At home on 19-Oct-2002 - A Golden-crowned Kinglet was singing in a tree around the house.

At home on 22-Oct-2002 - Our first fall Junco was sighted.

Barnesville Park Lake 14-Oct-2002 - I walked the exercise trail around the B'ville park lake on Monday morning. Most of the bird sightings were in the trees and bushes along the road. I saw Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, and Eastern Towhees.

Backyard - I saw a lone White-throated Sparrow in our backyard this morning. I scattered mix seed on the ground after the sighting.

RIVP 12-Oct-2002 - I had a better than expected morning of birding at Rossford on Saturday. I'm not sure if birds can sense big changes in weather, but they were numerous, active, and noisy.

There were a lot of White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-rumps, and Robins. An interesting note: I have not seen a Red-breasted Nuthatch this fall.

If you are thinking about adding a new shrub to your yard, try to make it a Roughleaf Dogwood. It produces small, white berries, and the birds love them. The birds listed below with an asterisk were ones I saw eating the berries. I think there's a similar shrub called a Gray Dogwood. These white-berried Dogwood shrubs are common in Ohio.

American Crow
Carolina Wren
* American Robin > 100
Northern Cardinal
Black-throated Blue Warbler
* Blackpoll Warbler > 10
* White-throated Sparrow > 50
Ring-billed Gull
Ruby-crowned Kinglet > 5
Common Grackle
Yellow-rumped Warbler > 50
White-breasted Nuthatch
* Philadelphia Vireo
* European Starling
* Blue-headed Vireo
* Cape May Warbler
* Catbird
Golden-crowned Kinglet > 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
Hermit Thrush
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Song Sparrow
Belted Kingfisher
Mallard
Northern Flicker
Downey Woodpecker
Cedar Waxwing > 50
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Goldfinch
* Swainson's Thrush
Cooper's Hawk

2 Monarch Butterflies drifting south

I ended my birding by walking through the middle of the park. The birds were noisy and active, until the Coopers Hawk slashed through the middle of the park, moving from tree to tree. The place became silent in an instant.

Backyard A junco and a white-throated sparrow were in the yard this morning.

The black-throated grey warbler was sited yesterday evening at Daws Arboretum, but has not been spotted this morning.

Vic Speaks Out I enjoy reading Vic's detailed messages about birding in Ohio which is only possible with many years of birding experience which he has. This is about the golden-winged warbler.and was posted this morning on the listserver.
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The Golden-winged Warbler has a very tight migration window for a spring warbler. Traditionally, they peak 5-6 May in southern Ohio and 10-11 May along Lake Erie. In early springs move this schedule ahead 6 days. Outside of these peak dates, the numbers fall off dramatically.

Unfortunately, many observers look for their Ohio Golden-wingeds around Int'l. Migratory Bird Day on the Magee Marsh Bird Trail. Could happen, but far more likely is to encounter the species along the ridge tops of the less glamorous Unglaciated Plateau region of southeast Ohio.

On the above dates (and I would recommend the earlier the better this year), especially immediately after the passage of a warm front, drive the ridge top country roads of Hocking, Vinton, and /or Athens County listening for the buzzy, and usually, three note song. Especially where you find yourself crossing a powerline cut or rounding a switchback which overlooks a recently cut-over hillside (catbirds, towhees, and chat are good indicator species for the right habitat). Upon hearing the song, make a point of looking for the bird. Today especially, there is no guarantee that the bird will be a pure-bred. However, using this technique I have been able to encounter 5-6 birds in a morning within a given 25 mile drive through appropriate habitat. Although my experience is limited to the three counties mentioned, I think it reasonable to believe similar results are possible in surrounding counties with similar topography.

[the above drive has also yielded up to 70 Blue-winged Warblers in Athens Co.]

I would be very interested in the results of the application of this technique to other former breeding areas such as the Grand River/Mosquito Lake area of Trumbull County, as well as suitable habitat from Jefferson south to Monroe counties. Walking around Lake La Su An W.A. in Williams Co. and the Oak Openings are your best bet in the NW. It is of course possible to see one anywhere in Ohio, in which case bird very early in the morning, listen for the song, and watch the weather around the above dates. The moment 2-3 reports come through on the Internet, get yourself outside. Golden-wings wait for no one.

cheers
Vic Fazio
Shaker Hts., OH

Breeding Birds I've been viewing the breeding bird survey maps in the Peterjohn book Birds of Ohio 2001 edition, and I have compiled a list of birds that are rare to common nesters in Lucas county that interest me. Some of these would be gems to find in June, whereas others should be expected. There's no rhyme or reason to the list. I want to see as many warblers as possible in mid-June and I would like to find some of the birds listed. The areas that will be my primary birding sites from June 1 to July 15 include: Rossford Island View Park (Wood county), Secor Metropark, Irwin Prairie, Kitty Todd Nature Preserve, Oak Openings, and Maumee State Forest. I would like to participate in Cornell's Birds of the Forested Landscape and Golden-Winged Warbler projects. I would also like to look for the Sedge Wren for Scott Hull's survey. In June I want to visit Egypt Valley near my hometown in eastern Ohio for grassland birds. I'm not sure, but I would assume that a bird spotted after mid-June could be considered a local nester and not migrating.

The birds I would like to search for this summer in Lucas county nclude: sedge wren, henslows sparrow, red-breasted nuthatch, golden-crowned kinglet, summer tanager, white-eyed vireo, sharp-shinned hawk, cooper's hawk, broad-winged hawk, common snipe, whip-poor-will, alder flycatcher, least flycatcher, bell's vireo, veery, lark sparrow, swamp sparrow, and the following warblers: blue-winged, golden-winged, brewster's, yellow, chestnut-sided, black-throated green, pine, prairie, cerulean, black-and-white, American redstart, prothonotary, ovenbird, Kentucky, mourning, common yellowthroat, hooded, and the yellow-breasted chat.

Ohio Birding Update At least 16 species of warblers are being reported in Shawnee St Forest. Wood thrushes and vireos are being reported in southern Ohio. The most notable bird reported on 4-17-2 was a black-throated grey warbler near Columbus. Vic reported that he counted over 1000 broadwing hawks and seven ospreys from the Magee tower on Tuesday 4-16-2 between 10:00 A.M. and Noon. On Monday 4-15-2 seven species of warblers were reported at Magee. A blue-winged warbler and a scarlet tanager have been reported this week at the Winter Garden park in Bowling Green. A blue heron was reported on 4-16-2 near Magee.

RIVP 4-17-2 I stopped in Rossford after work to see if any more birds had arrived, but it was still quiet. Some white-throated sparrows are scattered around the park. I saw a female eastern towhee, a few ruby-crowned kinglets, and a couple turkey vultures. I think I heard a yellow-rumped warbler.

Backyard 4-17-2 I saw a junco and a white-throated sparrow who was singing. I heard other WTSs singing too. I through some mixed seed on the ground earlier in the morning.

Lunch time at RIVP It continued to remain quiet in Rossford despite the warm weather. The temps were in the 80's. We hit another record high for the day, reaching 88 degrees later in the afternoon. During lunch at RIVP I saw a couple RBCs and some white-throated sparrows.

At Home 4-16-2 Before leaving for work, I saw one junco in the backyard and a red-breasted nuthatch visited the can feeder with the black-oil sunflower seeds.

Rossford IVP 4-16-2 7:00 A.M.; clear; around 60 degrees; calm winds. I saw and heard white-throated sparrows throughout the park, but they were not present in overwhelming numbers. I heard a house wren. I saw at least four yellow-bellied sapsuckers. The others included: eastern phoebe, ruby-crowned kinglet (1), yellow-rumped warbler (1), great blue heron, blue-winged teal (10), and an immature bald eagle perched in a tree along Grassy Creek. I watch it fly out of the tree and toward the Maumee. It flew at about my eye level so I got a good view. I did not see or hear any juncos nor golden-crowned kinglets.

Irwin Prairie 4-15-2 Deb, CP, and I walked Irwin. We were there from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. We wanted to see the flight of the woodcock. We saw a woodcock fly by us, but we never got a show. We heard one peenting in the distance. The spring peepers got very loud the darker it got. We saw a couple bats and some common snipe flying about. It was warm evening. The temps were still 75-80. We had a record high temp of 85. It was quiet at Irwin. We saw four turkey vultures, a sharp-shinned hawk, and a kestrel. I heard a field sparrow.

At Home 4-15-2 7:00 - 8:15 A.M.; mostly cloudy; temps in the 60's. I observed four juncos, a robin, cardinal, titmouse, grackle, mourning doves, mallard, starlings, house sparrows, crow, northern flicker, downey, blue jay, chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker, and a great egret flying high.

At Home Sunday Afternoon 4-14-2 I saw two juncos in the backyard.

2002 Lake Erie Wing Watch Weekend 4-12 to 4-14 Deb and I attended the wing watch program over the weekend. It was very enjoyable. The two people that produced the "Watching Warblers" and "Watching Waders" videos, Mike and Judy, were the main speakers Friday night. They had a video presentation showing what they go through to get the bird shots. Since they now record the audio in digital format, they showed some interesting tricks that can be done with slowing down the sound and the video while a bird sings. They are currently producing videos called "Watching Sparrows" and "Watching Western Warblers" which should be available at the end of the year.

Saturday, Deb and I attended birding class sessions all day. Every hour a new one would start and they were 50 minutes long. There were multiple sessions going on at the same time, so we had to choose the ones most interesting to us. We attended Julie Shieldcastle's session on "Warbler ID". Then we sat in on Vic's excellent "Advanced Warbler ID" class. We ate lunch at the Oak Harbor High School where everything was occurring. The first afternoon session we attended was done by Judy and Mike and it was called "Watching Waders". Next was a session called "Birding Hotspots" and then the final session was on "Grassland Birds" which was very good.

There were a lot of booths setup for the various marshes and wildlife areas, a couple of artists, an author, and an optics vendor. So there was plenty to look at it when not in the class sessions. The "Back To the Wild" rehab people were there with several birds including: red-tailed hawk, Am. kestrel, barred, great-horned, sawhet, screech, barn, and short-eared owls.

Friday evening before Mike and Judy spoke, they served us deli sandwiches, fruit, veggies, cookies, and sport drink. We went to a really nice arboretum in Elmore early Saturday morning. We went on an owl walk Saturday evening at Ottawa, but we did not see the great-horned owls that are nesting behind the office. Deb and I heard a screech owl when we arrived at Ottawa. On Sunday morning there was a guided bird trip to Magee. Mike and Judy were there. They started at the nature center, but Deb and I started at the boardwalk so we didn't see them until we were leaving.

All this activity for the grand total price of 10 bucks per person. Friday afternoon Deb was in the nature center at Magee and some old guy was complaining about how the price had gone up. This was not 10 dollars per day but 10 dollars for the weekend. At the same time Deb was in the nature center listening to this old fart bitch, I was on the tower hearing a similar complaint from another birder. Since this was my first Wing Watch I couldn't say anything, but now after attending one, Deb and I can both say this was worth more than 10 dollars per person and we cannot understand how anyone could complain about the price.

As for birding, Friday morning was the best. It was one of my best days at Magee for numbers and without a doubt, my best day at Magee in early spring. Thursday night was the warmest night of the spring in Toledo. The temperatures remained above 55 degrees the entire night which should have made for a good push of song birds. Deb and I arrived at the boardwalk at 10:00 A.M. It was raining and it rained for the next two hours, sometimes quite hard, but that didn't bother the birding. There were hundreds of ruddy ducks near the shoreline. We birded the boardwalk for three hours and the highlights were:

over 100 hermit thrushes,
several dozen sightings for each of the following: white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, and ruby and golden-crowned kinglet,
at least 25 winter wrens and about that many eastern towhees,
several fox, swamp, and song sparrows and blue-gray knatcatchers,
sevaral chipping sparrows in the parking lot,
a lone black-and-white warbler, some juncos, and a few field and tree sparrows.

Birds seemed to be crawling everywhere. It was a great day for someone like Deb who does not have a lot of experience. We took a break and came back later in the afternoon for another 90 minutes, and the numbers were already less. On Sunday morning we birded for two hours, and we saw only a few of hermit thrushes, no towhees, and a few winter wrens. The numbers for the yellow-rumped warbler and the kinglets were also lower. Friday morning was just one of those lucky days where we were there at the right time. With all the rain on Friday morning, Deb and I hardly saw another birder until later in the day when it was dry. It was getting crowded Sunday morning.

We stayed at the Oak Harbor Hotel Friday night and Saturday night. It's an old building with 10-12 foot ceilings in the rooms. The bed was too soft. The bathtub was old-fashioned with the high sides. We ate greasy yellow perch for dinner at the hotel Friday night before going to the Wing Watch where they were serving free deli sandwiches. If we knew that we wouldn't have spent 25 dollars on dinner. Satuday night we ate pizza at one of the downtown pizza places. It was good. After birding on Sunday, we stopped at the Freeway Diner in Oregon for lunch. We both got breakfast meals. I had the usual corn-beef hash which is excellent. We had a lot of fun.

We saw several birds driving on lickert-harder road to Ottawa Saturday evening . The total species list for the weekend included: pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, canada goose, mallard, gadwall, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, wood duck, ring-necked duck, one of the scaups, ruddy duck, turkey vulture, cooper's hawk, red-tailed hawk, bald eagle, American kestrel, American coot, killdeer, herring gull, ring-billed gull, mourning dove, rock dove, eastern screech owl, belted kingfisher, northern flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, horned lark, tree swallow, blue jay, American crow, brown creeper, house wren, winter wren, carolina wren, brown thrasher, American robin, hermit thrush, eastern bluebird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, golden-crowned kinglet, ruby-crowned kinglet, European starling, black-and-white warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, red-winged blackbird, rusty blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, eastern towhee, dark-eyed junco, American tree sparrow, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, white-throated sparrow, fox sparrow, swamp sparrow, song sparrow, house finch, American goldfinch, and house sparrow.

At Home 4-11-2 While taking out the garbage, I noticed a lot of birdsong activity. I observed the from the backyard from 7:30 to 8:15 A.M. The skies were mostly clear and temps were about 40. I heard/saw the following: northern flicker, song sparrow, juncos (4), golden-crowned kinglet, white-throated sparrow, brown creeper, hairy woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker, red-breasted nuthatch on the suet, red-bellied woodpecker, downey woodpecker, titmouse, cardinal, house sparrow, mourning dove, crow, mallards flying by, starlings, robin, grackle, and rock dove.

Rossford IVP I birded the Rossford park for about 45 minutes during lunch. It was sunny with temperatures in the upper 50's and with very little wind, it was pleasant. The birds I saw and heard included: golden-crowned kinglets, white-throated sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, fox sparrows, hermit thrushes, great egrets, and juncos. I saw and/or heard about 10 juncos. For the rest of the birds, their numbers ranged from one to four.

One yellow-rumped warbler was clinging to the side of a tree and bracing himself with his tail like a woodpecker. The bird was eating the sap oozing out of a hole drilled by a yellow-bellied sapsucker. I saw a female cardinal on the ground gathering nesting material. There were a lot of bugs flying around, including a couple black butterflies with either orange or white trim. There were very few birds singing. I watched a white-breasted nuthatch pull leaves out of a hole in a tree that was created from a downed limb. The tree was near the trail along Grassy Creek.

Bluebirds at Mom and Dad's I was talking to my Mom this morning and she said the bluebird eggs were gone. Dad had not checked the house since Saturday, but he saw the female this morning on another house, so he assumed something was wrong in the Gilbertson house. He checked the nest and there was no trace of the eggs.

Rossford Island View Park I birded in Rossford this morning from 7:45 to 9:15. The skies were cloudy -- it rained most of the night -- and the winds were southerly at 5-10 mph keeping the temperatures in the upper 50's. I saw and/or heard the following: white-throated sparrows, carolina wrens, numerous golden-crowned kinglets, two fox sparrows, cedar waxwings, heard a brown thrasher, at least six yellow-bellied sapsuckers, a half dozen brown creepers, two winter wrens singing, a couple turkey vultures, American tree sparrow, song sparrows, heard a bluebird, saw one junco and heard three or four more, saw at least seven northern flickers, a couple eastern phoebes, and a single yellow-rumped warbler. A couple of deer were on the trail near the mouth of Grassy Creek.

At Home This morning there were two juncos, a song sparrow, and a red-breasted nuthatch in our backyard.

Backyard (4-8-2) In the morning a golden-crowned kinglet was in one of our trees singing.

Mom and Dad's (4-6-2) The bluebirds are nesting in the Gilberton's house near the parked cars at my parent's home. Egg laying began last Thursday and at 1:00 P.M. Saturday we checked the nest and it conained three eggs.

There's been an interesting discussion on the listserver about the spring departure dates of juncos. With warblers and other more interesting birds migrating through our area in the spring, I give little attention to juncos. I do, however, record my junco sightings in my notebook when I'm birding in Rossford, so I can have a record of their last spring appearance.

Last month I purchased the new edition of Peterjohn's book Birds of Ohio; it's loaded with information. According to Peterjohn, the average departure date of the dark-eyed junco (also called the slate-colored junco) from the lakeshore area of Ohio is early May. Lou Campbell in his 1968 book Birds of Toledo has the average departure date as May 8. There's agreement between the two sources.

This is only my third spring of birding in Rossford, so two years of data is not enough to qualify as valid research, but I was surprised at what I found when I checked my logs. My last junco sighting in Rossford two years ago was on April 18th and last year it was April 15th.

Here's something else to check. http://www.bsbobird.org/passbanding.html

This URL points to last year's BSBO passerine monitoring counts. It list the species and the number of birds banded.If I read this web page correctly, it says that from April 16th to May 21st, only six slate-colored juncos were netted. The peak day was on April 16th with a count of two. The BSBO started their netting and banding project last year on April 14th., so it seems they missed most of the juncos.

I birded Rossford yesterday morning and there was definitely more than 20 juncos. They were on the ground, in the trees, and many were singing. I recorded "a lot" of juncos last year in Rossford on April 8th. I don't count birds when I'm birding, but if I was in town this weekend, I would go to Rossford tomorrow and try to count the juncos.

Anyway, the above and the person's observations below makes me wonder how early May can be the average departure date for the junco. It almost seems to be a month off for this area. I will have to check the Peterjohn book again, because one thing he does, which I like, is give dates of peak movements with counts.

A junco was in our yard this morning, so now I guess I'll keep track of the last time I see one in our yard too. I also keep track of my favorite backyard bird this winter, the red-breasted nuthatch, which was last seen two days ago.

E-mail sent to Ohio Birds listserver
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Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 6:34 AM
To: Ohio Birds
Subject: Juncos


Juncos have an interesting spring migration in Ohio. Having lived and
birded in northwest and northeast Ohio, I have noticed a big difference in
junco migration numbers between the two regions. Juncos are a lot less
numerous in the northwestern part of the state in spring. In the northeast
I have seen some huge spring flocks. This past weekend was no exception.
On Sunday and Monday I saw less than 10 juncos for each day. In the
northeast I continue to see flocks of 10-20 with a daily total Wednesday of
well over 100 birds.

Junco numbers begin declining in both regions around the beginning of April.
They are typically gone by the about 4/15-4/20. While early May migrant
juncos are not extremely rare in northeast Ohio, in northwest Ohio they are
an oddity. When I worked at Crane Creek there was about 1-2 May sightings a
year. I always considered a May junco at Crane Creek an exceptional
sighting. Here in northeast Ohio I don't really look twice.

In spring as Haans remarked earlier they tend to do a lot of singing and
chasing away from the breeding grounds. Here in Lake County on the breeding
grounds they are around but are just starting to get territorial. They
usually begin nesting by the end of the month and in typical years the young
are out by mid-June. I have seen young by the end of May though.

Its still early. They should be clearing out in the next week or two
depending on weather.

RIVP (4/4/2) I birded the park in Rossford this morning from 7:15 to 9:15. The skies were clear; the winds were calm; the temperatures were in the upper 20's. When I was in the sun, I was warm, but when I was in the shade for a while, my fingers got cold. I saw/heard: carolina wren, several golden-crowned kinglets, a couple white-throated sparrows, several fox sparrows, song sparrows, numerous juncos (on the ground, in the trees, singing everywhere), mallards, blue-winged teal, great egrets, common mergansers, dc cormorant, eastern phoebe, yellow-bellied sapsucker. I watched a red-bellied woodpecker excavate a hole in a tree along the trail. At one point I had five fox sparrows in the same field of view when they were sitting in a small tree. The fox sparrows were singing a lot too.

The sunny skies become cloudy by midday and there were snow flurries this afternoon.

Hawk Watch (3/30/2) It was probably my best day on the tower at Magee this past Saturday. I was there from 9:00 A.M. to 3:30. The birds started arriving about 9:45, and the activity shutdown at 2:15. There were five counters on the tower during the entire time. We counted about 370 turkey vultures, about 100 red-tailed hawks, about 50 red-shouldered hawks, about 40 sharp-shinned hawks, several American kestrels and nothern harriers, and a couple cooper's hawks. There were several kettles of turkey vultures containing 25-50 birds. At one point there was a group of 10-15 raptors overhead consisting primarily of red-tails and red-shoulders, but in the mix was an immature bald eagle, a northern harrier, and a sharpie. There were a lot of immature and adult bald eagle sightings, but I considered them to be local birds. One or two imms could have been migrating.

The weather at 9:00 A.M. was cloudy with temperatures in the upper 30's. By noon, the skies were mostly sunny with temps around 50. Winds were out of the southwest at 10-15 mph.

Round-up The juncos have been singing in our hood for a week or two. They have a trill similar to the chipping sparrow or pine warbler. Their average departure date from the lake shore is early May.

A pair of wood ducks landed in an oak tree along our property line this morning. The female was checking out a hole left by a broken-off limb, but I don't think the hole is big enough.

The pair of red-breasted nuthatches were at the feeders this morning. Since they don't appear to have any fear, I've taken a few pictures by standing three or four feet from the feeder. Their average departure date is also in early May.

Saturday was a good day on the tower. Along with several hundred raptors -- mainly turkey vultures -- I saw a flock of nine sandhill cranes, tree swallows, and a couple purple martins. No rare raptors were sighted such as a golden eagle, a peregrine falcon, or a goshawk. Duck numbers along the causeway were down compared to last week. I didn't walk the boardwalk, since I was on the tower all day.

In southern Ohio, there have been sightings of chipping sparrows, pine warblers, a lousiana waterthrush, an ovenbird, and black-throated green warblers.

Snow Birds. In the backyard this morning, I saw the northern flicker on the upside down suet feeder. Both red-breasted nuthatches were feeding. There's about eight inches of snow on the ground from this week's snow -- four inches on Monday, five to six inches on Tuesday. There was rain, sleet, and freezing rain Tuesday morning which knocked the snow depth back a little and gave everything a thin coating of ice before the semi-wet, heavy snow fell Tuesday afternoon, causing everything to be coated in snow. The perches on the thistle feeder had an inch of snow on them. It was piled in the shape of a triangle. The upside-down suet feeder had about five inches of snow on top of it. Even the bends of the shepherd's hook, where the feeders are hung, had a couple of inches snow piled in them.

Because of the snow cover this week, the juncos are feeding from the hopper and tray feeders. Before this week I had only seen one junco on one occasion feed from the tray. The juncos are also singing a lot these days with their chipping sparrow-like trill. A puffed-up robin sitting on a snow-covered wire was an interesting site this morning.

The two day, fantastic looking winter wonderland comes to an abrupt end today and the rest of this week. Temperatures will be in the 40's and 50's the next several days with some rain later in the week. The sun beating down this morning on the snow and ice-covered world made the views even more dramatic. It was a really cool morning. I packed my entire winter enjoyment for the season into about 90 minutes of early morning walking and picture taking.

Backyard Birding. Today, there's been good activity at the feeders and in the yard. I've observed 16 species either at the feeders or feeding on the ground near the feeders. The birds seen were: red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, titmouse, chickadee, hairy woodpecker, downey woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, cardinal, crow (took an old piece of suet I threw on the ground), starling, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, blue jay, junco, and robin. I'm not sure what the robin was eating; it wasn't worms. It spent a long time by the feeders, pecking at the ground and eating something. The birds missing today that have been seen in the past include: northern flicker, grackle, white-throated sparrow, and gold finch. The chickadee action today is a rare treat. A couple of them have frequented the feeders.

Hawk Watch (3/23/2). Yesterday, I was doing the hawk watch count for the Black Swamp Bird Observatory from the tower at Magee Marsh from 9-12. The skies were clear; the winds SW at 15-25 mph with gusts over 30; temperatures started at 32 and by midday were in the upper 30's. The winds needed to be little more to the south. I think there was too much west in the southwest winds to allow the birds much movement. The raptors observed appeared to be struggling against the wind. The turkey vultures acted more like hunting northern harriers. They moved low, usually below tree-top height, and they were doing a lot of flapping which is unusual to see in a turkey vulture.

The count I had was 16 red-tails, 9 turkey vultures, 1 sharpie, 1 red-shouldered, 2 bald eagles (there were other local eagles), and 1 kestrel. I also counted 65 crows migrating. They also moved low. I saw more low, rocking, and flapping TVs while driving home.

There were a lot more ducks, divers, and dabblers yesterday in the marsh than last week. I saw American wigeon, blue-winged teal, mallards, northern shovelers, pied billed grebes, gadwalls, and American black ducks. The shovelers are one of my favorite ducks and there were a lot of males present. There were still a large number of American coots tightly bunched together along the causeway. Most of the water on both sides of the causeway was frozen. We've had some unseasonably cold weather this past week.

I didn't stay long nor walk far on the boardwalk. An immature bald eagle was flying low over the parking lot. I flushed a woodcock that was only a few yards ahead of me, lying on the ground along the side of the boardwalk. The sound of the wind roaring through the trees muffled the bird sounds. I could hear the little "zeeee" of several fox sparrows. At one point at least a half a dozen flew up off the ground and into small tree before disappearing again into the leaf-carpeted ground. I saw several fox sparrows, but they seem skittish, never able to get very close to them. One did pop-up into a small bush or tree right next to me, so I got some good looks at that one. None were singing.

Ottawa and Magee (3/17/2). Early this morning the skies were overcast with occasional bouts of snow pellets. By 1:00 P.M., when I arrived at Ottawa, the clouds had partially dispersed, but the sunshine only pushed the temperatures into the low 40's, and when combined with NE winds blowing 15-25 mph, I was forced into winter garb. I birded the west-end of Ottawa from inside the car on Stagne Rd. I saw a red-tailed hawk, a kestrel, horned larks, and seven bald eagles -- one adult and six immature.

I stopped at the nature center at Magee to check the raptor count board. So far, over 200 red-shouldered and over 200 red-tailed hawks have been counted. The board for other bird sightings was not available. I walked a small part of the trail around the pond near the tower and I saw a golden-crowned kinglet. It was the main reason for me stopping there. Two years ago on this weekend I saw GCKs in the same area. I watched today's GCK for quite a while. He was low in a small brushy tree that was next to the trail, so he provided good close looks. I could see the orange stripe inside the yellow patch on his head indicating this bird was a male. On the same trail was a small snake. I didn't go to the top of the tower and talk with the lonely BSBO hawk watcher. Maybe I should have. Except for the local eagles, he was probably birdless.

I drove to the beach to walk the boardwalk. Numerous American coots were along the causeway. At the west entrance of the boardwalk, there's a new wooden deck, two feet high and very large. I'm not sure of its purpose. It's not complete. Maybe it's a tribute to Tom Bartlett and the "big sit" he does each May. A female birder was leaving as I was just getting started. She and the hawk watcher were the only birders I saw today.

About all I could hear on the boardwalk was the roar of Lake Erie's waves crashing onto the beach and the wind howling through the trees. Sometimes it sounded like a passenger plane was coming in for a landing. I can't imagine what it must have been like last Saturday when storm-forced winds ripped through the area, but I could see its remnants. Several limbs and trees -- big and small -- were snapped. A few had damaged the boardwalk since there were new replacement planks in the railings and on the boardwalk itself.

A carolina wren was loud enough for me to hear. I saw an American tree sparrow and a winter wren. An adult bald eagle made a direct fly over at tree-top height. The best sighting from the boardwalk was finding four fox sparrows hanging out together, busy rooting through the leaves for food. A couple of times, all four were in the same field of view.

The fox sparrows did not sing, but they were fun to watch, constantly kicking the leaves behind them. The leaves were deep. Sometime their head was all I could see of the bird. The funny part was watching a male and a female cardinal tagging along with the fox sparrows. I soon found out why. The fox sparrows would clear the leaves, creating a small opening to the ground, and the cardinals would push the sparrows out the the way so they could have access to whatever tasty morsels were available. At one point I watched a female cardinal follow closely behind a fox sparrow who was pushing leaves out of the way as he walked. Fox sparrows are colorful birds with their reddish-brown backs and wings, dark grey patches on the sides of their face, and rust-colored streaks on their white chests. They are birds I hardly ever see, so I watched these for a long time.

While walking on the boardwalk back to the car, I noticed something: everything was grey. The trees were dark grey, the bushes and shrubs were shades of light and dark grey. The leaves on the ground were no longer brown but were primarily light grey. The sky clouded over and became grey. The pond along the boardwalk reflected the color of the sky and was grey too. Except for the new planks, the boardwalk was grey. I saw no green on this St. Patricks day from new weeds or grasses. Without snowcover this has to be the most colorless time of the year. It was both ugly and fascinating at the same time. I never noticed this before. It felt like that doofus Barney Fife had pulled me into Pleasantville.

I headed for home after 3:30 P.M.

Rossford Island View Park. This morning I birded RIVP from 11:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. under bright blue, clear skies and light winds with temps in the low 40's. I saw a female yellow-bellied sapsucker, a white-throated sparrow, a few American tree sparrows, and I saw two fox sparrows on the ground together. A lot of birds were singing including cardinals, titmice, carolina wrens, juncos with their high-pitch trills, rw blackbirds, chickadees, and song sparrows. A soaring red-tailed hawk was being pestered by two crows.

RBN in the backyard. Yesterday morning (3/15/2), I saw a red-breasted nuthatch at the feeders. The overall activity at the feeders has dropped dramatically this week.

Rossford Island View Park. 5:20 - 6:40 P.M., cloudy, temps in the 40's, winds NE 10-15mph. I was damn chilly this evening wearing a lightweight jacket over a short-sleeved shirt and dress shoes. I'm still cold. Anyway, I saw a pair of cooper's hawks. One provided several good close looks in the heavier cover in the middle of the park. I watched him perched low and flying through the brush and trees. I must have made him nervous, because he eventually perched high in a tree further away. Another cooper's came into the area and they both flew toward Eagle Point.

A wad of at least 50 crows flew into the park together and perched in a couple of trees. Numerous groups of grackles and other blackbirds were hammering their way downriver. Robins, song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, killdeer, and carolina wrens were singing.

Turkey Vulture Sighting. I saw my first TV of the year today while in Rossford during lunchtime mailing a letter.

Backyard Birding: Red-breasted Nuthatch Update. I have not seen the pair of RBNs since Monday (3/11/2) of this week. This morning and yesterday I went to work much earlier than normal, therefore I had limited viewing time. The pair of RBNs first appeared at the feeders late in October or early in November, and they have been consistent and regular visitors ever since. They eat the suet, black-oil sunflower seeds, and the peanuts. The RBNs have been my favorite feeder birds this winter. The white-throated sparrow and the northern flicker have certainly been nice to see at the feeders and in the yard, but they have only made occasional appearances in the past three months. I see the RBNs almost daily.

I have also had a few close encounters with the RBNs while working with the feeders. They don't seem to mind my presence. I have been as close as one to three feet away from them. A couple times I held out peanuts in my hand, but the bird, while sitting on a shepherd's hook a couple feet away, just stared at me before going to the feeder which I was standing next too.

I was wondering when the RBNs might head north. I checked the old Lou Campbell book Birds of Toledo. The average arrival date is October 3rd and the average departure date is May 13th. The surprisingly late departure date gives me hope the RBNs will continue to feed in our yard for a few more weeks.

Irwin Prairie on 3/13/2, 6:30 - 7:30 P.M., clear skies, temps 55-60, calm winds. I went to watch the arial flight of the male woodcock. At 6:55 P.M., while standing near Irwin rd, the peenting began. I watched two woodcocks do their flight manuevers, but there were at least two others nearby. While walking back to the car, I heard more woodcocks. There was one near the boardwalk very close to the parking lot. I only saw it when it landed. The ODNR mowed most of this part of Irwin, therefore, this bird would have been easily seen on the ground if there was more light.

I met a birding couple and they showed me the planets that formed a straight line, almost in the middle of the sky. Venus was low in the western horizion, then Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter directly overhead. The man said a comet is currently visible between Mars and Venus. It wasn't dark enough at 7:00 P.M. He said he saw it at 8:00 P.M.

Chorus frogs and spring peepers were expressing themselves. We heard a fox sparrow singing along with the song sparrows and red-winged blackbirds. I spotted several American tree sparrows.

My bird sightings will be recorded here.