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November 1999

Three American White Pelicans were discovered along Rt. 4 in Dayton on Friday - Kurt Gaskill and Charlotte Mathena.

White-winged Crossbills made themselves known across the western third of Ohio. First reported in double digits a week ago from Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo - m.obs., Greg Links had up to 18 there over the weekend. Two Red Crossbills were also present. At the other end of I75 in Ohio, a mixed flock of 12 crossbills was seen in Mitchell Memorial Forest (Hamilton Co.) on the 24th - Lester Peyton. In between, a single White-winged Crossbill appeared at a Bellefontaine feeder this morning for what may be a first Logan County record - Troy Shively. The furthest east report of this recent wave was that of 3 birds in Green Lawn Cemetery on Saturday - Richard Cressman. The other winter finch of note has been Common Redpoll. Sporadic numbers continue along the shore of Lake Erie with up to 30 at Lakewood Park last Friday - Ben Winger and a half dozen at Eastlake on the 24th - Kevin Metcalf. A single bird reached a feeder in Champaign Co. Friday and Saturday - Rich Meyer.

Gulls are getting more attention. Three Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present in Lorain Harbor 27-29th - Kathy Mock, Don Burlett, and Sean Zadar. On the 24th, Kevin Metcalf tallied 4 birds at Eastlake with at least 2 remaining 27-29th - John Pogacnik and Nick Barber. The adult Lesser Black-backed Gull present at Huron since October remains through the 27th - Mike Busam. Both John Pogacnik and Nick Barber found an adult Thayer's Gull at Eastlake 25-27th while Nick also reported a 2nd winter bird there yesterday. John reported 5 Pomarine Jaegers at Huron on Sunday.

The late waterfowl migration has been rather disappointing this year. Inland Tundra Swans recently have included 3 at Killdeer Plains on the 22nd - Jen Dennison, 10 on Willard Reservoir (Huron Co.) last Thursday - V.W.F.III, and 2 on Deer Creek Lake yesterday - Richard Cressman. The only recent report of inland Common Loons comes from C.J. Brown Reservoir where 9 were seen the 27th - Kurt Gaskill. Likewise Sandhill Cranes have been very thin with the only recent migrating flock a group of 43 over Grove City on the 24th - Len Powlick. The Huron Purple Sandpiper was still present on the 24th - Joe Hammond and Dan Sanders, while another was found at Walnut Beach over the weekend - Craig Holt.A few other shorebirds can be found in the state. Some numbers of Common Snipe include 17 at Lake Cowan (Clinton Co.) on Sunday - Larry Gara and 9 this morning at Killdeer Plains W.A. - Ron Sempier. Ron also reports 50 Killdeer compared to 200+ at Lake Cowan Sunday. Richard Cressman also had "dozens" at Deer Creek W.A. While we may have become complacent in the wake of recent mild fall seasons, double-digit concentrations of Killdeer (away from the Ohio River counties) is unusual this late in the season (let alone triple-digits). After the monster numbers of the previous week, the only Dunlins reported were 5 at Pickerington Ponds (Franklin/Fairfield Co.) yesterday - Richard Cressman. Among Ron's other highlights from Killdeer Plains W.A. this morning were 8 Bald Eagles, 16 Northern Harriers, and two Northern Shrikes present at CH75+TH103 and CH75+TH108. Given that an individual was present 200 yards west of CH115 along CH75 on Saturday - Gene Stauffer, it is plausible three birds may be present. Last year discrimination of the many reports from Killdeer Plains W.A. and the discrete location information made available from many observers yielded a probable tally of 6 territorial birds occupying Killdeer Plains W.A. - V.W.F.III

The last report for the North Chagrin Philadelphia Vireo is for last Wednesday - Ben Winger and Kevin Metcalf.

The North Chagrin Philadelphia Vireo (pictured below) continues through Sunday - Kevin Metcalf.
Photo courtesy Haans Petruschke

A female Scarlet Tanager has been reported from downtown Columbus Saturday - Adam Goloda. I encourage locals to follow-up on this report for documentation.

At least two Pomarine Jaegers were in residence at the Eastlake powerplant over the weekend -Haans Petruschke, m.obs. with one bird remaining yesterday - John Pogacnik.

An American White Pelican appeared at East Harbor S.P. (Ottawa Co.) on Saturday while a female Dickcissel was visiting the feeder at Maumee Bay S.P. the same day - Joe Hammond and the Avid Birders of Columbus. Joe also noted a lingering Forster's Tern at East Harbor S.P. likely the same bird I videotaped there on Friday - V.W.F.III.

Errata: Numbers of Common Redpoll took a leap this past week. Last Wed./Thurs. saw 8 birds inland at Sycamore (Wyandot Co.) - Rick Counts, and 10 reported from Headlands Beach S.P. - Joe Hammond. Saturday 15 were located at Huron - Joe Hammond et al. Up to 9 Pine Siskins were present at a Tiffin feeder Sunday/Monday - V.W.F.III.

The Northern Shrike at Maumee Bay S.P. was still present Saturday - Joe Hammond et al.. One was banded near Yellow Swale (Sandusky Co.) on the 14th - Tom Kashmer. That this species is staging a significant irruption this winter is further evidenced by 8 separate observations from the Ravenna Arsenal this month - Larry Rosche - likely involving multiple birds.

After flirting with the number the past two falls, the Kelleys Island census set a new state record for a single site concentration of Bufflehead with 938 present around the island on Saturday. This nearly matched the previous one-day concentration on 22 November 1997 of 993 for Kelleys Island and South Bass Island combined. Given no more than 60% of the shoreline is accessed during the Kelleys Island census one should get the sense that we have much to learn about the staging of this species amidst the Lake Erie islands.

Capping off a spectacular two weeks of birding on Kelleys Island were weekend sightings of Surf Scoter and Northern Goshawk - Tom Bartlett et al. Red-breasted Mergansers apparently have dispersed from their Huron concentrations somewhat with 3000+ in the vicinity of Eastlake (Haans Petruschke) and 2900+ around Kelleys Island Saturday - Tom Bartlett et al.

Shorebirds continue to generate news at this late date. While Purple Sandpiper is expected by the calendar, a bird photographed at the end of the jetty at Huron is an unaccustomed record from the Western Basin - Kent Mizanin. That said - there is presently an ENORMOUS amount of exposed rocky shoreline covered in algae west of the usual breakwall haunts of this species. Lake Erie continues to drop and the weekend seiche (in the wake of recent southwesterly winds) has dropped the lake 4-6 inches in recent days. The winds also offer an interesting conundrum for birders looking for lingering migrants. At the same time mudflats lay exposed seemingly providing habitat (food resources = caloric income), they are also exposed to that very wind making for an unfavorable microclimate (= caloric expense). So where might they strike a balance? On Friday after viewing 130 Dunlin at the Rt 2 crossing of Turtle Creek (at Turtle Creek W.A.) and locating only 17 on the Crane Creek estuary from windblown Ottawa N.W.R., the answer was mudflat sites protected from the elements. Therefore, it was entirely predictable that Toussaint W.A. should hold a concentration of shorebirds. Even so I was not quite prepared for the 380 Dunlin visible from the fishing access.

Often I hear the birder's lament that birds are so unpredictable, yet I would suggest that it is merely a matter of pulling apart the data to look for the pattern. The more precise observers are in their data gathering and reporting the more precision may be applied to search efforts. This is the crux of the seasonal analysis I provide via Ohio Birds & Natural History magazine

Yesterday Kevin Metcalf identified a Philadelphia Vireo at North Chagrin Reservation (Cuyahoga Co.). The bird repeatedly visited a couple of dogwood trees immediately adjacent to the nature center taking one or two berries before flying off toward the lower pond. There it would loosely associate with American Goldfinches and Eastern Bluebirds foraging amidst weedy margins of the pond or occasionally up high in a willow (leaf gleaning?). The bird was subsequently photographed by Haans Petruschke and videotaped by myself. Given the expected mild conditions today and the predictability and tameness of the bird (approachable to less than 10 ft) it may be worthwhile to see this neotropical migrant in a most unusual November setting. This would be the latest record for Ohio by a week and perhaps the latest for any of the Great Lakes.

I got behind on non-passerine reports this week. Shorebirds dominated the news with both yellowlegs, numbers of Dunlin, and Black-bellied Plover remaining in the Western Basin. Perhaps not too surprising given the weather but extraordinary nonetheless. Two Purple Sandpipers videotaped on Long Point, Kelleys Island Tuesday would have to be among the very few records for the Lake Erie islands as the species is quite rare in the Western Basin - Pat Hayes.

The Ruddy Duck buildup in Allen Co. threatens to match that noted earlier in the season in the northeast. David Dister had 1000 birds on Metzer Reservoir while 750 were on Bresler Reservoir on the 13th. The three Sandhill Cranes residing near La Due Reservoir (Geauga Co.) may still be found in the stubble fields just to the west of that body of water - Duane Ferris.

Beware a small 3rd basic dark backed gull in the Huron area - it is worth a closer look - V.W.F.III

A Red-throated Loon was found this afternoon on Paulding Reservoir (Paulding Co.) by Doug Dunakin. This is an extraordinary find for this part of Ohio. Substantial flights of this species continue to be reported from the Central Basin including 4 Monday from Lakeshore MP - John Pogacnik.

Craig Rieker discovered an immature Cape May Warbler in his Parma (Cuyahoga Co.) yard this morning. Contrast that with continued reports of winter finches including a White-winged Crossbill at a Kelleys Island feeder last Friday - Pat Hayes, and over the weekend a Common Redpoll in Carey (Wyandot) - Kim Fredritz. I believe the latter is the first report of the species away from the Lakeshore counties this season.

The other songbird report of note for the past week was that of a shrike spp. from Spring Valley W.A. last Friday - Kathy Beal. This would be extremely far south for a record of Northern Shrike and especially intriguing were it the state endangered Loggerhead Shrike. Local observers are encouraged to follow-up on this sighting. Either way an excellent find.

The parade of Pomarine Jaegers continues along the shores of Lake Erie. Ben Winger et al. report a bird from the Gordon Park area of the Cleveland Lakefront on Saturday. Monday John Pogacnik reports a bird from Fairport Harbor. Tuesday quite possibly saw one of the most spectacular waterbird movements of recent years along Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline. Certainly on a personal note it was a daunting spectacle from Sherod Park. I was en route to Cleveland from Tiffin so had but 30 minutes to stop in to view the action. It quickly became apparent that it was pointless to count the thousands upon thousands of mergansers sweeping by. Bonaparte's Gulls were also in passage for the first time in real numbers averaging 75/minute for the 30 minutes I was there. Forgoing the quantitative aspect of birding, I relaxed to enjoy the qualitative. When I spied a flock of 20 Snow Bunting about a half mile out I figured that would likely prove the highlight of the morning. Only a few minutes later a Pomarine Jaeger winged through the scope's field of view. When I caught up with it a second later, it was arcing through the air IN TANDEM with another Pomarine Jaeger. I watched for another 45 seconds as they swept through a wave trough, arced upwards on a steep bank wingtip to the water in dorsal view, crest about 30 feet above the water's surface, pitching over the crest and turning the body so the return to the wave trough was on alternate wing tip now ventral side to me. This was repeated a half-dozen times in tandem just 200 yards from shore. Truly amazing. You will have to forgive my excitement here. I realize that in recent years fall jaeger sightings on Lake Erie have become passe. However, in 13 fall seasons of formal lake watches, on either shore of Lake Erie, and many hundreds of hours, these were my very first on such a watch. It was very hard to leave. - V.W.F.III

The East Fork Pomarine Jaeger continues through Sunday - Hank Armstrong.

I'll try to get caught up with this week's highlights tomorrow night.

The East Fork Pomarine Jaeger continues through yesterday - Charlotte Mathena. Other jaegers were reported this week. A Pomarine Jaeger was identified by Nick Barber at Headlands Beach S.P. Monday. Wednesday at Rocky River Park, Joe Hammond and Dan Sanders felt the jaeger sitting offshore was also a Pomarine. Although Pomarines are most likely species now, late Parasitics are still plausible at this time of year. The four jaegers passing by the jetty at Metzger Marsh W.A. yesterday were felt by the observers to be likely just that, Parasitic Jaegers.

Northern Shrikes were very much in evidence yesterday. A bird was discovered at Maumee Bay S.P. along the cabin road - Craig Rieker & Mike Gallaway, at Penitentiary Glen (Lake Co.) near Booth and Eagle Rds. - John Pogacnik, and at Gordon Park impoundment - Sean Zadar et al.

The Greenlawn Ave. Dam Franklin's Gull persists through Monday - Charles Gambill. Black and Surf Scoters continue to be reported sporadically along the lakeshore in the northeast. We are coming up on the peak week for these species making appearances at inland reservoir sites. Common Redpolls also continue in small numbers at several lakeshore locations. Finally some evidence of the record Northern Saw-whet Owl flight reported to the north and east of Ohio has made headway in this state. Three birds (one still alive) were found at Gordon Park the past couple of days - Sean Zadar. Species lingering after the recent cold front include a 1 Common Tern and 4 Forster's Terns at East Harbor S.P. and an American Golden-Plover along the Old Cedar Point causeway - Joe Hammond and Dan Sanders. The front may well have spurred some late songbird migration along as 15 Hermit Thrush yesterday along the West Harbor Trail represented a big increase in numbers over recent days - Craig Rieker and Mike Gallaway.

Many persons searched yesterday and again this morning for the Common Ground Dove without success. Kent Mizanin informs me his photos are likely adequate for supporting documentation.

Some migration progress: Common Redpolls figured prominently in the northwest for the first time this season as an individual was found at Magee Marsh W.A. Saturday (? need email reminder) and this morning briefly at Oberlin Beach (Erie Co.) - V.W.F.III. They were reported in Whitehouse (Lucas Co.) yesterday - fide Toledo RBA. In between John Pogacnik reports 11 birds near the tip of Catawba Island Sunday. Eight Red Crossbills were discovered in the Mitchell Memorial Forest (Cincinnati) yesterday - David Styer and Steve Pelikan. In a recent effort for Golden Eagle at the jct. of Girdham and Reed Rds in Lucas Co. Rob Harlan and Sandy Wagner noted a diurnal flight of Red Crossbills overhead.

The 3rd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull was present again this morning at Huron - V.W.F.III.Yesterday searching for swallows, John Pogacnik discovered an exceedingly late Chimney Swift over Port Clinton. John further reports a Red Phalarope from the West Harbor Trail. Lingering Greater Yellowlegs over the weekend included individuals at Killdeer Plains W.A. - Ron Sempier, East Harbor S.P. - V.W.F.III, John Pogacnik, and Ottawa N.W.R. - V.W.F.III. Both Olivier Debre and Ron Sempier reported about 50 Dunlin at Killdeer Plains W.A. Saturday and Sunday. Olivier also noted 3 remaining Least Sandpipers, up to 20 Common Snipe and a Lesser Yellowlegs. Another Lesser Yellowlegs over the weekend was a bird at Medusa Marsh Sunday - John Pogacnik.

A lakewatch from the mouth of Old Woman Creek (Erie Co.) over the weekend saw at least 760 Common Loons heading inland from the north. Sunday morning 14 small loons were readily made out overhead with sufficient light after sunrise to identify four as Red-throated Loons - V.W.F.III. In sharp contrast John Pogacnik had only two loons but also reported a Black-legged Kittiwake past Lakeshore Metropark. John continues to see his lingering Rose-breasted Grosbeak and further noted a Gray Catbird yesterday. Saturday morning the first numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls appeared at Huron with 3000 birds present. Very few ducks took part in the movements with the notable exception of Red-breasted Mergansers. The 42,000 censused in 40 minutes after sunrise Sunday morning were the highest I have counted since the fall of 1991 but remain a small fraction of the numbers seen in the 1980s. Tundra Swans were seen overhead along the lakeshore all day in small numbers Saturday with 42 in Ottawa County - V.W.F.III, 22 over the Gordon impoundment - Sean Zadar, and 22 at Killdeer Plains W.A.on Pond 27 - Ron Sempier. On Friday at Lost Creek Reservoir (Allen Co.), Jonathan Ruedisueli noted several "Richardson's" Canada Geese amidst 1000+ of the more common races. Exposed sandbars there hosted 18 Pectoral Sandpipers and a Lesser Yellowlegs. Nearby Metzger Reservoir held 27 Tundra Swans last Wednesday - fide Jonathan.

Shorebirds at Ottawa N.W.R. Saturday included Long-billed Dowitcher - (Eric Durbin), 1230 Dunlin, 1 American Golden-Plover, and 47 Black-bellied Plover - V.W.F.II et al. Other highlights included a male Blue-winged Teal, 17 Snow Geese, and 6 White-winged Scoters - V.W.F.III. Terns continue in some numbers with 13 Forster's and 6 Common Terns in Ottawa Co. Saturday - V.W.F.III, m.obs.

The cool NW'ly breezes over the weekend did much to spur a migration held up a little with the recent record warmth of late October. Rough-legged Hawks were noted widely for the first time. Three birds could be found at Killdeer Plains yesterday - Len Powlick, while Saturday two light morphs were at Mosquito Lake - Carole Babyak, and individuals at Gordon Park (Sean Zadar et al.), Pickerel Creek W.A., and the Marblehead Peninsula - V.W.F.III. The most dramatic sight during the game at Cleveland Stadium yesterday was a dark morph bird overhead - V.W.F.III. Commentary on northern irruptives to date has largely been confined to nuthatches and finches with the feeling that raptors (Northern Saw-whet Owls excepted) were not coming south in numbers this year. However, these numbers for the first week of November are more typical of just such an invasion for Rough-legged Hawk. Northern Harriers and Sharp-shinned Hawks seemed to be on the move in the Western Basin Saturday. A partial albino Sharp-shinned Hawk was reported from Gordon impoundment Saturday - Sean Zadar et al.. A stunning dark morph Western Red-tailed Hawk was enjoyed by many at Ottawa N.W.R. only to be equaled by an adult Peregrine Falcon and an Osprey within minutes of each other - V.W.F.III, Don Miles, et al.. An immature male Peregrine Falcon hunted along the Sandusky Bay bridge as I drove along it Friday afternoon.

A note on frequency: Perhaps I am only just now noticing something that has been the case for some time, but each of the past two winters I have discovered 5 dark/rufous morph Western Red-tailed Hawks in the northwest corner of the state. Tom Bartlett and I had three in one day in the Toledo area two years ago while looking for White-winged Crossbills; an obvious rufous morph, a regular dark morph, and a remarkably black individual that perhaps with serious scrutiny may have proven to be a Harlan's Hawk but its perch by the interstate precluded that effort. This spring marked my first spring flyby of the Magee Marsh W.A. observation only to later that day discover a rufous morph perched at Pickerel Creek W.A. And now this fall bird (with rufous tones but not what I call a rufous morph)- another personal first. Again perhaps these observations are merely an artifact of awareness but certainly the literature does not reflect this level of frequency in the area.

Then there is the matter of the Peregrine Falcon. Here I think it is safe to say there are a few more around compared to 20 even just 5 years ago. My personal records, with whatever built-in biases, still are dramatic. In 19 years leading up to 1995 I saw 6 birds in Ohio. In three years, 1996-1998 I recorded 12 more. This weekend I noted my 14th and 15th of the year. Oh yes - NONE of these have been anywhere near a city - so very likely I have never set eyes upon an introduced bird - V.W.F.III.

The East Fork State Park Pomarine Jaeger remains as of this morning - John Rakestraw et al.. Two Red Phalaropes have been present several days through yesterday on Long Point, Kelleys Island - Pat Hayes. The Ottawa N.W.R. Willet was present yesterday - V.W.F.III. A 3rd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull was a close study at Huron along the jetty yesterday - V.W.F.III et al.. A full update of the progress of migration tomorrow night.

A COMMON GROUND-DOVE at Brecksville Reservation.

Kent Mizanin sent me an email Friday (sorry I was out of town) night with this description . . .

"very small with a pink-based bill with black tip, short plump body, black markings on the wings, chestnut in the wings VERY obvious in flight. It had a bluish nape, and a scaled breast."

. . . of a bird he has identified as a Common Ground-Dove, a fall vagrant species to the Great lakes region which would be a first for Ohio pending verification. Kent has seen the bird AGAIN yesterday.

Directions from Kent Mizanin: - "near National Park Service Headquarters (Jaite). Taking a left from Riverview Road to Vaughn Road, pass the first parking lot (where there is usually many cars at mid-day, then pass the railroad tracks, then right after the tracks (on top of a hill) there is a parking space to your left. This is where the dove was. It remained, feeding in the parking lot for several hours. I will be back tomorrow to see if the bird remains. The bird fed quietly in the northeast end of this tiny parking space. It retreated to some grassy areas, a pine tree nearby, and once it landed near the street. The northeast corner of the parking lot has a little wooden fence, where the bird repeatedly perched."

A female Black Scoter was found this morning at Caesar Creek S.P. (off Harveysburg Rd. - Warren Co.) - Larry Gara. Paula Lozano had another off Rocky River City Park Monday.

Yesterday's frontal passage made for interesting birding along Lake Erie. In the northeast, an immense passage of Tundra Swan over the Grand River in Lake County was apparent to Gary Meszaros. As Gary was photographing forest scenes he could hear flocks passing overhead all the while, occasionally spying a few flocks under the low cloud deck. On the lakeshore (Lake Co.) John Pogacnik picked up on this a little bit with a tally of 68 birds. None were detected at an Erie County watch site (Sherod Park). However, this movement was coincident with large numbers elsewhere in the east (80 at La Due Reservoir - Duane Ferris and the central west (135 on Paulding Reservoir, Paulding County - Doug & Micki Dunakin). So far the high count for staging birds at Ottawa N.W.R. is 106 on Monday - V.W.F.III & Jason Larson. These birds rest along the Crane Creek estuary and are easily seen. A passage of a different kind took place yesterday when 3 Sandhill Cranes were note over the Ohio State University campus - David Horn.

In 3.5 hrs at Sherod Park I did end up with an enormous passage of Dunlin - totalling 811 birds (110 from Dan Sanders and Joe Hammond who were already on the scene when I arrived) heading into the Western Basin of Lake. Dan and Joe went on to Ottawa N.W.R. where they discovered 2 Willets and a large number of remaining Dunlin (1000+). Striking numbers for this late in the season included 38 Black-bellied Plover and 15 Long-billed Dowitchers. A Least Sandpiper also remained down from Sunday's eight. Another Least Sandpiper was present at Killdeer Plains W.A. Saturday (V.W.F.III and Sunday (Adam Goloda et al.) AS recently as Sunday 2 Baird's and 1 White-rumped Sandpiper could be found at Ottawa N.W.R. - Mike Bolton & V.W.F.III.

Yesterday afternoon shorebirds at Conneaut Harbor included an American Avocet and a Purple Sandpiper among 200 Dunlin - John Pogacnik. John last reported his Rose-breasted Grosabeak on Tuesday. A Tree Swallow was late for the northeast at Headlands Beach S.P. Saturday - Ray Hannikman. Another lingering songbird included a Pine Warbler at Findley State Park (Lorain Co.) on Sunday - Jeff & Marian Kraus.

Larophiles will be happy to read of increased gull numbers. Apart from those mentioned yesterday, there were also 4000 Bonaparte's Gulls in the vicinity of Gordon Park - Sean Zadar.

Rough-legged Hawks were in greater evidence with an immature dark morph along the turnpike in Williams County on Monday - V.W.F.III. A light morph bird was discovered in southern Seneca County on Saturday - Tom Bartlett. Northern Shrike arrival was brought to light by two birds at Ravenna Arsenal on 29 Oct. - Larry Rosche followed by an adult Saturday at Headlands Beach S.P. - Kevin Metcalf. Snow Buntings stepped up their Ohio presence a notch this week with 65 noted at Lakeshore MP yesterday - John Pogacnik, 50 on the dikes at Ottawa N.W.R. on Monday - Jason Larson et al., with another 15 reaching Metzger Reservoir (Allen Co.) the same day - Jonathan Ruedisueli. An immature Golden Eagle over Paulding County was a good find for west-central Ohio - Doug & Micki Dunakin. Another local highlight was a Cattle Egret occupying a small private yard in central Seneca County both Saturday and Sunday - Busker and V.W.F.III..

A Pomarine Jaeger was discovered Saturday at East Fork State Park (Clermont Co.) - Hank Armstrong. Seen by many on Sunday, the bird was still present midday Monday - Jim Clapp. A first for the Cincinnati area?

Among the shorebird throng at Ottawa N.W.R. on Sunday were Hudsonian Godwit, Marbled Godwit, and a Willet. Monday the Marbled Godwit and Willet were absent but two Hudsonians were seen by many observers. The Red Phalarope at Ottawa N.W.R. Saturday was a one-day wonder - Phil Harner, Brad Cullen.

Record warmth leading up to today's snowfall in the northeast made for interesting late observations the past week. Two more Yellow-billed Cuckoo observations came to my attention. One was present at Ottawa N.W.R. the previous weekend - Mark Shieldcastle while last Wednesday another was found in Rockbridge (Hocking Co.) - Lamar Gore. Also from last week, a Henslow's Sparrow was quite late at Sheldon Marsh SNP on the 26th Oct. - Les Sedlak. On Friday 2 Semipalmated Plover were still at Sheldon Marsh SNP, while East Harbor hosted 53 Common Tern and 39 Forster's Tern - V.W.F.III. Defying expectations, terns could still be found in numbers today in the face of gale force winds. Dan Sanders and Joe Hammond had 11 Common Tern and a very late Caspian Tern at the Huron jetty this morning. This afternoon I had 15 Common Tern at the Lorain "hotwaters". Lorain Harbor gull numbers finally are starting to mass with appx. 13,000 Ring-billed Gulls, 800 Herring Gulls, and 127 Great Black-backed Gulls.

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