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January 1999

The East Fork State Park Western Grebe was seen this afternoon in the usual spot by the beach - Tom Bartlett et al.. Tom also located the Little Gull and had 2 Common Loons and several Killdeer.

Three Northern Shrike were located again today at Killdeer Plains W.A. These birds and other reports I have received are so spreadout (occupying about 10 square miles) that I suspect the actual number of shrikes to be 4-5 birds. - V.W.F.III. The number of Long-eared Owls grows to 5 recapitulating the pattern observed these past two decades whereby a gradual increase is observed peaking in late February and early March. Those that bemoan an apparent trend toward fewer and fewer owls may wish to re-examine the dates upon which they have previously made observations lest they compare memories of late season observations with subsequent early season observations. Readers are reminded that in this column and the pages of The Ohio Cardinal two years ago no more than a single Long-eared Owl was reported all season. It took the advent spring for multiple birds to appear. - V.W.F.III

The East Fork State Park Western Grebe was seen this morning in the usual spot by the beach - Larry Gara. Larry also located the Little Gull and Common Loon.

Dave St.John managed to find all three Northern Shrikes today at Killdeer Plains W.A. Yesterday, Dave's raptor survey of the Ohio Power lands near The Wilds yielded 22 Rough-legged Hawks, 31 Northern Harriers, and 54 Short-eared Owls. Jason Larson noted 4 Killdeer, 3 Mute Swan, and 3 Ring-necked Duck at Salt Fork Lake yesterday.

The East Fork State Park Western Grebe remained through 6:00 pm today - Erich Baumgardner & Jerry Lippert. Erich further reports a Ruddy Duck and Common Loon on the lake. The Little Gull was also seen this afternoon - Mike Busam.

The East Fork State Park Western Grebe and Little Gull remain through noon today - Hank Armstrong, Jim Fry

Our second spring-like day in a week had birds on the move. Waterfowl are staging at Big Island W.A. where 1200 Mallard, 4 Northern Pintail, 600 Canada and 12 Snow Geese had gathered. The Snows (4 ad. white, 8 adult blue) were at the middle diked marsh off LaRue-Prospect Rd. At Killdeer Plains W.A. the numbers were roughly 1700 Canada Geese, 1100 Mallard, 2 Northern Pintail, and 100 American Black. - V.W.F.III. Four Mute Swans and 2 Pied-billed Grebes were along the Tuscarawas River near Tuscarawas on Monday - Paul Rosenberry. Two more Pied-billed Grebes were identified at Wright-Patterson AFB last weekend - Lisa Krafft. While not unexpected in the face of this season's observations it is still quite remarkable to report Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings from the unglaciated Ohio River counties. Both species were discovered in the Glen Ebon area of Athens County - Ron Cass, Dave St.John, Bob Scott Placier back on the 10th. Some interesting birds from Magee Marsh on the 17th included a Northern Shrike, and three Ruby-crowned Kinglets - Hank and Sally Hiris. On the 19th, Ben Winger discovered a Purple Sandpiper at Sims Park (Cuyahoga Co.) but could not relocate it on the 22nd. A Red-throated Loon and 2 Common Loons were reported from Caesar Creek S.P. on the 18th with one of the Common Loons remaining to the 23rd - Dayton RBA. More old news - Jay Lehman reports a Palm Warbler from his place of work (Hamilton Co.?) for 22 Dec. More remarkable is the recent estimate of 100 Ring-necked Duck by Jay for the 25th January at the same location. Finally, a possible immature Northern Goshawk was seen perched at North Woodland and Lee Rd (in the Cleveland Hts portion of the Shaker Lakes park district, Cuyahoga Co.). The observer and I are looking for verification. - William Fissell.

The East Fork State Park Western Grebe was observed by many into the afternoon today. At 12:30 the gathered crowd was treated to a return performance by the 1st year Little Gull which proceeded to alight on the water for a 45 minute viewing. - David Brinkman, Karl Maslowski, Ned Keller, et al.

The Castalia pond Surf Scoter was still present as of Thursday - Adam Blank but very little was present today although coot numbers increased to 24. - V.W.F.III. The Kelleys Island census was better than expected with a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk representing a local highlight. American Robins and Yellow-rumped Warblers were still numerous and 154 Great Black-backed Gulls were locally a very high number. Ice leads around the island were being filled in by ducks as we watched including Buffleheads, Common Merganser, Common Goldeneye, and 4 White-winged Scoter. - Tom Bartlett and Vic Fazio III. Much of the Sandusky Bay has opened up offering good viewing opportunities for ducks that may drop in the gaps. A driveby estimate of goldeneye put the number at about 200.

The Western Grebe was viewed closely yesterday morning just off the beach at East Fork Lake State Park - Jason Larson et al..

Raptors: The concentration of Northern Harrier at Fireside CRP lands in northeast Seneca Co.has increased Saturday to 28 birds. Three Rough-leggeds but only two Short-eared Owls were in attendance - Tom Bartlett. New Rough-legged Hawks have recently been mentioned from Williams Co. (near Bryan the 15th) - John Yochum and Ross Co. on Wed. - Joe McMahon et al.. Wednesday also saw Merlins at Painesville - John Pogacnik and Sims Park - Joe Hammond. Two Merlins were at the corner of Kemmery and Banning Rds in Bath (Summit Co. ); a known winter roost site for the species. - Larry Rosche. Odd Short-eared Owls have appeared away from the usual grassland haunts. On the 16th, Craig Rieker spied a bird over urban Parma (Cuyahoga Co.) being chased by a crow. The next day Nick Barber flushed a bird from the breakwall at Headlands Beach State Park. A Turkey Vulture at Caesar Creek State Park on the 16th - John Rakestraw was a little farther north than usual as was yesterday's bird near New Concord - Jason Larson. More unexpected were three birds on the 17th at a meat packing plant in Bristolville (Ashtabula Co.) - John Pogacnik. The seasons Snowy Owl was reported the 17th from Conneaut harbor - John Pogacnik.

Songbirds : The New Concord Pine Warbler is still in attendance of a feeder there as of Friday - fide Jason Larson. Visitors to Killdeer Plains W.A. last weekend were treated to a very high concentration of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs, the consensus being about 5000 birds with longspurs slightly outnumbering larks - Ned Keller, Doreene Linzell et al.. A small number of Snow Buntings were also present while on the 18th an estimated 1000 American Tree Sparrow occupied the area - Bob Royse. Snow Buntings were in evidence elsewhere with a remarkable 1200 or so in Preble Co. on the 17th - Jack and Jay Stenger. Another 130 near Clyde were also notable - Bill Heck as were 300 near Middlefield (Geauga Co.) last Sunday - Larry Rosche. Larry further reported another lark/longspur concentration of 1000 birds near Mantua (Portage Co.) that day. Three Northern Shrikes continue at Grand River W.A. through last weekend - John Pogacnik while two birds remain at Killdeer Plains W.A. - Doreene Linzell, Zac Baker. While there were 2 fall reports, Friday's Evening Grosbeak at Paint Creek Lake was the first mentioned for the winter period - Joe McMahon.

Shorebirds : Among the birds of interest at Green Lawn Dam last Sunday was a Killdeer - Joe Hammond. On Friday John Pogacnik found one at the Ashtabula Mall. That morning I thought I heard a bird passing overhead here in Tiffin but only could locate grackles on the move. It took Zac Baker's watchful eye yesterday morning to detect 2 Killdeer moving with grackle over Tiffin on strong warm southwesterly winds. They may not have been the only species fooled by the weather - observers along the lakeshore should be mindful of muddy fields. Finally, an American Woodcock at a Knox Co. spring near Mt Vernon (Pleasant Twp) on the 14th beats them all - Howard Gratz.

Too late to mention it yesterday, a Surf Scoter was spotted at Rocky Fork Lake on Friday - Joe McMahon; still present yesterday along East Shore Drive. Joe had 5 Short-eared Owls there on Friday.

I would have to choose the busiest birding week thus far of the winter season to be out of town on business. Here's a summary from 75 bird reports emailed this week. The freeze of 13-14 Jan. did more than down a few grebes and loons (highlighted yesterday).

Gulls : At Farnsworth Park on the Maumee River (just west of Waterville, Lucas Co.) an assortment of gulls on the 18th included 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Glaucous Gull, and 1 Iceland Gull, and always good for a ID challenge, an albino Herring Gull - Tom Kemp. The next day a 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (5 ad, 1 3rd yr) were present -Bill Whan. At Lakeshore MP, on the 17th, gull flybys included 1 ad. Thayer's Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd yr), and 3 Glaucous Gull. - John Pogacnik. The 16-17th saw a remarkable selection of gulls on the Great Miami River in downtown Dayton. On a gravel bar, 1/2 mile N of the confluence of the Great Miami River and the Mad River was a 1st yr Glaucous Gull while at the confluence was a Great Black-backed Gull and 2 more 1st year Glaucous Gulls - David Dister. Another Glaucous Gull report comes from the Cuyahoga River on the 16th - Nick Barber. Fairport Harbor Tuesday held an adult Iceland Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull, and a Bonaparte's Gull - Vince Urbanski and John Pogacnik. Eastlake last Sunday had an adult Iceland Gull - Larry Rosche while Tuesday a Bonaparte's Gull was at Avon Lake - Bill Whan. Five Bonaparte's Gulls were present at Green Lawn Dam in Columbus on the 15th, and 12 were at East Fork Lake State Park yesterday. In addition to the Little Gull mentioned yesterday, another unconfirmed southern Ohio bird was reported from Albany (Athens Co.) last weekend - Paul Ploutz fide Scott Moody. I am unaware of a record for the unglaciated plateau in Ohio.

Ducks : A 1st winter male Harlequin Duck was confirmed last Sat on the Great Miami River in Sidney (Shelby Co.) - Charlotte Mathena and seen again on Sunday - Gene Stauffer. Another immature male/female Harlequin Duck was discovered on the 18th at Avon Lake - Jenny and Dave Brumfield. Eight Mute Swans visited Spring lakes Park in Greene County on Monday for what is believed to be a county first - John Rakestraw. The 16th saw 10 Mute Swan and an immature Tundra Swan at Headlands Beach S.P. - Nick Barber. Two Tundra Swan and a Mute Swan were at Caesar Creek S.P. the same day - John Rakestraw. Eleven Snow Geese were a surprise at Adams Lake S.P. (Adams Co.) on the 17th. - Pete Whan. Scoters took part in the grebe fallout with a White-winged Scoter turned into Columbus rehabbers last weekend - fide Joe Hammond. Might have seen it coming had we known about the 15th January aerial census by ODNR which revealed 20 birds in various ice leads from Avon Lake to Cleveland - Julie Shieldcastle. On Sunday, 5 Surf Scoters and 2 White-winged Scoters were detected at Eastlake - Larry Rosche with three of the Surf Scoters remaining on Wed. The White-winged Scoter flock was augmented by the Columbus bird upon its release there - Joe Hammond. Another White-winged Scoter was off Sims Park (Cuyahoga Co.) that day - Joe Hammond. A rare visitor to the waters of Castalia, a Surf Scoter was a visitor there on Sunday - Rob Harlan. The weekend at Castalia witnessed the greatest diversity of waterfowl in mid-winter I have known. While reporters thought them the common run of waterfowl, 38 Redhead in any single location is high for mid-winter in Ohio. Also the 2 Greater Scaup was a new species for me at this location (in my 16th winter since 1978 visiting the spring). A Wood Duck, a Red-breasted Merganser, 11 Canvasback, 20 Bufflehead, 2 Ring-necked Duck, 2 Lesser Scaup, plus Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, and Northern Pintail, American Wigeon etc. made for a interesting mix for a single location even if it is Castalia Pond. An Oldsquaw was unexpected at Green Lawn Dam on the 15th - Robert Evans. And so was being joined by a second individual116-18th - Richard Cressman, Joe Hammond, Jeff Grabmeier. Waterfowl at Green Lawn Dam included 2 Ring-necked Duck on Friday - Robert Evans, 30+ Hooded Mergansers on Saturday (Richard Cressman), and up to 15 Common Goldeneyes - Jason Larson for some good mid-winter tallies inland. Along the Mad River in Springfield (Clark Co.) Doug Overacker further noted 8 Ring-neck Ducks, and a Green-winged Teal last Sunday.

Loons, Grebes, Heons, Cranes : I will post a summary of the Horned Grebe numbers at a later date. Suffice it to say from the southwest to the northeast birds hit the skids and found themselves at rehab centers across the state and east to the Pittsburg area - fide Scott Kinzey. At least 30 birds were picked up, with that many more noted on area waters. A third Red-necked Grebe has come to light, a juvenile bird at Ashtabula Power Plant yesterday - John Pogacnik. The two at Defiance were still present on Tuesday - Bill Whan. Pied-billed Grebes should not be overlooked at this season just because of their familiarity. Yesterday's rediculous concentration of 40 birds at East Fork Lake was not alone with 10 birds reported from Green Lawn Ave. Dam 15-17th - Robert Evans, Jason Larson. Two more were found at Eastlake last Sunday -Nick Barber. In addition to the 2 Red-throated Loons, a Common Loon was subsequently brought in to Columbus rehabbers - fide Joe Hammond. I had thought any sensible Sandhill Crane had made its departure with the mass exodus of late December but Bill Bosstic caught 20 birds overhead flying south between Chilicothe and Richmondale on the 15th immediately following the storm. The mix of waterfowl at Castalia Pond last weekend included 21 American Coot, a good mid-winter tally anywhere in Ohio. A Double-crested Cormorant lingered at Eastlake last weekend - Nick Barber. A 22 December aerial survey detected 3 Great Egrets in Darby Marsh. This month's census revealed huge numbers of Great Blue Herons with 150 in Darby Marsh (Ottawa Co.) and 150 along the Huron River north of rt 2 (Erie Co.) - fide Julie Shieldcastle. The wintering flock of Black-crowned Night-Herons at Bayshore Power Plant numbered 29 on the 16th (18 adults) - David Dister.

Raptors, Songbirds, and Shorebirds - yes shorebirds - tomorrow

The Western Grebe was present 3-3:30 pm in the cove left of the beach where Hank Armstrong reported it this morning. While filming the bird a sharp keck-keck announced the sudden appearance of a 1st winter Little Gull which spent a couple of minutes circling above the grebe. The gull went missing for half an hour then reappeared about 100 meters off the beach heading toward the dam. Forty Pied-billed Grebes and 14 Horned Grebes were in attendance. Lest we get too nonchalant about reporting the more mundane grebes please note the calendar. I don't believe there is precedence for that number of Pied-billeds in January anywhere in Ohio.

A week ago I suggested the possibility of a grebe fallout involving Horned Grebes associated with the passage of an ice storm on the 13th/14th. This was based on the report of two birds brought in to rehabilitators in Ada - fide Robin Miller, and a half dozen birds below the dam at Green Lawn Ave. in Columbus - Richard Cressman. Subsequently, Horned Grebes have been reported across the state being turned in to rehabilitators as well as some notable concentrations on open waters of southern Ohio. And the fallout caught more than just Horned Grebes, including 2 Red-necked Grebes last Sunday in Defiance (at Power Dam upstream) - Doug and Micki Dunakin, 2 Red-throated Loons brought in to a Columbus facility, and an exceptional rarity for the state,a Western Grebe discovered on Wednesday by Hank Armstrong at East Fork Lake in Clermont Co. The bird has been seen by many observers through yesterday afternoon - Bill Whan, David Brinkman, et al.. A moment ago Hank updated me with the continued presence this morning of the Western Grebe in a small cove on the left side of the beach at East Fork Lake State Park. Locate the beach once in the state park by following signs for the beach. Locate the park entrance off Ohio Rt 125. The bird is in the company of Horned and Pied-billed Grebes. More on this fallout and other highlights of a very busy week in Ohio birding later this evening.

A possible Snowy Owl was seen about 2 weeks ago between Westlake and Bay Village at a railway crossing and Rt 252 - fide John Soltesz. With much of Ohio frozen, warm-water outlets offer some interesting birding. In Dayton last Saturday, a Black-crowned Night-Heron was at just one such outlet to the frozen Greater Miami River. - Dave Dister. At another outlet a mile downstream Dave found a Common Snipe while the next day he spotted a snipe at an open spring at Spring Valley W.A. in Greene Co. This morning a 1st winter White-winged Scoter was identifed on Buckeye Lake - Gina Buckey. The heavy snow/ice cover is driving birds to feeders in above average numbers. A tame Pine Warbler has been present a week (since the 5th) at a New Concord feeder - fide Jason Larson. You know it's cold when Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs attend feeders in the southwest. - fide Cincinnati RBA. The concentration of American Robins at Avon Power Plant numbers about 400 birds. - Bill Toler. Bill had 12 Mute Swans at Lorain last Saturday. Sean Zadar and David Kriska had 2 Lesser Black-backs at Lorain on Monday while four Double-crested Cormorants continue at Avon Lake Power Plant. The blackbird flock at Killdeer Plains (Pond 27) hosted a female Yellow-headed Blackbird on Sunday - Don Burlett, et al..

I've been meaning to extoll the virtues of photodocumentation in this space for a while now. More specifically, I have wanted to demonstrate how easy it is to provide a photograph without a $2000.00 system at one's disposal. Indeed with but a disposable camera for under $10.00 from a convenience store one can get suitable results. Below is a fine example of what one can achieve by simply holding a 35 mm instamatic up to your scope lens. Photo courtesy Marian Kraus.

Another slow birding week as icy roads have made many of us shut-ins. Sandhill Cranes are still on the move with 27 noted over Findlay on Thursday (Kathy Noblet) and 7 today along the lakeshore in Lake Co. John Pogacnik. Perhaps the biggest news was the flock of 36 Greater White-fronted Geese at Killdeer Plains W.A. - Jason Larson, the largest January flock I am aware of for Ohio. Did not see them yesterday, but Tom Bartlett and I did have the Barred Owl, Northern Saw-Whet Owl and 4 Long-eareds in the "Pines". A Northern Mockingbird, dark morph adult Rough-legged Hawk, and adult Sharp-shinned Hawk were among other finds. The massive lark/sparrow flock at Pond 27 east (now a dry impoundment overgrown with grasses) had an estimated 2500 birds in the area. Roughly broken down as 300 blackbirds (cowbirds/red-wings), 300 American Tree Sparrow, 100 Snow Bunting, 600+ Lapland Longspur, and 1200 Horned Lark. A Vesper Sparrow was an interesting window kill 3 Jan. in Celina - Eric Nelson. The immature male Harlequin Duck was present at Fairport Harbor/Headlands Beach S.P. yesterday - John Pogacnik. A Common Loon and a Purple Sandpiper were there as recently as Wed. - Joe Hammond and Dan Sanders. An Oldsquaw was of interest at Green Lawn Dam on Thursday as were 6 Pied-billed Grebes and 17 Hooded Mergansers - Robert Evans. Pied-billed Grebes also lingered at Wellington Reservoir and Avon Lake on Thursday - Jason Larson. Also of local interest at Avon Lake Power Plant on Friday were several Ring-necked Duck, two Northern Shoveler, 3 Double-crested Cormorant, and several Redhead - Bill Toler.

I mentioned a couple of months ago, based on some fall observations from regional hawk migration counts that we were perhaps in for a Northern Goshawk invasion. With recent word of an immature in Athens county fide Bill Perrine and another immature in Celina on Tue. (shores of Grand Lake, Mercer Co.) - Eric Nelson, this just may be the case. Ironically, we usually don't know in Ohio if we have experienced an invasion until the spring flight along Lake Erie.

Three Greater White-fronted Geese were located Saturday at Salisbury Quarry (Albon Lake) west of Maumee (Lucas Co.) - fide Tom Kemp. The Snow Goose flock at Ottawa N.W.R. numbered 20+ birds on Sunday - Ed Pierce. The deep freeze is forcing out some lingering waterfowl with a flock of 35 Tundra Swan noted over Tiffin on Sunday - Zac Baker. Up to 8 Short-eared Owls have been seen in the Pickerel Creek W.A., while the Ottawa N.W.R. Northern Goshawk was relocated at the corner of Stange Rd and Rt 2 last Thursday - Adam Blank. Lapland Longspurs have once again reached the Dayton area with a pair noted on Sunday at Kitty Hawk Golf Course - David Dister. An immature Harlequin Duck was found Sunday morning at Headlands Beach S.P. - Ray Hannikman. Later in the day Larry Rosche had one Purple Sandpiper, 1 2nd winter Glaucous Gull, and 1 2nd winter Thayer's Gull. Reports of oustanding numbers of American Robins noted across northern Ohio continue with 1200+ along Fairport-Nursery Rd. Sunday - Larry Rosche. Additional Northern Shrikes this season include one in Mahoning Co. 19 Dec. - fide Nancy Brundage and this past Saturday in Lucas Co. fide Tom Kemp.

Highlights Gypsum CBC (1 Jan. 1999) : A Great Egret in a Medusa Marsh ditch by R 269/Rt 2 overpass (look to your right as you head to Bay View). Seven Ruddy Duck were on the opposite side of the road. Sixteen Great Blue Herons and a Belted Kingfisher were also in the immediate vicinity. From Bay View 28 Double-crested Cormorant, and a Green-winged Teal were seen under the Sandusky Bay Bridge where there was open water. Two more Green-winged Teal were at Castalia Pond. Also at Castalia were 1 Wood Duck, 135 Northern Shoveler (a new Ohio CBC record high), and 5 Northern Pintail.. Rusty Blackbirds were found at several locations along the streams draining Castalia Pond. Area feeders were crowded with hundreds of cowbirds.

Highlights Carey CBC (31 Dec. 1998) : At Springville Marsh SNP (Seneca Co.) a Virginia Rail flushed from the boardwalk by the duck blind. Returning to this location with a tape, Tom Bartlett was able to get responses from 2 different birds.

In Tiffin yesterday, the Common Snipe (at least 8) remain, as do 5 Killdeer below the outfall of the wastewater treatment plant. Three Wood Duck were also present.

At Killdeer Plains W.A. yesterday, the Northern Shrike occupying a territory along CH 115 was located on the east side of that road just north of CH68 - Richard Cressman. Richard further had a blue morph Snow Goose "in a ditch south of T68 just east of T115." There was a report of a Tundra Swan within the Canada Goose flock resting on the ice of Pond 27. Lapland Longspurs continue in numbers along Washburn Rd. A Tundra Swan and 10 Wood Duck were located in Winesburg (Holmes Co.) yesterday, while a quick survey of The Wilds produced 26 Short-eared Owls, 14 Northern Harriers, and a Rough-legged Hawk. - Chester Larson. Another passerby, identified a dozen Rough-legged Hawks there the same day - Ned Keller.

At this late date, John Pogacnik is still reporting a few Common Loon, and Surf and Black Scoters in flight along the Lake Erie shoreline, from his vantage in Lake Co. A Chipping Sparrow still attends his feeder in North Perry. A White-winged Scoter and three Purple Sandpipers were at Headlands Beach State Park on Thursday - Larry Rosche. Today at least 1 Purple Sandpiper occupied the breakwall off frigid Fairport Harbor - Nick Barber. Nick also noted the immature Glaucous Gull remains at Eastlake Power Plant. Two Glaucous Gull and a Purple Sandpiper were located at Avon Lake Power Plant yesterday - Bruce Glick et al. . Also detected there yesterday was a 1st year Lesser Black-backed Gull - Sean Zadar Another Lesser Black-back Gull was a flyby Friday at Lakeshore MP - John Pogacnik. Lingering Pied-billed Grebes include 4 at Greenlawn Dam today - Robert Evans and 3 at Avon Power Plant yesterday - Sean Zadar. Tuesday and Wed. saw two Snow Geese at Blendon Woods Metropark (Columbus) - Gene Stauffer. Two white morph Snow Geese were with Canadas on the Ohio River near Grape Island (Washington Co. ) last Sunday - Olivier Debre.

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