seen one in breeding plumage before, so when I spotted a few close to the shore, I watched them for a while and noticed that many were very close to breeding plumage.

Here is a sight that you just don't see here in SW Ohio.

3 Red-necked Grebes in one view.  And there were many more.  

Haven't never seen them up close, and only a handful of times before this day, I chose to just watch them.  They were feeding on crayfish and vocalizing with a clucking sound.  

Looks like a dinosaur!

Here, I almost thought that one was preening the other, but that is not the case.  The one in the back was playing with a feather in the water.

I often wondered if I would be able to tell apart a Horned Grebe and a Red-necked Grebe at a distance, having only seen Red-neckeds a few distant times.  After this day, I don't think that will be a problem!

A Horned Grebe came by for nice comparison views.  

As you can see, there is a considerable difference in shape and size.  The Horned Grebe was not yet in breeding plumage.  The Horneds were feeding on fish.  The Red-neckeds seemed uninterested.  They stuck to crayfish, even moving rocks underwater near shore.  

There are other birds around besides the grebes, believe it or not.  The ducks continue to show in good numbers.  This time of year is the best time to get good looks at breeding plumage ducks.  They usually only have one thing on their minds.  Here are some species that I have been seeing pretty close (in breeding plumage).

Northern Shoveler Male

Green-winged Teal Male

Pair of Blue-winged Teal

Male Ruddy Duck 

Yeah, I love breeding plumage ducks.  But Spring is here and other birds are getting into Spring as well.  I was very surprised to see this male American Kestrel watching me near a nesting box.  I have never seen anything but starlings in it, but I didn't see a female, so it is doubtful.  

He was giving me the eye.

And then, out of nowhere, he started screaming at me!

Hope for Spring and keep watching birds.  The warblers will be here soon!

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From long tails to long bills...

Tweet The winter that everyone wishes would just go away continues to just keep on being mean.  As I write this post, another major winter storm is in progress.  It is 16° F and snowing with a coating of ice on everything.

But a "bad" winter isn't all bad.  The unusual cold has caused waters up north to freeze and stay frozen.  Open water has been hard to find down here SW Ohio.  East Fork froze almost completely and even the Ohio River froze over for a brief period.  The ice has since began to recede and disappear, however East Fork remains half frozen, while the river is thawed.  

This has caused a good number of ducks that are usually considered rare for this area down here in amazing numbers.  While I already blogged about the large number of White-winged Scoters being seen, they continue to add up.  I don't ever recall seeing so many in so many different places since I have started birding.  Another duck that I haven't seen much in my years birding is a the Long-tailed Duck.  Such a gorgeous bird, I don't remember ever seeing a male in breeding plumage.  Reports of multiple birds in multiple locations along the Ohio River had me pumped up.  I was hoping to see a nice looking male close up.  Well, I got that opportunity!

Look at that tail!  Many of the ones I have seen has had its tail broke off.  A nice looking duck for sure!

The duck was not by itself and was very close to shore.  It later joined up with another flock of ducks.  

Any long time birder in the Cincinnati area would note that you just don't see this down here!  This year is off the hook.  Here is a closeup of a pair of ducks where just seeing one species would be a very good day birding in SW Ohio, but this??!!

I'll take it!

Here are some more pictures of such a handsome duck.

               

With such a handsome duck to watch, it is hard to take your eyes off of him.  But he isn't the only duck around.  The river has been hopping with all kinds of ducks and mergansers.  

Common Mergansers everywhere.  Not always easy to find around here.

And of course this Motley Crew, Red-breasted Mergansers.  Love the hair do.

And lots of different species of ducks including, Redheads, both scaup, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Ring-necked.

You can notice sun in these pictures.  We were granted a very brief preview of Spring by mother nature, and it was much appreciated by me and the birds.  Love to watch ducks get funky while doing their courtship rituals!

Love Green-winged Teal.  Their sounds are odd for a duck.  I don't see them much around here, so they were welcome.  So gorgeous!

And of course, so are the other ducks ---->

                       

With all this duck action, it is hard to remember that there is other birds to be seen.  I noticed the Medahl Dam Peregrine Falcon chowing down while watching the ducks and gulls.

As the temperatures gradually warmed, the birds began singing more and more.  This male Horned Lark was just singing away at the beach at East Fork recently.   

This Barred Owl was out soaking up the sun, something that sounds nice right about now.  

But it just ins't Spring without the sound of one bird in particular.  That one bird is my "Spring bird".  That bird is the American Woodcock.  With the weather, I really wasn't expected to see any during a short warm spell that we had recently.  But, just after dark, I heard the sound.  And it begins...   Peent!  It is spring!

               

Spring migration has already begun, as it is triggered by the days getting longer rather then the temperatures.  

Here is a Red-necked Grebe that has been hanging around the south beach at East Fork for a couple of days.  This is the best look yet I have of this species.  Would be nice to see in breeding plumage.

With this crazy weather, I look forward to what it may bring.  I try to ignore the implications of this odd weather, and just focus on what good birds may show up as a result.  Keep birding and keep warm! Tweet

Birding, in black and white

Tweet Well, there are still reports coming in of local Snowy Owls, however they seem to be one hit wonders.  Many birders have gone out looking for them, only to not find anything.  This late in the invasion, that would make sense, as any snowy still down this far south would likely be in grave condition.

This year has been the year of the White-winged Scoter.  I have been seeing a good deal of them reported at many places.  Open water has been hard to find this unusually cold winter.  I had eight on the East Fork CBC last month.  Usually, one isn't able to get good looks at them.  Most of the scoters I have come across birding are a distance.  Well, that is not the case at Lake Isabella in Hamilton, Co., OH.  A fishing lake with an aerator has created a small open area of water very near the dock.  With open water being so hard to find this season, it has been particularly active.  With reports of both scoters and other cool ducks, I had to go check this out.  I am glad I did!

When I first arrived, I spotted the White-winged Scoters right off the dock.  They remained sleeping for a while, so I put my freezing hands in my pockets and waited.

They are awaking!  The adult male looks like he is sticking his tongue out, but it is just its odd shaped/colored bill.

It was very early in the morning and cloudy, so the light was filtered.  I waited, albeit very cold waiting.

It is coming very close!  Yes, that is a hole that you can see right through. You can see right through their nostrils!

What a beautiful duck!  The other two scoters went under the dock and I could hardly see them.  The male just kept swimming closer to me.

and closer still...

I love that eye and bill!  So gorgeous!  Here is a closeup of the face.

And as if this wasn't cool enough, Hooded Mergansers were not that far off displaying to females.  My hands were froze at this point, as I can't take pictures with my gloves on.  If my hands weren't numb from the cold, I could of maybe got shots of the males performing for the females.  I did manage to get a few shots before sprinted for the car.  

More gorgeous black and white ducks - 

It is so cool how just slight changes in his crest fan can change his look.  I think they looks so odd when they have it down.  It makes their eyes look like they are going to pop out of their heads.

The hoodie is special to me, as they have a significant impact on my becoming a birder when I was younger.

Keep watching birds and stay warm!

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Lots of snow, but no snowy owl!

Tweet Haven't been able to spend as much time out birding as I would like to as of late.  My car has required a good deal of maintenance, so I haven't been traveling to see birds as I have in the past.  Plus, I have switched jobs that requires that I work a lot of overtime.

But since I am a birder, I still made time to have birds in my life.  Many good birds were hit and miss this winter, not seeming to stay in one place very long.  This winter has seen the biggest invasion of Snowy Owls that I can remember since I have started birding.  More on that later.

This winter has been a winter.  By that, I mean it has lived up to its name!  Currently, it is 42° here, but it is supposed to be close to -10° by this time tomorrow.  I got out before the brunt of this polar vortex stuff starting coming in back in November of last year.  The minuses are too cold for me to be birding!

I am sure that all of the Eastern Meadowlarks are either gone from the area now, or are hiding very good.  However, I was still surprised to find a good flock of about a dozen or so at a twp. park in late November.

A slight dusting of snow is a herald to what is to come...

When I watched them, they put me in the mind of shorebirds.  From the back, they are very similar.  One particular meadowlark was with a group of starlings.  They feed very much the same way, so they are structurally very similar.  It was say "I am much better looking than the starlings".

I misread a report of a Long-tailed Duck that was on the Ohio River at Medahl Dam back in November.  However, I misread the post and went to East Fork Dam looking for it.  Of course it wasn't there, but I wouldn't have seen this Northern Harrier cruising alongside the car if I didn't head there.  This bird would be one of a few I would see later on, including at least two gray ghost males.  I took this pic out the car window.

In the winter, the rangers close the gate to the top of the hill to the East Fork beach.  This keeps a lot of people with dogs from going down to the beach.  The Bald Eagles take advantage of this lack of disturbance, and if you get lucky, you can catch them perched in a favorite tree to the right of the beach.  I always keep my distance once I spot them.  Always love to watch them!

With all of the reports of Snowy Owls popping up around Ohio, I have been traveling local backroads hoping to get lucky.  Not a Snowy, but I did find a bird that is not easy to find this time of year - a Wilson's Snipe taken out the car window.

East Fork has been slow in the weeks leading up to the Christmas Bird Count.  I did find a Hermit Thrush that I think was intoxicated by the eastern red cedar berries it was consuming.  The bird would just sit there and pant.  I made a noise, and the bird snapped out of it and flew off.

My how the time has gone.  CBC time has come and gone, but not without some awesome birds!

The Cincinnati Count was miserable with cold rain most of the day.  However, I did have point blank looks at a Winter Wren and a FOS flyover Fox Sparrow.  The East Fork count was even better.  The weather was cold, but nice.  Had 4 Cackling Geese for the count.  

Even though these were good, the best birds of the count was a surprise point blank flyover.  I saw some ducks flying from a cove behind us.  As soon as I said ducks, the other birder I was with said "These are something interesting!"  and before I could say Surf Scoters, he says "Surf Scoters!"  Eight of them!   If I just had my camera ready!!!

While traveling the backroads in Brown County for the count, I came across many large flocks of Horned Larks.  I scanned and scanned and could only come up with larks.  Odd, it seems that this year all of the Snow Buntings and longspurs are on the west side.  I did come across one lonely American Pipit.

I love the larks, as I don't see them often.

One lark stayed in the middle of the road as if playing chicken.  It looked up at the car before it flew.

I did find some owls on the count, but not a Snowy Owl.

Here is a Barred Owl from East Fork from the car window.

I did call in an Eastern Screech-owl as well for the count.  I have also learned of a screech owl that hangs out in a hole in a dead tree around the dam area of East Fork  I took my girlfriend to see it and it wasn't visible in its hole.  As we were leaving, we looked out the car window one last time to find that it was there!  It was peering right at us.  I was able to get this fast shot off from the car window.  

But my girlfriend wants me to show her a Snowy Owl.  There was a report and photos of one from Washington Court House.  That is usually too far for me to chase a bird that is not a lifer, but it is a Snowy Owl.  So, we took the drive up there as it was being seen in a Home Depot parking lot and seemed to be and easy to find bird.  Well, we didn't find the owl.  Not soon after the report of this bird, one comes from just down the road to speak from my house!  I had to check this out!  Myself and other birders combed the area pretty extensively, but turned up owless.  I did run across a leucistic Red-shouldered Hawk that may have caused a misID.  

As later I have found out that the WCH snowy has been found dead.  Another bird was brought in to Raptor Inc. from Wilmington, OH.  It also later died.  I know that any bird that would be found this late in the invasion would likely be near death.  I and others would like to think that some make it back to their arctic home, but most will not.  Although we can not stop the owls from coming down, we can use the data gained from the invasion for some good.  I learned of a project to attempt to track snowies via a GPS.  It is called Project Snowstorm.  I urge birders to support this research if they can, as much can be learned.

For now, I will just have to settle for my memory of my lifer Snowy Owl in Duluth, MN in February of 2005.  This was way before the awesome point-and-shoot cameras of today.  Warning:  vintage photo

  

Stay warm and safe in the dangerous weather.  I hope it warms up soon, looking forward to warblers and things!

1/28/2014 Update:  There is a Snowy Owl report now from the Kenwood area.  Odd place, but who knows.  Meanwhile, Snowies have made the local news:

http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news/cincinnati/best-year-in-decades-for-spotting-snowy-owls-in-the-tristate/-/13549970/24165476/-/m93sv4/-/index.html

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Some favorite winter birds

Tweet The weather can't seem to make up its mind here in SW Ohio, as we have had our first snowfall of the season as well as a late November round of severe weather including tornado warnings.  With the weather swings, I was hoping something rare would show, but the birding has slowed down at my local haunts.  What is cool about birding is that you don't need to see rarities to have fun.  I have been enjoying some of my favorite winter birds.

If one comes across poison ivy berries this time of year, it is always worth waiting around a while to see what will come in to feast.  This year there seems to be a huge amount of Yellow-rumped Warblers overwintering.  I have had about 30 or so in my yard for a week now.  They love poison ivy!

Chowing down

All the activity around the ivy has also drawn in other birds that were not interested in eating the ivy berries.  I love this Field Sparrow's look and pose.

Nearby, there was a good deal of birds.  I heard a Brown Creeper and turned around to find one.  I just starting pushing the shutter button, not even looking at the bird as I had lost him.  I was lucky to get a good shot of one.  Love this bird. 

Who doesn't love a creeper?

Another favorite winter bird that I got lucky to find the same day was this cute little Winter Wren.  I stood still and the bird just walked through the brush not a few feet from my feet!

It was like it was playing hide n' seek with me.

Golden-crowned Kinglets were flying around high above, they are always hard to get a good shot of.  Here is one just hanging out.  I like the color in this picture, I call it upside down in a sticky situation.

Another one of my favorite birds to run across on a cold winter day is the White-crowned Sparrow.  I remember seeing this bird in my yard when I was young and wondering what it was.  While not considered my spark bird, this bird had a lot to do with my interest in birds at a young age.  

Talking about color!  A royal sparrow it is.  Just look at that face.

It appears that a good deal of the rarer gulls and ducks are still up north.  As I write this, it is fairly mild with south winds.  This weekend is supposed to harbor low temps in the teens with highs in the twenties, so maybe some will move south soon.  Even though it is mild I did find a penguin on the beach at East Fork.  I saw this thing from afar through my binos, thought what is that?

A kids toy.  One never knows what you may find on the beach at East Fork.

On my way back from birding East Fork the other day, I stumbled across a mixed flock of blackbirds in a wet field at the end of my road.  It had a good variety of species.  I was able to pick out Rusty, Red-winged, Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and European Starling.  Then I spotted something white.  It was a leucistic blackbird.

I am thinking Red-winged or cowbird.  

I am hoping to be able to find some winter owls this winter.  I haven't seen a Saw-whet Owl outside of a banding operation in a long while.  Same goes for Long-eared.  I would also like to run across good views of Short-eared again.  This will be a hard goal to achieve.  Until I find some of the northern owls, I will enjoy the locals.  I spotted this little Eastern Screech-owl sitting in a tree as I was getting in my car at East Fork the other day.  This picture was taken out the car window.  If you look closely, you can see the whiskers (rictal bristles) and the cute little talons.

Make sure you get out and enjoy the birds that are around you and try to take someone new birding or especially a young person.  Remember to always have fun!

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