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.