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January 2000

Rob Harlan and Sandy Wagner identified a Ross's Goose along Stange Rd. (off Rt. 2) adjacent to Ottawa N.W.R. in Ottawa Co. yesterday.

Dave St. John located an adult (male?) Northern Goshawk at Woodlawn Cemetery yesterday. Dave also had a half-dozen blue morph Snow Geese along Stange Rd. Elsewhere in Lucas County on Friday, Gerry Klug reports both a Northern Mockingbird and a Northern Shrike at Pearson Metropark. Apparently present since 18 December, the shrike has been observed from the "Windows on Wildlife" feeders where it recently was seen nailing a House Sparrow. On Thursday, Dave St. John had two female Evening Grosbeaks at Zaleski State Forest (Athens Co.). After a modest fall flight this species has gone underground for the winter. Apart from 4 birds at Mohican State Park 29 December (Bill & Ann Toneff), I am unaware of any reports from traditional wintering sites.

A pair of Green-winged Teal, and a female Ruddy Duck were at Orleans Park (Wood Co.) yesterday - Mike Sweeney. Birds at Ashtabula Power Plant yesterday included an adult Glaucous Gull, a Snow Goose, and a Ring-necked Duck - John Pogacnik.

After receiving additional information, there is little doubt of the identity of the Whooper Swan in Cincinnati. The question of origin remains.

Recently (this week?), Joe Faber identified an immature Golden Eagle along Rt. 33 near Stewart

The herons (Great Blue & Black-crowned Night) remain on Riley Creek just below the effluent of the water treatment plant in Bluffton - Linda Houshower. Another 18 Great Blue Herons remain on the Scioto at Griggs Dam (Columbus) yesterday - August Froehlich on top of the 25 at Greenlawn Ave. Dam (Columbus)- Adam Goloda. Other waterbirds of interest at Griggs Dam were 45 Hooded Mergansers, 9 Common Goldeneye, and 32 Ring-necked Duck.

At Independence Dam yesterday highlights included 7 Mute Swans, 3 Tundra Swans, 2 local Bald Eagles, 4 Hooded Mergansers, 12 American Coot, and 8 Gadwall - John Yochum.

The waterfowl mix at Castalia Thursday included one each of Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Canvasback, - Bill Whan, with 3 American Coot and a female Common Goldeneye yesterday - V.W.F.III. With 2 Mute Swans the previous day that's 16 species of waterfowl the past two days on the pond.

At Bayshore Power Plant (Lucas Co.) Thur. Bill and Bob added a Snow Goose. A Sandhill Crane flying over the ice offered a surreal mid-winter sight. Perhaps a bird from the flock attempting to winter at Long Point, Ontario. Another 40 Great Blue Herons were persisting through the sub-zero temps of recent nights.

Orleans Park (Wood Co. on the Maumee R.): Yesterday held a 19th species of duck for the northwest with a Green-winged Teal present. Several Killdeer persist at this site while an American Pipit along the shore right at the parking lot was definitely unexpected. As of last weekend, Sandusky Bay Bridge was still home to 2 Double-crested Cormorants and several Great Blue Herons - Brad and Becky Cullen.

Funk W.A. (Wayne Co.) had 6 Rough-legged Hawks and 14 Snow Geese on the 19th - Su Snyder.

The songbird story has become more interesting with the recent cold snap driving birds into feeders. Common Redpoll made themselves known at several new sites the past two weeks with birds at a Shaker Hts (Cuyahoga Co.) feeder, a pair all this week at Susan Carty's feeder in Tiffin, and after I suggested to Dave St. John that he should be alert to there presence in the southeast, he located an individual at the feeders of Lake Hope State Park in Vinton Co. on Monday.Sixteen birds remain at Lakewood Cemetery (Cuyahoga Co.) - Paula Lozano. They can be anticipated anywhere in the state right now.Carolina Wrens are beating the cold by visiting suet feeders in Cuyahoga and Seneca Counties. Susan's feeder has been active with 23 species, including the three regular blackbirds. Six Eastern Bluebirds were coming to a feeder in Bluffton. American Tree Sparrows were also driven into feeders across the north. American Robins, as usual, persist from Resthaven W.A. in Erie County to the O.U. campus in Athens. Fruitful ornamentals are to credit as much as anything. Waxwings have been mentioned more often recent. Gordon Demars reports 200 on the "west side of the square in Westfield Center [southern Medina county]". Such concentrations deserve close scrutiny for Bohemians this season. Another 200 waxwings were reported in Perry County by Joe Faulkner.

Away from feeders, some curiousities include an Eastern Phoebe still at Greendale Wetlands (Hocking Co. near Perry Co. line) through Sunday - Bob Scott Placier. Bob also reports a Hermit Thrush there. Adjacent Perry County has also been hosting an Eastern Phoebe trhough last weekend - Joe Faulkner. Despite the ease with which the species is located through December in the south, successful overwintering has been rarely documented. Northen Shrikes continue at the Metzger Marsh, Maumee Bay S.P., and Magee Marsh sites through last weekend - fide Greg Links. Greg adds a 4th bird to the northwest with a bird at the west end of Toledo Express Airport on the 22nd. Another shrike identified as a Northern was reported from Woodbury W.A. last Sunday. Steve and Chad Miller further noted 200 American Tree Sparrows, 150 American Goldfinches, and 3 Rough-legged Hawks. Beach City W.A. held at least 250 American Tree Sparrows on the 19th - Paul Rosenberry. Bob Royse estimates American Tree Sparrow numbers at Killdeer Plains W.A. approach 500. Bob had a wintering Savannah Sparrow in Pickaway county on the 24th while two days earlier Dave St. John found an individual at The Wilds (Muskingum Co.). Fox Sparrows, after a very strong showing in the fall, have come to the fore of birder consciousness recently. Joe Faulkner reported a bird in Perry County on the 24th, while the same day saw a bird at Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus - Richard Cressman. Still there on the 26th - Dan Sanders. Three birds were at Gilmore Ponds (Butler Co.) on the 15th - Mike Busam.

Snow and ice have driven flocks of larks, longspurs, and buntings to the sides of roads in the west. All three species are now regularly encountered along roads throughout the northwest. Yesterday a mixed flock of 250 birds along Rt 101 where it crosses the Turnpike just south of Castalia, held about 90 Snow Bunting with the remainder Horned Larks - V.W.F.III.Camp Rd. also in Erie Co. had 30 Lapland Longspur last weekend - Greg Links. Roads east of C.J. Brown Reservoir in Clark Co. on the 22nd proved fruitful for Doug Overacker, locating several Lapland Longspurs and a single Snow Bunting.A few of each species could be found in Ross County last Sunday - Joe McMahon.

Swan identification in the Cincinnati region has become very interesting in recent days. On the 22nd a swan identified as a Whooper Swan has been present on private property in the area. Distant views from the roadside have not made identification a certainty among all observers. What is clear, is the bird possesses a great amount of yellow on the bill, especially in side-by-side comparison with an apparent Tundra Swan.- m.obs. With a recently reported Trumpeter, the resident Mutes and the wintering Black Swans on the river (up to 6 now) and the tri-state area seems to hold a certain charm for this group of waterfowl.

A Northern Goshawk was first tentatively reported in Tiffin around 1 January by Jim Coffman. Confirmation came the 16th with a soaring bird seen over downtown by Tom Bartlett. From the 17th - 20 the bird made its presence known in the backyard of Zac Baker - only a half mile from the original sightings.

This past weekend, Dave St. John reports an immature Golden Eagle from The Wilds.

The Meldahl Dam (Ohio River) Black-legged Kittiwake remains as of the 22nd - Darlena Graham.

Dan Sanders reported a Ross's Goose on the 19th from a borrow pit.

In the dead-of-winter, Ohio birders have been very successful of late with some very interesting sightings. On the 16th, Zac baker found a remarkable 6 Turkey Vulture in the Fremont area. More expected was another Turkey Vulture seen just west of Newark also on the 16th. - Jen Denison. Black Vulture have not been that hard to come by this season. If you wish to treat yourself to quite a sight, visit the lodge at Old Man's Cave (Hocking Co.). Apparently, a number of birds roost right on the roof with a recent tally of 64! - fide Dave St. John. But hurry, local officials are a bit put out by the birds need to rip up the roofing.

A Northern Saw-whet Owl was found at Sheldon Marsh SNP (Erie Co.) on the 21st by Mary Warren and Sheryl Young. On the 15th a bird was located at Gilmore Ponds (Butler Co.) - Mike Busam. There have been up to 6 Long-eared Owls at Killdeer Plains W.A. as recently as the 22nd. Short-eared Owls made appearances across Ohio recently. On the 22nd 2 were along RT 2 near Krause Rd. (Ottawa Co.). The next day two were along the causeway at Magee Marsh W.A. (fide Greg Links) while another pair were in Geauga Co. Before that birds appeared at two Seneca County sites the previous weekend (V.W.F.III & Paula Bartlett). Bob Royse reports a half-dozen at Killdeer Plains W.A. for yesterday.

On the 23rd a Glaucous Gull was present on the Maumee River (Lucas Co.) - Steve Stockford. That day also saw reports of Glaucous, Thayer's, and Iceland Gull from Eastlake Power Plant (Lake Co.) - Nick Barber et al.. A Bonaparte's Gull was perhaps least expected there. Just a bit further east that day at Lakeshore Metropark, John Pogacnik reported Glaucous Gull and Pomarine Jaeger. Other non-passerine highlights of the past 10 days include an Oldsquaw at Bayshore Power Plant (Lucas Co.) 18-23rd; watch for it from the Bayshore Supper Club next door - Greg Links et al.. Orleans Park in Perrysburg (Wood Co.) on the 24th hosted 5 Killdeer and a Green-winged Teal - Toledo RBA. Three more Killdeer were at Beach City W.A. the 19th - Paul Rosenberry. Common Loons set down briefly in Bluffton (Allen Co.) mid-week last week (Linda Houshower), while another made an appearance at Dillon Reservoir (Muskingum Co.) on the 16th. Another excellent find by Linda were two immature Black-crowned Night-Herons with 3 Great Blue Herons in Bluffton on the 22nd. Winter records away from the Ohio River or Lake Erie are exceptional.

To round out the non-passerine picture here are Sean Zadar's highlights for the lakeshore last Sunday.

400 Common Goldeneye - Rocky River (Cuyahoga Co.)
6 Ring-necked Duck, 1st w. Lesser Black-backed Gull, 70 Redhead - Avon (Lorain Co.)
Northern Pintail, Hooded Merganser, 4 Ruddy Duck, 14 American Coot, and a 1st W. Glaucous Gull - Lorain Harbor (Lorain Co.)

. . . while inland the spillway at Hoover Reservoir (Franklin Co.) also on Sunday produced 48 Hooded Merganser, 10 Northern Shoveler, 10 American Wigeon - Rob Thorn; an expected species mix but in very good numbers for mid-winter for central Ohio. Elsewhere in Franklin Co. on Tuesday, August Froehlich discovered another good waterfowl concentration below Griggs Dam with 15 Great Blue Herons, 3 Common Goldeneyes, 34 Ring-necked Ducks, and 23 Hooded Mergansers being of particular interest. For those who may be wondering the lone male Hooded Merganser in residence at Castalia Pond through December was seen again last weekend - Ken Baker. Other waterfowl at Castalia last week included :

Canada Goose - 1250
Mallard - 7500-8000
American Black Duck - 1400
American Wigeon - up to 130 (Mon.)
Northern Shoveler - up to 124 (Mon.)
Northern Pintail - up to 7
Gadwall - 77 in the vicinity
Lesser Scaup - 1 m.
Bufflehead - 11
American Coot -

Today a male Ring-necked Duck was amongst the throng as were two Mute Swans - V.W.F.III.

Lots of passerine stuff to catch up on later - V.W.F.III

I very much appreciate the feedback regarding birds previously mentioned on this page. As of Saturday the Maumee Bay S.P. Northern Shrike and the Magee Marsh causeway bird were still in residence - Steve Stockford. The Fairport Harbor bird was still present on the 8th - Haans Petruschke. A new report of this species comes from Big Island W.A. (Marion Co.) along Rt. 95 (the "Wheatear spot" south side); also for Saturday - Dave St. John. I understand PA has had 65 thus far for the season. If you have not yet found one in your local haunt by all means check again. And if there was ever a year to pick out one south to central Ohio (e.g. Buck Creek S.P., Pickerington Ponds) this would be the year. Back on the 2nd, just down the road (Rt. 95) a couple of miles west toward LaRue, Kevin Longberry and Cam Lee had a Turkey Vulture. I am not aware of a previous mid-winter record for the central-west. Steve also had 30 Snow Geese at Ottawa N.W.R. on Saturday. On the 5th, four birds were found on the Wilmington City reservoirs - Ed Roush.

Yesterday from Lakeshore MP, John Pogacnik reports Lesser Black-backed Gull, Thayer's Gull, 2 Glaucous Gull, and a female Surf Scoter. The day before also saw a 1st year Iceland Gull fly by. For 4 years? now, Lake Buckhorn (southern Holmes Co. - private) has seen a winter roost of Black Vulture. Saturday's count of 20 matches as many as has been reported in the past - Terry Sponseller.A waterbird survey of South Bass Island yesterday by Stan Wulkowicz detected a few birds of interest. A Double-crested Cormnorant and 4 Bonaparte's Gulls remain, as do a surprising 34 Ring-necked Ducks. The 516 Common Goldeneyes illustrate the importance of the region to the wintering of that species in the Western Basin. Back on the 6th a White-winged Crossbill appeared at an Enon (Clark Co.) - fide Doug Overacker. A few White-winged Crossbills continue at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, while both persist in the southwest. Different parties reported up to three Reds and two White-winged Crossbills at Spring Grove Cemetery (Cincinnati) yesterday - David Styer / Jack & Jay Stenger. At Hamilton Riverside, Mike Busam had 4 Common Snipe and 4 Killdeer. The Miami-Whitewater wetlands harbored an Eastern Phoebe Saturday - Neill Cade. From Killdeer Plains W.A. on the 13th comes a report of 18 Northern Harriers and 25 Snow Buntings - Jonathan Ruidisueli. Bob Royse has grown accustomed to the sight of overwintering Ruby-crowned Kinglets along the Scioto R. in Columbus with a bird present on the 11th. With few records of overwintering north of the Ohio River counties, it remains an important observation.

Few reports thus far in 2000. Continued Northern Shrike abundance is evidenced by reports from Lake Rockwell last Sunday (a local first) - Larry Rosche. The same day just to the north in Geauga County near The Rookery, Jim Heflich discovered another. The Magee Marsh causeway bird continues to be cooperative for birders through last weekend. I gather there has been a proliferation of Merlin reports on Christmas Bird Counts throughout Ohio and adjacent states. Not normally considered a part of the winter scene in the midwest, the species continues to insinuate itself onto our winter checklists. Mid-winter Turkey Vultures in the northeast are still noteworthy. On the 8th, a bird was flying over the Painesville Dump (Lake Co.) - John Pogacnik while not too far away in eastern Trumbull County near Hubbard the same day, Dave and Judy Hochadel noted a pair from the Turnpike.

As I shall be teaching again this semester at Heideberg College this page will be updated about once a week for a while. I would like to draw your attention to the Excel file below. This is a raw data file by species by date of those records summarized from the mass of information supplied by you the field observer. I have been doing this for most every season since this page began. However, I now will be making a conscious effort to make this file available by the deadline date for my print magazine Ohio Birds & Natural History. That being 10 January for the fall season, here are the 2000 records that I view best represent the species listed for the season. From these records, I produce a print summary and analyses within the pages of Ohio Birds & Natural History. But here you get to preview the record, prevail upon me to add material you feel I may have overlooked, or otherwise correct dates, places, names, before these errors find there way into print.Initially, I will provide these as Excel 97 PC files but expect to offer them in earlier Excel versions and as PDF files. Upon opening the file, you will see Page 1 covers Non-Passerines while Page 2 covers passerines. The record is not necessarily comprehensive, merely what I have completed by this date. However, I do feel I have reviewed about 85% of the records available to me at this point for Fall 99. I am frequently asked of what records am I most interested in receiving whether for this column or for Ohio Birds & Natural History. The answer is here in this file and for other seasons as I make those files available. With publication of the print issue, I expect to have the final copy posted to a new downloads section which will be a one-stop library of data files available at Ohio Birder Resources. - V.W.F.III.

Fall 1999 Bird Record - 250K file

maintained by Victor W. Fazio III / last modified 26 Nov. 2000