Magee boardwalk 5-Oct-2003 - Last Sunday, I birded the boardwalk area at Magee from 7:15 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It was the kind of day that reminds me why I love birding so much. It was probably my best fall day of birding at Magee, and just a good day no matter the place or season. There was a nice mix of birds that will winter in either North or South America. There were only a handful of other birders, a couple of other vehicles in the parking lot. The weather was chilly at the start, in the 30's, but it warmed nicely to probably around 60 by Noon. The sky was sunny, the winds light. Here's my posting about the day from the Toledo Naturalists message board:

Sunday at Magee, there were good numbers of birds throughout the boardwalk. The most numerous birds were the White-throated Sparrows, Blackpolls, Yellow-rumps, and Kinglets. Several Sapsuckers were present too. Juncos occupied the parking lot.

Early in the morning, before 8:00 a.m., huge streams of Cormorants moved north to south just above the lake surface west of Magee. Later in the morning, thousands of Cormorants rested just offshore of Crane Creek. Maybe not a desirable bird, but I had not seen anything like that before out there, and it was impressive.

I ran into Brian Z. on the boardwalk, and we ended up with a nice mix of birds.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Winter Wren
Gray Catbird
Hermit Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo (Brian saw it)
Black-and-White Warbler
Tennessee
Nashville
Northern Parula
Magnolia
Cape May
Black-throated Blue
Yellow-rumped
Black-throated Green
Blackburnian
Chestnut-sided (Brian saw it)
Bay-breasted
Blackpoll
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Savannah Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow

Blackpolls and Yellow-rumps were busy gulping down the dogwood berries, as usual. Other warblers I've seen in the past eat the white berries include Bay-breasted, Cape May, and Chestnut-sided. On Sunday, we observed a Black-throated Blue and a Tennessee enjoying the berries.

I believe Brian Z. took pictures of the Tennessee drinking the berry juice. The TN, like the Cape May, didn't eat the whole berry. They pierce the berry and drink the juice, while the others consume the whole thing.

Magee Marsh beach cleanup - The Friends of Magee Marsh will have their spring beach cleanup on Saturday, April 12, starting at 10:00 A.M. Pot luck will follow roughly around 1:00 P.M. We will also pick up wood from the water under the new platform near the west entrance. I'll need my chest waders for that. We may also be removing downed limbs from the boardwalk. The fall beach cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, September 20 at 10:00 A.M.

Backyard update 2-May-2003 - Yesterday afternoon, evening, and now today, there have been at least five White-crowned Sparrows, a dozen White-throated Sparrows, one Lincoln's Sparrow, and one Chipping Sparrow in the backyard, eating the millet. This morning, the area around our house was full of White-throated Sparrow song, as several of them were stomping on each other with Old Sam Peabody. All day today, there has been at least one or two White-crowned Sparrows singing. In the afternoon now, there is only occasional White-throated Sparrow song, but the White-crowned song has been almost non-stop since early this morning.

Also this morning, there was a Palm Warbler pecking around on the ground. He was first seen in the driveway along with a few White-throated Sparrows and one White-crowned Sparrow. These birds in the driveway looked to be getting some grit. At one point the Palm did show up under the feeders, but I couldn't tell if he was eating the millet.

A Common Grackle visited the sunflower feeder. The usual male and female N. Cardinal pair have been around. Downey and Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been on the suet. Also on the suet feeder was a Blue Jay. Twice, I saw him cling to the side of the feeder get suet.

At this very second, there are at least three White-crowned Sparrows singing at almost the same time.

Good birds in Rossford 1-May-2003 - Birds observed at Rossford Island View Park yesterday morning:

Yellow-breasted Chat
Ovenbird
Yellow Warbler 3
Northern Waterthrush
Nashville Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler 5
Common Yellowthroat Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
White-throated Sparrow 200+
Lincoln's Sparrow 5
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow
Indigo Bunting 2
Great Crested Flycatcher
Empid. Flycatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 20
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Catbird 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8
Wood Thrush
Baltimore Oriole 4
Red-tailed Hawk
resident Cooper's Hawk
Turkey Vulture

Since Rossford was good, I visited Metzger around Noon. Additional warblers seen there were the Palm, Black-throated Green, Wilson's, and Magnolia. Other birds present: White-eyed and Warbling Vireos and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

I was only about half-way through birding the parking lot at Metzger when the sheriff pulled up to me with flashing lights. I thought maybe he found a Kirtland's, but actually he was there telling people to "evacuate", because of a fire in the marsh. As I was leaving, I saw the flames, but it didn't look too bad. Three fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were standing by near the boat ramp. The fire at Magee Marsh, east of the causeway, a couple of weeks ago was much larger and much more impressive and dramatic, but that was a controlled burn, so no big deal.

Sparrow invasion 29-Apr-2003 - On Tuesday evening, we had a sparrow invasion in our backyard. I'm still putting down millet about every day. At 7:30 P.M. Tuesday, I looked out at the backyard, and I noticed a bunch of sparrows. I got the binos out, and I twice counted 17 White-throated Sparrows, and 3 Chipping Sparrows. They were all on the ground eating the millet. Earlier in the afternoon, a Northern Flicker was on the ground.

By 7:45 P.M. there were no sparrows in the backyard. The WTSPs retired for the evening I guess, because they were not scared off. As the afternoon wore on, the House Sparrow numbers decreased and the White-throated Sparrow numbers increased. At 7:30, there were only a few House Sparrows among the throng of WTSPs. There was good, consistent WTSP song all afternoon.

Good warblers at Magee 29-Apr-2003 - I arrived at Magee at 7:00 A.M. The weather was clear skies, northeast winds about 10mph, with temps in the upper 40's. I saw a nice sunrise on the way out to Magee, and the early sun over the marsh looked nice. Along the causeway, I saw five Snowy Egrets, a Black-crowned Night Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwalls, Chipping Sparrows singing, and I heard a Sora call. Further out in the marsh west of the causeway and near the north end, there were several shorebirds of different sizes.

On the boardwalk between 7:15 and 8:45 A.M., I observed: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and-white Warbler, male Cardinal mate-feeding a female, Yellow-rumps, Warbling Vireo, 2 female Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker, heard a Sora, Wood Duck, Swamp Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, heard a Northern Waterthrush sing several times, Yellow Warbler, Northern Shoveler, female Hooded Merg, and a Pine Warbler was singing a lot, so I tracked it down and saw it. Bird numbers were low, but it was cold. Birds were found in sunny areas out of the wind.

I then went to the tower for my final hawk watch duty of the spring. I wore gloves. It was chilly, but almost no clouds, so being in the sun helped. My only recorded migrating raptor was a Northern Harrier. The temp at 9:00 A.M. was 9 degrees Celsius. At 11 it was 10, but was 13 or 14 by Noon.

After tower duty, I went back to the boardwalk, and things were better with the warmer temps. Within an hour, I saw three "good" warblers: an Orange-crowned, a Yellow throated, and a female Prairie. I heard the Pine Warbler again near the Prairie. The Yellow-throated Warbler was by the sign at the west entrance, hanging in trees with no foliage. At least adozen different warbler species were present on Tuesday at Magee. Also new in my afternoon session on the boardwalk was a Brown Creeper, a Hermit Thrush that had white speckles on its head and back, Palm Warbler, Winter Wren, Nashville Warbler, Ruddy Ducks offshore.

At home 28-Apr-2003 - In the morning, there was a one White-throated Sparrow and one Chipping Sparrow.

Metzger 28-Apr-2003 - After watching raptors at Maumee Bay, I stopped at Metzger to check on the passerines. I didn't bird the boardwalk at Magee. I birded Metzger around Noon for about 90 minutes, and it was hopping. At Metzger, I conservatively counted 85 Yellow-rumps, 15 Palms, 5 Nashvilles, and 5 Black-throated Greens. At Metzger, I also saw a Blue-winged and a Blackburnian Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Red-headed Woodpecker, 2 White-crowned Sparrows, a White-eyed Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cooper's Hawk, Chipping Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Yellow Warbler.

I went back to Metzger in the evening with D and C. The Blackburnian was not relocated, but we saw the Black-and-white, and we had real nice, close looks at the Blue-winged Warbler. All of what was seen at Noon was still around in the evening minus the Red-headed Woodpecker and the White-crowned Sparrows. The numbers of birds were a bit lower, but there was still a lot of action. There was also action by the bugs. I think they were mosquitoes, but I'm not sure, because they looked bigger than a normal mosquito. Whatever they were, they were biting. There were other clouds of bugs wafting around the place. That's the thing about Metzger is it's reallly buggy, which is good for the birds. I noticed the dandelions are in bloom in the fields around here.

Maumee Bay sledding hill 28-Apr-2003 - It was warm Sunday night with southwest winds, which meant a good night for passerine migration. Monday was warm and windy with more southwest winds. Instead of heading to the boardwalk at Magee, I wanted to see what raptors were moving from the sledding hill. I birded the hill from 9:15 - 11:15. Within the first 15 minutes of my arrival, about 50 Blue Jays passed by. I needed to be on the hill a couple hours earlier to get a good count of jays. It's still a little early for the peak of their migration. Blackbirds were also moving west along the shoreline, along with Goldfinches. There were also some songbirds, but I'm not good enough to identify them when they are flying or by their flight call. I did see some Yellow-rumps fly by. Around the hill, Field Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks were singing. Raptor-wise, I observed 15 Sharpies, 3 Cooper's, 1 Bald Eagle, 6 Broadwings, 3 Northern Harriers, 3 Red-tails.

At home 27-Apr-2003 - I saw and heard a White-throated Sparrow along with a Chipping Sparrow in the backyard.

A little slow at Magee 26-Apr-2003 - I arrived at the boardwalk just before Noon. The weather was sunny, temps in the 50's, with northwest winds at 15 mph. I observed: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Yellow-rumps, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-throated Sparrow, a Junco, Screech Owl perched in a familiar spot, Palm Warbler, 2 White-eyed Vireos, heard a Catbird.

After Magee, I went to Ottawa where they had an open house auto tour. It took about 45 minutes to complete the drive. I saw Bufflehead, 3 Bald Eagles, Eastern Meadowlarks, Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwalls, Coots, Pied-billed Grebe.

Last Junco of the spring at home 26-Apr-2003 - My last backyard Junco sighting of the spring occurred on Saturday morning April 26.

Magee Worm-eating Warbler 25-Apr-2003 Observed at Magee: Field Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, 30+ Yellow Rumps, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-throated Sparrow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Louisiana Waterthrush, Blue-winged Teal, Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, White-eyed Vireo, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Purple Martin.

The LA Waterthrush sang briefly, but was singing more when I passed it again later. I also saw the bird along the water's edge, and I could see the same big tail movement like in the bird at Metzger. This tail bobbing difference between the waterthrushes has always been a key field mark for me, even though it's only mentioned in detail in two books that I've seen: Peterson's Warblers, Warblers of Ontario. Some field guides don't even mention that the waterthrushes even bob their tails. If a field guide does mention the tail bobbing, it does not go into detail about the noticable differences between the two birds. The fields guides focus on the differences in the eye stripes and the color of the flanks and legs. These field marks are fine when the bird is in the hand when banding, but are tough to see when the bird is 30 feet away, walking in water, behind limbs, and in lowlight. One decent field mark to go by, if it can be seen, is the throat. LA's have a clean or white throat, while Northerns have stripes or spots on their throats. But this throat field mark is not a 100% accurate. I did see the pink legs on both LA's on this day, but that leg color field mark is also not 100% accurate. Song and tail bobbing are the two best field id marks for the birder. One other item about the LA Waterthrush. While walking along the boardwalk that was near water, we flushed an LA Waterthrush. When it flew it let out a loud, sharp call note. The Kauffamn guide mentions this. I didn't know what bird it was we flushed, but Vic indentified as an LA Waterthrush.

The best warbler of the day and a life-bird for me, was the Worm-eating Warbler. It was located between markers 28 and 32 on the boardwalk. I saw it multiple times on
Friday. I probably watched him for at least 45 minutes in total. I showed it to Vic, and he videotaped it. I took D. out in the evening, so she could see it. Every time I wanted to relocate the bird, I would slowly walk along the boardwalk and listen for the sound of someone crunching down hard on a potato chip.

The Worm-eater has an interesting foraging technique, and he was fun to watch. He crunched, pinched, and pried open old, shriveled up leaves that were still attached to downed limbs, searching for bugs and worms. He also would poke under the loose bark on small dead limbs. Sometimes he would rip the bark off the limb. I also saw the Worm-eater rip off a leave, step on it with one foot, and pinch the leaf with his bill, then throw the leaf away. The Worm-eater was right next to the boardwalk and was about one to three feet off the ground. Close-focus was required at times. The bird was not afraid of people. The Worm-eater had a long bill, pink legs, olive green back, buffy throat.

In the evening, I took D out to see the Worm-eater, which was easily located. We also flushed a Common Snipe, got nice looks at Green Heron, and watched a Brown Thrasher forage through the leaf litter.

Savannah Sparrows 25-Apr-2003 - After Metzger, I stopped at the Adam Grimm field where I saw and heard two Savannah Sparrows, probably on territory, since Savannahs nest there. Grasshopper Sparrows should be in there soon too. Also in the field were Eastern Meadowlarks. Chipping Sparrows and Horned Larks were also along this road, which I think is Stagne Rd. I get Stagne and Krauss Rd confused. They intersect, so it doesn't matter. I got word from Greg Links that a Vesper Sparrow can be heard along Krauss and the woodlot that's opposite from the field in Ottawa.

Metzger 25-Apr-2003 - I started at 9:00 A.M. Skies were sunny, and temps were in the 40's. Along the road near the corner of the parking lot, I saw a Louisiana Waterthrush. It sang several times. I watched him for 10-15 minutes. When he slowed down and walked away from me, I could see the slower, exaggerated, side-to-side, and up-and-down tail bobbing motion of the Louisiana, which is different from the quicker, choppier, shorter, straight up-and-down tail bobbing motion of the Northern Waterthrush. Also at Metzger: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-throated Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush. In the water near the rock wall was ~230 Ruddy Ducks, 25 Scaup, and 4 Gadwalls.

At home 25-Apr-2003 - In the morning, there was one Junco and one White-throated Sparrow in the backyard. In the evening, there was a Chipping Sparrow.

In the neighborhood - For the first time this spring, I have noticed crows in our hood today. A male Goldfinch spent some time today on the sunflower hopper feeder. Shortly after 6:00 P.M. this evening, I saw a Junco in the backyard. The most Juncos I saw at one time today was one. I bet I don't see anymore Juncos in the yard after this weekend, at least not until October. The Juncos leave when the trees are just budding out and return when the leaves have changed from being green.

Birding Stuff - nearby birding trip tips - I walked the boardwalk at Magee last Saturday afternoon with a guy I've seen on the tower in the past. He told me that he and a birding group always go to Hocking Hills on the last weekend of April. They bird the Shawnee Logan area. They walk/drive along Clear Creek Valley Road. He also told me that Swainson's Warblers can be seen at the New River Bridge area in West Virginia.

binoculars - Vic said there's a cheaper knockoff of the Cannon stabalizer binos. They are made by Newcon?? He saw them at Eagle Optics or at B&H Video. Anyway, these Newcons are 15 x 60 and have the stabalizer. They cost $650 new. Vic's Cannons were refurbs, which costed $650.

warbler peaks - Some peak times for spring warblers in Ohio: Yellow-rumps: May 5th, Magnolias: May 15th, Redstarts: May 25th. Probably coincides with the three main waves of passerines in May.

cormorant fall migration - Vic may start up a fall Cormorant migration project at Big Island Wildlife Area. Cormorant migration: Aug 20 - Oct 20, peak Oct 5. Most fly by BIWA between 8-10, with peak between 8:15 - 9:15 A.M. Where at BIWA? One mile due west of Rt 95 and 203. Gravel parking lot with mound. Need a north-wind day. Flight direction is typically northeast to southwest. They migrate in a 'V' formation. He said it would be nice to have an additional person counting about four miles to the west of this location.

whimbrel spring movement - May 22 - 25, after 4:00 P.M., sledding hill at Maumee Bay St. Park.

Rossford Island View Park - I birded Rossford this morning from 8:30 to 10:00. There were no Juncos. I did observe: 3 House Wrens, 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 30+ White-throated Sparrows, Brown Thrasher, 2 Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and as I was walking out of the park, an Ovenbird Warbler sang.

At home this morning: 1 Junco and 1 White-throated Sparrow.

Backyard - 3 Juncos, 1 White-throated Sparrow, and 1 Chipping Sparrow. Must be the same birds that's been around for the past week.

Hawk Watch: 22-Apr-2003 It was a good thing I went out birding at Magee the day before, because my hawk watch shift on Tuesday of this week was a bust. Winds were from the northwest at 10-15 mph. Temps were in the low 40's. Skies were overcast. During my 9-12 shift, I recorded one migrating raptor: a Sharp-shinned Hawk who buzzed the tower. I saw some local Bald Eagles flying around. I also saw three Bonaparte's Gulls in breeding plumage. In the water near the tower there was a pair of Hooded Mergs and a few Blue-winged Teal. I didn't stay around when my shift was over, nor did I bird anywhere else.

In the backyard on the 22nd, there was a White-throated Sparrow in the morning.

My first Golden Eagle: 21-Apr-2003 - At home on the 21st: in the A.M. 3 Juncos, in the P.M. 1 White-throates Sparrow.

I started at Rossford Island View Park at 9:30. It was cloudy, with temps about 60. At Rossford, I observed: Eastern Phoebe, White-throated Sparrow, Catbird, 2 Brownthrashers, 1 Broadwing. 4 Hermit Thrushes, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Purple Martin, Chipping Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The Broadwing was moving from tree to tree within the park, and it finally soared up and flew by me so I verify that it was a Broadwing. I finished birding at RIVP at 10:15.

While driving by the grain elevators along Miami Street, it appeared that a Peregrine Falcon was attacking a Turkey Vulture. I didn't pull of the road soon enough. While driving by, I looked over my shoulder and saw the Falcon in a dive, heading towards the Vulture. When I did pull of the road, I could not locate either bird.

I drove around the western part of Ottawa NWR and observed: a hunting Northern Harrier, Horned Larks, American Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks, Chipping Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged Teal.

I arrived at the Magee Marsh nature center at 11:20. While talking to Vic outside the center, a low-flying Osprey went by us. He appeared to be hunting, since he was moving slow and looking down at the water. Vic was doing the tower hawk watch from 9-3. He went back to the tower, and I walked the small trail around the pond by the nature center and tower. I rarely walk this trail, but someone had seen a Nashville Warbler earlier. Vic was on the boardwalk from 7-9 A.M., before going to the tower, and he saw a Tennessee Warbler and had a singing male Hooded Warbler.

Anyway, on the small trail by the nature center I observed: 5+ Palm Warblers, 5+ Yellow-rumps, 5+ Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Purple Martins, Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and White-eyed Vireo. But the best sighting on the trail and my best sighting of the year was seeing a low-flying (200 feet high) immature Golden Eagle drift directly over my head from the north. The winds were blowing from the southwest at 10-20 mph, and this bird came from the north. I
just figured it was going to be an immature Bald, but I looked at the bird anyway, since I never get tired of watching Bald Eagles. I had several nice sightings of local Balds on Monday.

I was surprised when I put the binos on the bird. Since the bird was so low, I could easily see it's markings on the wings and tail, and I knew it was an immature Golden. The bird creeped directly over my head. I saw it drift by the tower, and I was hoping Vic was still there. I hurried back to the tower, to check with him to make sure it really was an immature Golden Eagle, since I had never seen one before.

The bird went directly over Vic's head too, and he showed me the video he took, which is real nice. The bird filled up most of the screen. This happened around Noon. I remained on the tower with Vic until he was done with his hawk watch duty at 3:00 P.M. As usual, I had interesting conversations with Vic. I may do some database/web programming for him.

The raptor movement was really weird on Monday. Birds were coming from the north-northwest, especially the Broadwings. Vic had 12 species of raptors from the tower on Monday. He spotted a Rough-legged that I couldn't find. Vic uses 15 x 45 Cannons with the image stabilizer. I think for the day in all of my travels I had 11 species of raptors. I watched some Sharpies, Broadwings, Vultures, and Coopers from the tower. I also saw a Chimney Swift. Flight height of the birds was medium. I also saw a Yellow Warbler from the tower.

I visited the boardwalk for a bit, arriving there around 3:15. There I observed: Palms, Yellow-rumped, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, RCKI, Yellow Warbler, and Hooded Mergs. I saw a Snow Egret along the causeway when I was leaving.

Magee birding 20-Apr-2003 - First, in the backyard for April 20th: 2 Juncos, 1 White-throated Sparrow, and 1 Chipping Sparrow.

D, C, and I birded the Magee boardwalk from 2 to 4. Temps were in the 70's with southwest winds at 15-20 mph. We saw: Sharp-shinned, Coopers, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Broadwing, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Palm, Black-and-white, Yellow Warbler, Hermit Thrush (only one), Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 5+ Winter Wrens, Blue-heade Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Rusty's Blackbird, White-throated Sparrow.

raptors and passerines - I started birding at 9:00 A.M. at the Lake Erie Center. Skies were mostly cloudy; temps were about 60; winds were calm. Around the center I observed: Hermit Thrush, Caspian Tern, White-throated Sparrow, Winter Wren, Junco, 2 Cooper's Hawks, 5 Sharpies, Wood Ducks, Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 Broadwing Hawk, Field Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Swamp Sparrow, 1 Turkey Vulture. I quit birding here around 10:15. Since I saw so many raptors, I decided to visit the sledding hill at Maumee Bay State Park.

I first went to the MBSP nature center to use the bathroom. There were at least five Purple Martins hanging around the plastic gourds by the nature center. I was on the hill by 10:30. There were eight Amish birders on the hill, counting hawks. They all had scopes, and they were good at spotting birds. Their IDing was a little agressive. They seemed to be in competition with each other to try and be the one to find that rare raptor. At one point, several of the Amish thought a Golden Eagle was coming towards us. I was paying no attention. They were spotting birds way out there, and I figured I would wait until it passed us. Finally, one of the Amish asked me if I wanted to see the Golden Eagle. I faked surprise, and turned down looking through his scope, and focused on the big bird coming our way with my binos. We had been looking at a lof Sharpies and Broadwings, so a good-sized raptor would look huge. I watched the bird get close, and I noticed a lot of white underneath the bird. I then saw a big spot in the carpal area of each wing. I didn't say anything. The Amish corrected themselves and said it was a Rough-legged Hawk. Still a nice sighting.

Another time, one of the Amish called out Falcon, but he changed it to a Cooper's Hawk. Later, a small Falcon went blitzing by us, and at first glance I was sure it was going to be a Merlin, because of its speed. Through the binos, I got a flash of reddish brown on the back of the bird, so I knew it was Kestrel. Some Amish continued to watch the bird through their scopes when it was west of us, and they decided it was a Merlin afterall. A young Amish dude asked me if I saw the falcon, and I said yes, it was a Kestrel. That's what he thought too. Merlins don't have that reddish brown color that shows up well in the sun.

Anyway, it was a good morning for raptors from the sledding hill. When I got there at 10:30, the winds were from the east-southeast. Just before Noon, the winds shifted from the northeast, and it felt like someone cranked up the air conditioner. The temperature dropped several degrees. Lake Erie is only in the 40's. This wind shift also slowed down the raptor sightings, which is why I left at 1:00 P.M., because there was little action after 12:30. Still, in the 2 1/2 hours I was there, I saw 11 species of raptors: 35 Sharp-shinned, 9 Cooper's, 32 Red-tailed, 75 Broadwing, 7 Harrier, 1 Rough-legged, 27 Turkey Vulture, 2 Red-shouldered, 3 Osprey, 3 Kestrel, and 4 Bald Eagle. Those are the raptors I saw. There were more I didn't see, because there was so much action, I couldn't keep up with all of it. Plus, the birds were high. We had a lone Sandhill Crane go by too. This was probably my best spring raptor day in northwest Ohio.

I was on the boardwalk at Magee by 1:45. There I observed: Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Towhee, Winter Wren, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, Pine Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Swamp Sparrow, and House Wren.

at home this morning - 2 Juncos, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Chipping Sparrow.

Yesterday morning, 18-Apr-2003, in the backyard there were 4 Juncos, 1 WTSP, and 1 CHSP.

Backyard update - This morning, there were four Juncos and two White-throated Sparrows in the backyard. Millet is on the ground.

Magee Boardwalk; 16-Apr-2003 - I visited the boarwalk for a couple hours Wednesday morning. I saw pretty much the same birds as on Tuesday with the addition of two Snowy Egrets along the causeway. The numbers along the boardwalk seemed to be a little greater. I saw at least a dozen Winter Wrens and a few Fox Sparrows. I saw three Pine Warblers along the boardwalk. One, in the back of the boardwalk, was head-high and about 20 feet away, providing nice views.

Additional warblers were seen by other birders Wedesday morning, including female Prairie, Orange-crowned, and Palm. There was a report of a Louisiana Waterthrush somewhere at Magee on Tuesday. I heard that at Pearson Park a Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue were spotted.

Right now, Friday night looks like another good night for songbird migration. The high temps on Tuesday and Wednesday were 75-80 with brisk southwest winds. The winds shifted from the north about mid-afternoon Wednesday, dropping the temps 20 degrees. Strong northeast winds are blowing today 25-35 mph and temps are in the upper 30's.

Raptors and passerines; 15-Apr-2003 - On Tuesday morning, there was a good movement of Sharpies. Most were close to the tower and low. I did see an Osprey. There were a few Cooper's, Harriers, and Red-tails and several Turkey Vultures. No Broadwings during my shift. Other birds seen from the tower of interest to me or first of the spring for me: Pectoral Sandpipers, Barn Swallow, breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gulls, and Caspian Tern. Dragonflies and butterflies were also migrating.

I visited the boardwalk for about 20 minutes before going to the tower. After hawk watching, I went back to the boardwalk for a bit. The numbers were not staggering, but it was decent birding. Yellow-rumps, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Hermit Thrushes were the most numerous birds. I also saw Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, Winter Wrens, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Pine Warblers.

At one point by the west entrance, there were three Pine Warblers hanging out. I saw Pines multiple times in different spots of the parking lot. Sparrow-wise, I only saw/heard Song, Field, White-throated, Chipping, and Juncos. There were additional sparrows observed on Tuesday at Magee by other birders: Swamp, Savannah, Fox, and American Tree.

Weather update - The weather on Saturday and Sunday was nearly identical. It was sunny, temps in the 50's, and light north winds. Yesterday marked the 11th straight day of northerly winds for the area. Today, the temps are expected to be in the 70's and in the 80's tomorrow. Obvioulsy, brisk southerly winds will also be present. Tonight, temps are expected to remain in the 50's all night. Tonight should be a big night for early passerine movement. I'm guessing that tomorrow morning there should be a boatload of Hermit Thrushes, White-throated Sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Towhees, Winter Wrens, Sapscuckers, etc at Magee. Maybe a House Wren too. I'm not sure if Purple Martins have been sighted up here yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if I see some from the tower tomorrow morning.

There should be a good movement of raptors today and tomorrow. This is the time of the year when the greatest number of species of raptors could be observed. There could still be some March migrants such as Rough-legged and Red-shouldered, then some of the newer migrants, Broadwings, Imm Bald Eagles, and Ospreys.

Backyard update - On Saturday afternoon, there was a White Throated Sparrow under the feeders. Yesterday morning, I saw seven Juncos, and this morning I counted eight. They will be leaving soon, maybe this week.

I fished this morning for a bit at Olander. I was already getting too windy to fish comfortably. No fish, but I did see and hear a Chipping Sparrow.

Saturday, 12-Apr-2003 - Not a busy birding day. I birded first at by the Lake Erie Center in Bayshore. It's a science and research facility affiliated with the University of Toledo. It's located along the western edge of the Maumee Bay State Park campground. There's a small woodlot with trails behind the building. Then there are trails through the fields near the campground. The bikepath/street moving east from the center is lined with trees and small bushes. This area could be an alternative to Metzger and Magee when there's a need to get away from the crowds. In this area, I saw an Eastern Phoebe, several Golden-crowned Kinglets, and an American Tree Sparrow. A Turkey Vulture drifted by. Near the shoreline of Lake Erie, there were Scaup and Common Mergs. One of the little terns, Common or Forster's, flew by.

I stopped briefly at Metzger, but I didn't notice much. I drove around the western edges and the entrance of Ottawa. Here I saw Eastern Meadowlarks, Northern Harrier, Am. Kestrel, N. Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Scaup, Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, and a group of 15 or so Common Snipe were flying around.

At Magee, I didn't stay long. I could tell it was quiet. I saw a couple people I know who come up every weekend now through the end of May. I chatted with them for a while, walked in a little bit on the boardwalk and left. Brown Creepers were flying around, but I didn't feel like staying around. I spent a good bit of time scoping out the Lake Erie Center area.

Birding in Rossford this morning - I was at the Island View Park today from 8:50 - 11:13 A.M. Observed: Carolina Wren, European Starling, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Fox Sparrow (>10), American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet (>15), White-throated Sparrow (<5), American Crow, Cowbird, Northern Flicker, Brown Creeper, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (7), Brown Thrasher, Common Grackle, Canadian Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Slate-colored Junco, House Sparrow, Blue Jay, American Wigeon, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Tree Swallow, Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Eastern Towhee, Song Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hermit Thrush, and Black-capped Chickadee.

The Golden-crowned Kinglet numbers were not as big as expected. The White-throated Sparrow numbers were also lower than I thought they would be. I would have to check my notes or the bird books, but it could still be early for the big waves of these birds. The winds have been from the north for the last eight days now. We need that warm, windy night where the temps remain above 50-55 degrees the entire night to push a big bunch of birds into the area.

There were three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers on one tree, meowing at each other. One Sapsucker was spotted along "Sapsucker Row" (the path at the top of the hill along Grassy Creeek). The Brown Thrasher was singing a lot and was easily spotted multiple times. That's a fun bird to listen to. One of the Thrasher's calls sounded like a Northern Flicker. There were several Flickers seen/heard in the park. If I would go through my notes since the fall of '99 and put together a RIVP bird list, I would find that the American Wigeon spotted today would probably be a new bird for the park and adjacent waters of the Maumee River and Grassy Creek. The Hermit Thrush sang, which is cool. No Winter Wrens were seen nor heard, darn it. I think nearly all of the birds observed sang.

The weather was nice. The temps started out in the 30's but was into the 40's quickly. The winds were light, and the skies were sunny. A lof the bushes and shrubs had green buds on them. Woodland visibility will begin to decline rapidly, but at least the boring gray colors of the woods will disappear now.

Boring hawk watch day, 8-Apr-2003 - It's only my third spring of hawk watching with the BSBO, and I would have to say yesterday was the most boring day I've had thus far. The winds were from the northeast at 5-10 mph. The temps were 32 at 9:00 A.M. and 34 at Noon. The skies were cloudy with drizzle or mist falling most of the morning, which prevented me from at least having my radio sitting out on the bench to occupy my time. Although I wouldn't have been able to hear it anyway, since the portable, gas-powered pump was running at the base of the tower. They are pumping water from a ditch along the walkway and moving it about 40 feet into the pond. It's a marsh. Last I checked, marshes are wet. Even on bad days, there are usually some other birds moving around. Yesterday, there were DC Cormorants, Great Egrets, and Mourning Doves flying about, and that's about it. A Brown Creeper came near the tower. I saw an American Tree Sparrow on the drive into Magee. There were a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the water near the nature center.

Birding on Saturday 5-Apr-2003 at Magee/Ottawa - D and I visited the western edge of Ottawa, the entrance of Ottawa, the back roads and flooded farm fileds near Magee, and the boardwalk at Magee. It was still a good day for ducks. We observed: Mallard, N. Shoveler, Bald Eagle sitting in a nest, N. Harrier, Ring-necked Ducks, Turkey Vulture, Am. Kestrel, Scaup, Blue-winged Teal, 5 Greater Yellowlegs in farm field, Green-winged Teal, Red-headed Ducks, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Am. Black Ducks, Wood Ducks, E. Meadowlark, Bonaparte Gulls, Field Sparrow, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Juncos, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creepers, 7 deer a few yards from the boardwalk, 2 - E. Phoebes, 25+ Fox Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 12+ Winter Wrens, Common Mergansers. The numbers of Ring-necked and Am. Wigeon were still high in the farm fields. A lot of Blue-winged Teal were scattered in different places. The weather was cloudy, temps in the 30's, winds w-nw at 15-25 mph, and a few snow flurries. A fine early April day.

Strange weather - On Friday evenging, Apr 4, we had a strong thunderstorm roll through. The weather service had a severe thunderstorm warning in affect for our county and other nearby counties. The thing that makes this severe weather so interesting is the fact the temperature at the time, 9:00 P.M., of the thunderstorm was only 33 degrees. I have seen lightning during heavy snow squalls with colder temps, but I doubt I've ever experienced strong thunderstorms with such cold temps. Sleet or small hail fell for a brief period during the storm, making the flower beds white. Because the temps were so low, the ice didn't melt. From the rains during the daytime on Friday and from the heavy rains from the thunderstorm, I'm sure 1-2 inches of rain fell. There were flood warnings for counties just to west of us.

We have a winter storm warning issued for our area for tonight and Monday. Snow accumulations are all over the place. I just checked, and the current forecast is for 4-8 inches by Monday evening. The temps on Monday, I think, are expected to be above freezing. It's going to be a wet, mushy, mess. The amount will no doubt depend upon how much of the above-freezing temps we get. A little north and west, the snow could be pile up more.

Juncos and chilly weather - I counted a dozen Juncos and a Song Sparrow in the backyard this morning. I threw down some millet yesterday. Two days ago, temps were in the mid 70's in Toledo under sunny skies. Yesterday it was in the 40's. Today, it's been raining off and on, and the temps are in the mid 30's (34 at Metcalf at 3:00 P.M.) Have to love those northeast winds off cold Lake Erie. A stationary front runs through the northern third of the state. We are suppose to get some freezing rain, sleet, and a little snow during the night. Temps around Ohio at 3:00 P.M.: Akron - 52, Cincinnati - 75, Cleveland - 34, Columbus - 70, Dayton - 72, Defiance - 36, Findlay - 37, Mansfield - 52, Youngstown - 43, Zanesville - 65.

Rossford migrants 2-Apr-2003 - I visited the Rossford Island View Park this morning from 8:30 to 10:00 A.M. The temps overnight remained above 50 degrees, so I thought it would have been a good night for passerine migration. There were not as many birds present as I expected, but it's still earlly. If a warm night like last night occurs next week or the week after, then things will be hopping. This morning I observed: Juncos (many singing), White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Brown Creepers (several), Golden-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Towhee, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, American Tree Sparrow, two Winter Wrens (one sang). The Sapsucker was spotted exactly where I expected one to be: the part of the trail that follows Grassy Creek, heading towards the Maumee River, at the top of the small hill, surrounded by some medium to large hardwoods. I stood here for a few minutes, thinking one should be around, and sure enough one flew in. Surprised not to find a Hermit Thrush or an Eastern Phoebe.

Slower than expected hawk watching 1-Apr-2003 The winds were blowing from the south-southwest at 15-25 mph yesterday morning, but it was cloudy until about Noon, when clearing moved in. The temps were in the low 50's in the morning. The raptor movement was probably better in the afternoon. I left shortly after my 9-12 shift. I only recorded around 20 TUVUs, and a couple Sharp-shinned Hawks, and I think one Cooper's Hawk. There was an owl hanging around in the trees near the tower. I only got two quick glimpses of the bird flying about. Guessing it was a Barred Owl. Great Horned Owls are either on eggs or feeding young in the nest. Apparently, there's no Great Horned Owl's nest near the tower. Another hawk watcher told me that in the past, Barred Owls have been spotted from the tower in April.

Parent's backyard birds 31-Mar-2003 The temperatures Monday morning in B'ville were in the mid 20's under cloudy skies. I nice snow squall moved through, dumping about a half an inch. By mid-day when I left for T-town, the sun was out, the snow had melted, and the temps "warmed" to the upper 30's.

The Bluebirds were carrying nesting material into the same house they were using last week. Dad said they had quit carrying nesting material for a few days. There were at least a dozen Goldfinches on Dad's feeders. A Chipping Sparrow was eating the suet. Must have been some millet mixed in with it. The feeders were busy when the snow was coming down.

B'ville TUVUs in the snow 30-Mar-2003 - I was back visiting my folks in eastern Ohio again for a couple of days. I did some bass fishing on Sunday morning, but didn't catch anything. What a change in the weather. On Friday, it was in the 70's in northwest Ohio. It was in the 40's on Saturday. When I went fishing in the morning on Sunday, the temps in B'ville were 30 degrees with intermittent snow showers. I had to keep knocking the ice from my rod guides. Anyway, I heard Golden-crowned Kinglets and Eastern Towhees singing. I saw one Turkey Vulture fly by. I was out and about around B'ville in the afternoon, and on numerous occasions, I saw small groups of two to five TUVUs moving northwest, even though snow was falling and the winds were blowing from the northwest at 10-15 mph. I guess when a TUVU wants to move, it will. They are the "masters of the air".

Hawk watch, boardwalk, and ducks - 29-Mar-2003 - The weather on Saturday morning consisted of light rain early, then just cloudy. Winds were from the west-northwest at seven miles per hour. Visibility was low. Temperatures were about 40 degrees. Needless to say, it was a slow raptor morning. I recorded one migrating Red-tailed Hawk from 9-12. I left when the afternoon shift came and went to the boardwalk. There were a few other birds seen from the tower: Brown Thrasher in a tree nearby, DC Cormorant, four Black-crowned Night Herons landed behind one of the small islands in the water near the nature center, a couple local Bald Eagles, Eastern Towhee singing, one Sandhill Crane flying overhead, Great Egrets.

On the boardwalk, birding was decent: Golden-crowned Kinglets (several), Winter Wrens, Fox Sparrows (about 1/2 as many as previous Saturday), Brown Creepers, Hermit Thrushes, and Eastern Phoebes.

In a flooded field near the Magee Marsh entrance, a Eurasion Wigeon was spotted on Friday, hanging out with American Wigeon. I made a quick visit to the field. I needed a scope and more time, but I had neither. In this field, there were over 100 Ring-necked Ducks, and over 100 American Wigeon. Unless someone else there already had it scoped out, it would take some time to weed through all the ducks. It was a busy place, but they were not close to the road. There were other species in the field, including Northern Pintail, Red Headed, and Mallard ducks. Apparently, the Eurasion Wigeon was seen through Monday of this week, but I never tried again to locate it. Even though I've never seen such a bird, it's obviously not a priority with me. I'm not going to track down every rare bird that's reported. I'm more interested in watching the Kinglets and Fox Sparrows.

One Golden-crowned Kinglet on the boardwalk was below head high and was only a few feet away from me. He was really flaring the colors on his head. I didn't see another GCKI around, so I'm not sure why he was flashing the unit. The top of his head was almost completely bright yellow, and the orange was also visible. No need for binos. I just stood and watched for several minutes. That's one of my favorite birds. The Fox Sparrows are also fun to watch and listen too. The Phoebes were actively fly-catching.

Good raptor movement on Friday 28-Mar-2003 - Here are the totals observed from the sledding hill at Maumee Bay St. park and from the parking lot near the hill. The winds were blowing from the S-SW at 20-30 mph with higher gusts and it was much more difficult to observe from the hill than from the parking lot. I observed/took notes from 10:00 to 2:30. The first hour was from the top of the hill.

TUVU 367
RTHA 53
SSHA 18
COHA 17
AMKE 11
NOHA 4

The raptors last Friday were all low, less than 100 feet. I'm guessing the strong winds had something to do with this. The TUVUs would skim along the ground, then pop-up, then back down. The accipitors at times were only a few feet above the ground. There was one exception where a few TUVUs were a few hundred feet up, and we almost missed them.

The winds on top of the hill were consistently over 30 mph. CP was with me, and the wind blew a paperback book out of her arm and down the other side of the hill. It was retrieved just fine. It was windy enough to let the body lean forward and allow the wind to hold us up. But it was hard to bird on the hill. I couldn't hold my binos still. We spent the first hour on the hill, and then we went down and birded from the parking lot across the street, where we had an open view. "We" being CP, myself, and a couple of guys I know: BZ and KM.

Backyard update - The snow and ice was completely gone from the shady areas of our yard by last Wednesday, March 19th. Over the past 10 days or so, there has been little bird activity in the backyard. Now that the snow has finally melted, the birds have found food elsewhere, and the spring urge is probably top priority for some. I still see a few Juncos visiting the yard. I've been out of millet for the last week. I threw some millet down in the flower beds today. I cleaned up a lot of empty sunflower and millet shells today. The only woodpecker activity I've seen lately has been from the Downy. The Starlings seem to have moved on.

Birds at my parent's place - I forgot to mention this earlier, but 10-14 days ago, a Pileated Woodpecker was hammering on a tree in my parent's yard. They see a Pileated a few times a year, and it's always on the same big old tree.

While visiting my folks earlly this week, the Bluebirds started building a nest in the house near their front porch. The house is 25-30 feet from the kitchen window, and less than 10 feet from the back porch. Dad has four or five houses up. I saw a Bluebird eat inside the Bluebird feeder I got my Dad last Christmas from the Audubon.

I saw a Chipping Sparrow in my Dad's tray feeder on Tuesday, March 25. There were several Song Sparrows singing around their house, which is really cool to wake-up to.

Birds while fishing "back home" - We visited my folks for a few days early this week. While fishing from the bank at the resevoir Tuesday morning, March 25th, I observed: Eastern Towhee, N. Cardinal, Titmouse, Am. Crow, Song Sp, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Belted Kingfisher, Am. Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Am. Robin, Canadian Goose, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, N. Flicker.

The weather at 10:15 A.M. was sunny, with light winds, and temps around 60. The highs were in the 70's down there on Monday and Tuesday. There were three or four Golden-crowned Kinglets in the trees near where I was standing when I was fishing Tuesday morning. I heard several Towhees. There were some ducks on the water, but I couldn't tell what they were. I didn't have any binos with me. I only stayed about an hour. I hooked a 12" Largemouth Bass on my third or fourth cast and that was it. I went back out Wendesday morning, fished a different area, and caught one more Largemouth arond 12-13 inches in size. Both were caught on a blue Slider worm.

We saw a lot of Turkey Vultures Mon-Wed during our travels.

Fox Sparrows, Ducks, and Woodcocks - Those were the popular birds I saw last Saturday afternoon and evening, March 22. The weather Saturday afternoon was partly cloudy with temps around 50.

On the drive out, I saw three Bald Eagles sitting on the ground in a field near the Bono curve -- one Adult, two Imm. I saw a few American Kestrels sitting on the wires. I arrived at the boardwalk at Magee around 4:00 P.M. I made a quick walk around the boardwalk. Near the west entrance, I saw at least 25 Fox Sparrows (conservative estimate). They were singing and scratching on the ground. Multiple times I had four or five in the same field of view. Nice bird. Nothing else really on the boardwalk. No Golden-crowned Kinglets. I didn't try real hard. I was mainly there for the Fox Sparrows, which didn't disappoint.

The water in the marsh by the nature center was still mostly frozen. Lake Erie looked slushy to mostly frozen, with some large ice flows or formations. (The borrow pits along the highway ranged from open to completely frozen.) The streams were open. There was a lot of water in the farm fields, and most contained a few ducks. The Crane Creek parking lot was open. Those big walls of snow that existed the previous weekend, blocking off parts of the parking lot, no longer existed.

There were a lot of American Coots along the causeway at Magee. Also present were Scaup, Hooded Mergs, Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Great Blue Heron. I saw an American Tree Sparrow by the nature center. I drove into Ottawa to checkout the ducks in the water bordering the entrance. While there, a flock of 14 Sandhill Cranes flew toward me from the northeast. They circled overhead, then flew to the southwest. Some of the cranes sounded off. In the water at Ottawa there were several Northern Shovelers (8+ males) and a couple female Buffleheads.

Along Lickert-Harder road, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk and a few Horned Larks. I stopped at the Bono curve, if that's the curve where the entrance to Metzger meets Rt. 2. I was viewing the flooded field on the other side of Rt. 2. The water and birds were next to 2, so I had good views. There were several more Shovelers (11+ males), Am. Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, and Green-winged Teal. I don't see Green-winged Teal very often.

I then drove to Irwin Prairie, arriving at 6:30 P.M. More Fox Sparrows were singing. The sky was mostly clear at sunset. I entered the preserve and stood near Irwin Rd. The first "peent" begin at 6:56. Shortly after 7, I heard Woodcock flying. I watched three Woodcock in the low light. They were tough to see, but fun to listen to. I wish they started a little earlier. Between Irwin Rd and the parking lot, I identified at least a dozen different Woodcock "peenting".

Hawk watch fogged-in - Not much happened yesterday during my hawk watching from the tower at Magee. After three straight days with high temps of 65-70 under sunny skies, yesterday's temperatures were in the low to mid 40's during the morning with a lot of fog. The winds were from the northeast at five miles per hour. Visibility at 9:00 A.M. was about 150 yards. I could barely see the nature center from the tower. By 10, visibility only improved slightly. By 11, visibility was about a mile.

The only raptor I saw was a local immature Bald Eagle that flew low over the tower just after Noon while I was leaving. It was too foggy to observe other birds flying about. The marsh is still frozen. The small opening near the nature center is a little bigger. Before the warmup, the opening was about 50 feet long and maybe 40 feet wide. During my first four visits to the tower this spring, there would be over 100 Canadian Geese in and around the opening. There must be more open water somewhere else or the Geese just moved on, because yesterday, there were only a handful of geese hanging around the opening. Without the geese, it was much quieter.

There were several male Hooded Mergs in the small water opening. They were chasing and fighting with each other. It was comical. Sometimes the feathers in their heads would be collapsed, so only a small sliver of white could be seen. Then they would flare their head feathers, so it looked like a baseball was attached to their head. They were shaking their heads back and forth and doing all kinds of funny gyrations, like standing up on the water. There were a couple female Hooded Mergs present.

There was also one American Coot. Sometimes he was in the water and sometimes he was pecking around on the ice. I heard a Fox Sparrow sing. I saw an American Tree Sparrow. Other usuals were singing. That's about it.

The best part was having CP with me. She's on spring break. She spent a little time reading in the nature center, but most of the time she was on the tower with me. She kept busy dancing or exercising. It was just the two of us, so that was fine. I had my radio with me. On the way to the tower, we stopped and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts and iced molasses Archway cookies. We each had two doughnuts and we ate all of the cookies. So we junked out, chatted, and laughed. That was the most fun I've had on a northeast wind day.

Weekend hawk movement at Maumee Bay
From an e-mail sent to me by a birding friend, who was on the tower with me on Saturday until about 4:00 P.M.
----------------------

I went to Maumee Bay after leaving Magee and it they were still moving until 5:00
Yesterday's count @ Maumee Bay:
shoulders-86
tails---------84
golden------01
coops-------14
sharpies---06
kestrels----04
balds--------04
cranes------09

Today's count @ Maumee Bay:
approx. 850 hawks
shoulders-96
TV's-----------600? and 100+ uncounted roosting in trees for tomorrow
Lapland Longspurs-7400
Woodcocks------------15?
2+ hrs. of continuous Blackbirds including one flock of 50,000+

Needless to say Maumee Bay was very good this weekend

Saturday's hawk watching - Saturday marked four out of four where my hawk watching duties had southerly winds. Saturday was also the warmest day in months, with temperatures rising into the low to mid 60's. The raptors didn't get going unti after 11. I stayed until about 4:00. I left at 1:00 for Turtle Creek, but there was already a counter there, so I went back to the tower. For the 9-3 period the count was: 39 Red-tailed Hawks, 19 Red-shouldered, several Cooper's, about a dozen Turkey Vultures, one or two Harriers, one Kestrel, and five Rough-legged Hawks. Two of he RLHAs passed through while I was at Turtle Creek. I did have nice views of two of the three RLHAs I saw. One was a nice dark morph, and the other was in between dark and light. One of the Cooper's buzzed the tower. It came out of the east trees at tower height, and went right over my head. If I had jumped, I might have touched him.

There were a lot of birds moving, including several thousand Red-winged Blackbirds and a lot of ducks. Birds flying by the tower included: Wood Ducks, Pintails, Mallards, Common Mergs, a group of five Swans (not mutes, no green bands), Bluebirds, Robins, Grackles, Starlings, Killdeer, Cedar Waxwings, Am. Black Ducks, Eastern Meadowlarks, a few Am. Crows, a couple Tree Swallows, Northern Shoveler. The one group of Pintails that flew over contained ~30 birds.

The marsh, Lake Erie, and small streams were still frozen. In the small opening of water by the nature center there were Ring-necked Ducks, Scaup, Gadwalls, and several Hooded Mergansers, which are cool looking.

The skies had zero cloud cover all day. The sky was very dry and bright blue. In the afternoon, the raptors were higher and tough to spot and tough to stay on in the blue sky. The temperature at 9:00 A.M. was 5 degrees Celsius, warming to 10 C by 1:00 P.M. There was little wind. It was from the south-southwest at 5 mph, which is unusual when it's that warm in March. Normally the warm weather at this time of the year is accompanied by 20+ mph winds.

The good bird movement and nice weather wasn't the only thing that made Saturday special. Around 2:00 P.M., I turned around and there was Mom and Dad reaching the top of the tower. I didn't know they were coming up. Within five minutes, my wife and step-daughter pulled into the parking lot. My parents decided to get out the house, since it was a nice day and drive three hours to Magee Marsh. After working at the church all morning and after lunch, my wife figured I would still be on the tower after my 9-12 hawk watch duty was over, so she came out too.

My wife and Dad got to see some hawks and ducks. The girls also walked and drove around Magee. Ottawa NWR had an open house driving tour, so we did that around 4:15. It took over 30 minutes to complete the drive, which was nice. We saw an adult Bald Eagle perched in a tree by a nest. We saw what looked like the head of another eagle in the nest. Could be incubating eggs.

I drove out to the beach to check out the frozen lake. There are a lot of big piles of snow in the Crane Creek parking lot. I couldn't tell if it was from plowing or drifting or both. I'm not sure why they would spend a lot of time plowing the beach parking lot in February. Anyway, access to parts of the parking lot were blocked by these big walls of snow. Even with the warm weather, it will take a while for that to melt.

After our driving tours, we all ate dinner at a family restaurant in Oak Harbor, since that was on the way home for my parents. We had a nice time. It was a good day.

Orange terrorist alert level - Prez was on TV this evening, giving Saddam 48 hours to leave town. Maybe this will be on the 48 Hours TV show hosted by Dan Rather, since he interviewed So Damn Insane a while ago. Anyway, this evening the government raised our terrorist level to orange from yellow. This could make for an interesting problem for the BSBO and their passerine spring migration banding study at Navarre Marsh, which is on Davis Besse nuclear plant property.

A couple of Saturdays ago while on the tower hawk watching, two other BSBO hawk watchers told me how the BSBO may have to band somewhere else if the terrorist alert level goes to orange. When it went to orange in early February, the BSBO was prevented from entering Navarre Marsh, due to tightened security. Passerine banding begins in mid-April. Maybe it will be lowered by then, but that's only four weeks away. One alternative banding sight the BSBO is considering is Ottawa. I was planning on helping with the banding program this spring. They have their little training day towards the end of April.

Birding in Rossford - I birded at Rossford Island View Park for a little over an hour around midday today. Temps were in the 60's with light winds and sunny skies. I saw a few TUVUs soaring when I pulled into the parking lot. I saw a Cooper's Hawk while in the park head towards Grassy Greek. There were a lot of birds singing, including several Juncos with their unrefined trills. If they took lessons, Juncos could sound like Chipping Sparrows. Speaking of sparrows, I saw the following at RIVP today: Fox, Song, Am. Tree, and White-throated. The river around RIVP was frozen last Friday, but today it was open with ice flows. In the river was Ring-necked Ducks, Common Mergansers, Mallards, and Canadian Geese. Gulls were flying around of course. (Damn, there was just now a helluva loud explosion outside in the distance.) Anyway, I believe the rest of the birds were the usuals. Multiple Carolina Wrens were singing.

Most of the snow is now gone. There is still some snow and ice in the shady areas. I also saw a couple chipmunks running around, and I saw a medium-sized butterfly, burnt orange with dark spots land on a limb. I haven't checked the butterfly book yet to see what it was. I think I saw a bumble-bee flying around too.

New nature center at ONWR - There was a ground-breaking ceromony last Friday morning. Here's the Blade article. "$1.95-million Visitor Center that will provide a gateway for the public to education and information about Ohio’s remarkable, internationally recognized wetlands refuge complex. This year work will focus on planning and design, with construction set for fiscal 2004 and occupation and use in fiscal 2005. The new center is to be built near State Rt. 2, just west of the current entrance to the main refuge. The present entrance-road off Route 2, straight but unappealing, will be relocated to the west, passing the new center and gracefully winding its way into the refuge. The Ottawa center is to have an educational and multi-purpose community focus."

And in other ONWR news, "In addition to funding the visitor center, Congress also allocated $600,000 to Ottawa for additional land acquisition under a long-range plan. It allows for expansion of the nearly 9,000-acre complex by up to 5,000 more acres. Acquisitions would come only from donations or willing sellers. The land-purchase money comes from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which derives revenues from offshore oil leasing."

New bird on the feeder - It's not new to the backyard. A White-throated Sparrow was on the sunflower hopper feeder a couple of minutes ago. I threw down the last of my millet yesterday. There was bare ground near the house, so I scattered it in a lot of places. But the snow this morning is obviously making it tough for the birds to find it.

Return to winter - Not that we have been far removed from it. Overnight, there was rain, which turned to freezing rain, sleet, and finally snow this morning. It's probably snowed about an inch at the most, but it looks nice outside once again. The bird activity was high this morning. Over a dozen Juncos showed up. A Flicker was on the hopper and suet feeders. A Grackle has even stopped by. He's on the hopper right this instant. It's suppose to become partly sunny this afternoon and warm to the mid 30's. Then tomorrow the first spring warmup begins. We may hit 50 on Friday. This weekend, we will be near 60. Say goodbye to the snow. I'm on the tower for hawk watching on Saturday, so I'm expecting good things. Maybe a Golden Eagle will drift by.

Backyard update for March 12, 2003 - The Northern Flickers are still making occasional appearances to the suet feeder. A Flicker visited a couple times last winter, and I'm pretty certain I saw a Flicker in the trees around our house last summer. So these could be local birds. I'll have to check the Peterjohn book, Birds of Ohio, but I think the Flickers do most of their migrating in April. Still have a handful of Juncos feeding in the yard. The Cardinal activity has dropped, minus the usual male and female, which can be seen after sunset. Then there are still the usual regulars.

Cold morning for hawk watching - Yesterday, was my third stint on the tower at Magee, and it turned out to be the best so far. I've been lucky my first three times on the tower, because I've had south winds each time. The temps at 9:00 A.M. yesterday were around 20 degrees. I stayed until about 2:00 P.M where the temperature was up to a balmy 34. It was overcast early, then sunny, then mostly cloudy. The winds were from the southwest at 10-15 mph. I was never cold. I was layered up like an onion. I cannot stand or sit still very long, so my constant pacing on the tower helped to keep me warm too. At 11:10, things started happening. The first bird was a Cooper's Hawk, which was immediately followed by two Red-tailed Hawks, and a Turkey Vulture. When I left, I had observed the following migrating raptors: 20 Red-tailed Hawks, 5 Red-shouldered Hawks, 4 Cooper's Hawks, 1 Turkey Vulture, and 1 Northern Harrier. I saw three local Bald Eagles and a couple local Red-tailed Hawks. A lone Sandhill Crane flew overhead at a medium height. The raptors were low. Most were below 100 feet, with many below tree-top height. Not a lot thermal activity, of course, when it's 25 degrees. Several flew close to the tower, so it was a good day.

Apparently, a Northern Shrike was spotted at Magee last weekend. While on the tower yesterday looking north, a bird flew east to west, and without my binoculars, I thought the bird looked different, because of its flight. I put my binoculars on it while it was still flying, and I noticed flashes of white. It landed in a tree, but it was not close. I could see its side profile, however, and it definitely had a long tail. After a few minutes, it flew to another tree, putting it even further away from me. It then flew back to the east and went low and disappeared from my view.

Oak Openings walk - On Monday of this week, March 10, I took a 90 minute walk at OO in the woods and fields along Jeffers road. I parked by some run-down house and made my way to a cross-country ski trail that was real nice. It winded its way through a pine forest. The trail contained several little ups and downs due to the sand dunes. I started around 11:00 A.M., and the temperature was about 20. I figured it would be one final wintertime-style walk.

The high temp last Saturday was 47. It raineed that afternoon and evening. After the cold front moved through Saturday night, the temperatures plunged to the single digits by sunrise on Sunday. The water on the sidewalks and roads froze almost instantly it seemed. The 2-4 inches of wet snow on the ground froze solid and felt like walking on concrete. Walking at Oak Openings was easy, because there was no give in the snow.

I ran into a group of Chickadees and Titmice in the pines, so I started pishing. They responded with their mobbing calls and got closer to me. I was hoping something else might fly in. A Golden-crowned Kinglet did make an appearance, I think. I spotted a small bird that was hovering while picking something from the pine limb. The problem was the sun behind a cloud was behind the bird, so I only saw dark. He only stayed for a moment.

Not much else birdwise, except for the regulars. The walk was more for fun, enjoying the winter weather, which is ending. 55-60 degree temps are expected this weekend. There's still an inch or two of snow around, but there are bare spots in some areas.

Saturday's hawk watch - All of my scheduled hawk watch days are from the tower at Magee Marsh. At 9:00 A.M., there was a heavy overcast. The winds were from the south all morning at 5-8 mph. The temperature at the start was in the mid 30's, warming to the low 40's by Noon. As to migrating raptors, I counted 10 Red-tailed Hawks and two Red-shouldered Hawks. At least there was some movement. The birds were low, with some appearing to have just lifted near the tower. They were struggling for thermals. The marsh is still frozen, and more imporantly, there's still two to three inches of snow covering the ground. Other birds seen from the tower: a Canadian Goose sitting in one of the nesting platforms next to one of the ponds near the tower, Common Grackles moving, a Brown Creeper working the trees next to the tower, a flock of around 500 Canadian Geese flew east to west a little north of the tower, with two Snow Geese in the front, eight Red-headeded Ducks, a Scaup, and a Ring-necked Duck were all in the tiny open water area in the pond near the nature center, a bunch of geese were also in and around this water opening, which is kept open by a pump. I stayed for a little while past Noon, but the sky clouded up, and there was no more movement, so I left.

The high temperature in Toledo on Saturday was 47. This morning's low was in the single digits. It was 18 below zero this morning in Grayling, Michigan and minus 12 in Traverse City. On the 11 P.M. weather last night, it was 4 degrees above zero in Traverse City and 60 in Lexington, KY. Today, it's been mostly sunny and windy, with high temps 20-25. The low temp tomorrow morning is expected to be around five above. The high temps forecasted through Thursday are supposed to be 30-40. But then the crack in winter begings. High temps on Friday through Sunday are supposed to be 50-60.

First hawk watch for 2003 - From the tower at Magee Marsh. It was a nice morning weatherwise, but there was not much raptor movement. At 9:00 A.M. it was 32 F, and it warmed to around 40 by Noon. The winds were from the S-Sw at 5-12 mph. The cloud cover was 60% at the start and 10% by Noon. Most of the cloud cover was high cirrus, but some alto-cumulus covered the sun for a short while. I logged only one migrating raptor: a Red-tailed Hawk. There were two or three other local RTHAs. There were a couple local Bald Eagles. I counted about 100 migrating Crows and a half dozen migrating Robins. When it's a slow raptor day, we resort to counting Crows, Robins, Blue Jays, and N. Flickers. Flickers and Jays are more common in April. The BSBO asked us to count these other four non-raptor migrating species, but it's not mandatory. When it's a busy raptor day, these other birds don't get noticed. A couple years ago when it was a bad raptor day, it was a good N. Flicker morning, as one after another moved through at a consistent pace.

Other observations of note this morning: I saw a Great Blue Heron, heard Killdeers several times, heard several N. Cardinals and Song Sparrows singing during the first hour, a Chickadee sang, House Finches were singing, some Red-winged Blackbirds were migrating through, a House Sparrow carried white, fuzzy material into a nesting box. Sings of spring. One of the local Bald Eagles was an immature, flying at tree-top height over the nature center's parking lot. It got the Canadian Geese excited. The marsh was, of course, frozen and snow covered. I saw nothing but ice on Lake Erie. It's an interesting picture. There are a couple of pumps that keep small areas of open water by the nature center, and this attracted a lot of Geese, but no other water fowl.

A regular BSBO hawk watcher was working the beach while I was on the tower, He had two migrants: a Cooper's Hawk, and a Northern Goshawk, which is an excellent sighting. He came up to the tower at Noon, to work the afternoon shift for the tower, which is our main site. We talked for an hour, and then I left at 1:00 P.M. It was a sunny day, and I didn't use sunscreen, so my face is a little toasty. I keep sunscreen in the glove box, so there's no excuse. I should know better. There was a lot of glare due to the snow and ice on the ground. Even thought there was little raptor movement, it was nice being out there again. In a couple of months, the place will be crawling with people tracking down warblers.

My BSBO hawk watch schedule - All shifts are 9:00 A.M. to 12 Noon at the Magee Marsh tower.
March:
Tuesdays: 4th, 11th, and 18th
Saturdays: 8th, 15th, and 29th

April:
Tuesdays: 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th

Oak Openings last Saturday - Not an official birding day, but a family afternoon. The three of us went to OO in mid-afternoon on Saturday. It's nice that it doesn't get dark until 6:30 or so. Anyway, we first visited the Windows on the Wildlife building and watched the birds feeding for a while. The usuals were present along with an American Tree Sparrow. Then we walked the red trail through the woods and along the dunes. It took us over an hour, since we were all throwing a lot of snowballs at each other and at the trees. The weather was comfortable with calm winds, overcast skies, and temps in the mid 30's, which made for easy packing snow. It was a fun walk with a lot of laughs, and we only encountered other humans on the trail just once. We would pick out a tree and try to hit it with a snowball. We all had to hit it in order to move on. We stopped by the dunes so CP could rest on the bench for bit and really wore our arms out on some trees. There was around five inches of snow on the ground. Some of the low bushes were still covered. It looked nice, and I was kicking myself for not bringing a camera to record the winter wonderland and the snowball throwing. After the trail walk, we visited the Windows building again. Since it was late in the day, the Cardinals were actively feeding. As usual, the last birds at the feeders were Juncos and especially the Cardinals. We counted around 15 Cardinals. After OO, we stopped at Waterville to eat dinner at Koral Hamburg. A most enjoyable afternoon.

Birds in the backyard - On Saturday, the White-throated Sparrow made another appearance, although I've not seen it the past couple of days. Yesterday, the Flickers returned. Both were at the feeders at the same time. That was the first time I saw them since last Monday, but I didn't see them today. They are obviously not feeding here as much anymore. Also late yesterday, there were 12-15 Juncos in the yard. Their numbers vary. Most of the time, there are from 1 to 5 Juncos in the yard, but there are those bursts where more than 10 show up.

Still major winter weather around. Depending upon where in the yard I stand, there's four to six inches of snow on the ground. The low temperature this morning in the area was zero to five below. I just heard on the radio of a possible winter storm for our area on Wednesday. Temperatures this week are expected to fluctuate with some days above freezing and some below. I don't think there's much life left in this winter. Sure, we'll have some cold spots in March. We always do. But I wouldn't be surprised if we pop a 50 degree day next week. Need to run a nerdy weather pool on when the first official 50 degree day occurs. When it warmed up last month, I don't think we hit 50. It was in the 40's, I do know that. I got my first hawk watch duty tomorrow morning. It's suppose to warm up during the night, which must mean southerly winds, so who knows. I'll need to check my main weather map for wind directions and speed.

Backyard updates - The eight inches of snow we received last Saturday night continues to slowly melt even though today will be the first day of the week it's been above freezing. There's probably about five inches left. This is the sixth day in a row of sunshine, which is rare around here in the wintertime. I saw the White-throated Sparrow again on Wednesday, marking the fifth day in a row I've seen that bird in the yard. Interesting, I've not seen the Northern Flickers since Monday, and for the last six weeks, the Flickers have been among the most active feeders.

At home and Oak Openings walk - I saw the White-throated Sparrow again today in the backyard. That makes four days in a row that he's been around. I continue to scatter millet and some cracked corn in the driveway. It snowed an inch yesterday evening, and that covered the food. The Juncos dig through the snow, using the same kicking or scratching motion the White-throated Sparrows and other sparrows use. The old world bird, the House Sparrow, does not do this kicking motion. The suet is still busy with woodpeckers: Hairy, Downey, Red-bellied, and N. Flicker.

I went to Oak Openings this morning, That's the first time I've been there, since the Christmas bird count on December 29. I didn't bird, just walked around. I parked at Mallard Lake and visited the Windows on Wildlife building first. That's a great spot. I could have sat there for hours, relaxed, munched on some food, read a book, and watched the birds. They have big windows providing a look at several different kinds of bird feeders. The usual wintertime backyard birds were there in good numbers. I didn't see anything rare or unusual at the feeders, No winter finches from up north.

I then walked on some trails through the woods for about two hours. I didn't take my binoculars. I just wanted to walk through the snow, which was eight inches deep. It makes for a good workout as my calves were getting blasted. Snowshoes, it would have been a good time to try them. The bushes and small trees were covered in snow. It's rare for us to have this much snow on the ground, so I figured I better get out and enjoy it. The snowy scenes made for good pictures. I walked on some nice trails. Didn't run into anyone else. Cardinals and Titmice sang.

Snow and birds - The five inches of snow we received last Monday disappeared by the end of the week due to warm temperatures in the 40's and rain on Friday night and Saturday. The rain on Saturday changed to snow around 4:00 P.M. The snow ended by 2:00 A.M., but not after accumulating around seven inches. The strong winds during the night caused the snow in the backyard to be a little wavy from drifting. I measured the snow this morning, and the depths varied from 6-10 inches. It looks like more than the six inch snowfall on Chistmas day. Yesterday afternoon after the snow started, around a dozen Juncos were in the yard along with a lone White-throated Sparrow. I saw the WTSP again this morning. I cleared an area in the driveway, so I could put down some millet and cracked corn, and the birds seemed happy.

Squirrels - At one point yesterday, I looked out into the backyard, and there were 11 squirrels on the ground. That's the most I've seen in the yard. Maybe there's a little too much seed on the ground.

Nothern Flickers - This morning, both of the male N. Flickers that have been frequent feeder visitors for the past several weeks were both on the suet feeder at the same time. I've seen a Flicker on the suet feeder with a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the same time on a few occasions. I use the wooden-framed suet feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited, which contains a wooden board that hangs down from the feeder, so the bigger woodpeckers have a place to brace their tail against. Normally when the Flickers come to the feeders at the same time, one is on the sunflower hopper and the other on the suet feeder. This was nice to see this morning, but, of course, I did not have a camera nearby.

Hawk Watch 2003 - I attended the BSBO hawk watch seminar last Sunday afternoon. It's a good refresher. There were a few new people, but overall, not a big turnout. I signed up for six mornings in March and five in April. In March, I am scheduled for three Tuesdays and three Saturdays. In April, the five days are all Tuesdays. They are all the 9-12 session.

Finally, some snow - Yesterday we received about six inches of snow. While outside shoveling and feeding the birds, I heard two Northern Cardinals singing, and I heard an American Robin making noises at the back of the yard. The two Northern Flickers are still among the most active bird visitors, feeding on the suet and the oilers in the hopper. A Blue Jay showed up yesterday at the feeder. The Blue Jays have not been frequent visitors. I've not seen a Chickadee nor a Titmouse since last summer. No crows are around our hood either. This winter is much colder and snowier than last year's, which was one of the warmest on record. So that may have something to do with the abscence of some birds. West Nile, of course, will be a possible reason given by some. Besides some of the undesirable birds, the most numerous birds at our feeders this winter have been Northern Cardinals, Juncos, and woodpeckers. The woodpeckers include the Flickers, Red-bellied, Hairy, and Downey. A pair of White-breasted Nuthatches are common visitors also. Last Tuesday evening around 6:00 P.M., there were 10 Cardinals in the yard. That's the most I've seen for that bird.

We did have a new visitor to the feeder today, or at least a bird I've not seen in a couple of months: a Carolina Wren. He was on the sunflower hopper. Since we didn't have any Goldfinches last winter and none this past November, I removed the thistle feeder in December.

Well, hopefully I'll keep this more up-to-date. I was going to setup a birding blog with Greymatter on a free Hypermart account and back-date entries since January first, but I don't feel like going back and doing that now. I'll just start from here.