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December 1999

Commentary on the November Common Ground-Dove.

Commentary on the November Philadelphia Vireo.

Another matter to ponder as we head into the new year.
Blayne Hoerner & Paul Murray reported 28 November 1999

"We have a Ringed Turtle Dove camping in the yard next door to us for the >past 2 days. (On West 11th Street in Tremont- just west of downtown >Cleveland)".

I quickly received a photograph but only now have gotten around to posting it. I did discuss the possibility of a Eurasian Collared Dove with Blayne and Paul, but they were insistent the size was no greater than that of a Mourning Dove. I offer here the photo as a cautionary tale for those wishing to distinguish between individuals of the expanding population of the introduced Eurasian Collared Dove and the exotic Ringed Turtle-Dove.

Recent sightings: I rarely report sightings from the Ohio River as it is rarely made clear to me that the bird is in Ohio when seen (98% of the river is NOT in Ohio). However, Bobby Foppe's careful description of yesterday's resighting of the Black-legged Kittiwake at Mehdahl Dam (Clermont Co.) left no doubt of an Ohio sighting. Nick Barber and Isaac Kerns report a 1st winter Thayer's Gull at Lorain still present on Monday. The same day at Eastlake, Bob Finkelstein and Ben Winger discovered an adult Thayer's Gull and a 1st winter Iceland Gull. Yesterday's Lakeshore Park waterbird survey produced an adult Iceland Gull for John Pogacnik. Sandhill Cranes were still trickling through Saturday/Sunday with 4 birds noted overhead just south of oak Openings Metropark in Lucas Co. - Greg Links and 7 over Big Island W.A.- Richard Bradley. Additional highlights from the Grand Rapids-Waterville CBC saturday include 5 Wood Ducks on the Maumee River and a couple of Fox Sparrows - Greg Links . In the southwest White-winged Crossbills (up to 14) continue to be reported from Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati - m.obs. White-wingeds in smaller numbers continue at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus) through the 26th - Richard Cressman. At the Green Lawn Ave. Dam in Columbus 2 Black-crowned Night-Herons on Monday continue a recent winter tradition in Columbus - Howard Fradkin. In the southeast at Salt Fork State Park, Ron Kolde reports an American Woodcock on the 20th.

While the normal peak flight of Sandhill Crane through western Ohio is for the week of Thanksgiving, mild fall seasons have delayed significant flight until Christmas. Such was the case just two years ago in 1997 and so it appears again this year.Thursday evening Len Powlick witnessed 150 Sandhill Cranes flying over Killdeer Plains W.A. This late in the day and heading into a snowstorm sweeping across southwestern Ohio. It is very likely these birds settled down a short distance to the south of Killdeer Plains for the night. Yesterday, over Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati around noon, John Rakestraw saw 220 birds flying overhead.

Elsewhere: I received a good description of a juvenile Golden Eagle from Lake La Su An Wildlife Area at midday yesterday - Jon Diller. Recent Oldsquaws (Long-tailed Duck) have been in the vicinity of Fairport Harbor (lake Co.) yesterday - Haans Petruschke and Wed. and Thursday in Cleveland in the vicinity of the E.55th shoreway exit - Frank Greenland & Paula Lozano. Yesterday Killdeer Plains W.A. produced the usual fare for this time of year; Rough-legged Hawks, a Northern Shrike, along with 7 Great Blue Herons and 3 Tundra Swans were reported by Zac Baker. Zac also reports 3 Killdeer in Tiffin on Thursday at the water treatment plant. On Wednesday at Killdeer Plains W.A., Joe Hammond and Dan Sanders further added 5 Short-eared Owls. Joe and Dan ventured to the lakeshore that day where they detected a Peregrine Falcon at Bayshore Power Plant while offshore were a growing number of Common Mergansers estimated at some 4000 birds along the shore to Maumee Bay State Park; a number we have come to expect in recent years. In Sandusky, a pair of Peregrine Falcons have taken up residence on St. Mary's Catholic Church - Mary Warren. Virtually nothing to report on the gull front; only Sean Zadar adds three Lesser Black-backe Gulls at Avon Lake Thursday.

More CBC highlights: Toledo (20 Dec.) - 16 White-winged Crossbills at Woodlawn Cemetery along with a Chipping Sparrow there, a Snowy Owl at Bayshore Power Plant, and 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls in North Toledo (in Michigan?). On the Athens CBC (Athens Co.) a flock of 15 Brewer's Blackbirds were detected - Andy Barber. The Lake Erie Islands CBC (partially in Ontario) tallied a remarkable 1500+ Bufflehead. A Merlin and Common Redpolls were additional hightlights - John Pogacnik.

My last report for the Clearfork Reservoir Western Grebe is for Friday afternoon - Kevin Metcalf.

Bill Jones discovered an American White Pelican in Mahoning County on Sunday. It was seen through yesterday evening - Larry Rosche. Len Powlick reports a Loggerhead Shrike from Union County Sunday. Watch for it along Leeper-Perkins Rd just west of White Stone Rd. northwest of Marysville. Apparently, a few days earlier Jim McCormac spotted one at Woodbury W.A. (Cochocton Co.). A Chipping Sparrow spent the day Saturday at the feeders of Kurt Knebusch in residential Wooster (Wayne Co.). It failed to show on Sunday.

The first weekend of Christmas Bird Counts produced a few interesting sightings.A lingering Turkey Vulture was detected in the Cuyahoga Valley Sunday "flying west from Northhampton Rd toward the Rookery on W. Bath Rd" - Marian & Jeff Kraus.A flock of 47 Sandhill Cranes near West Unity (Fulton Co.) were unique for the Goll Woods CBC - Doug & Micki Dunakin. Nineteen more were at Mercer Wildlife Refuge for the St Mary's CBC - Jonathan Ruidisueli. The other highlight of that count was a female Greater Scaup. The oddity for the Lorain CBC may well be the Ring-billed X Laughing Gull hybrid reported by John Pogacnik in the harbor area. For numbers, John's 450 Canvasbacks was an excellent CBC tally. On the Cleveland CBC, Delores Cole et al. discovered a Common Snipe and 2 Merlins. The Merlins were at Forest Hills Park while the snipe was at the Cuyahoga County Airport. Other recent Merlins include a bird last week over New Harrison Lakes State Hunting Area in Darke County - Kevin Schieltz and Donna Wright, a specimen in Galena (Delaware Co.) on the 13th - Paul Schiff and a CBC bird on Kelleys Island last Thursday - Greg Links.

Elsewhere: Duane Ferris found an Oldsquaw and a dark scoter on La Due Reservoir Sunday. Thirty or more Common Redpolls were reported from the Tiffin CBC Saturday - Tom Bartlett et al..Tom had 4 American Pipits on the Kellys Island census Sunday. We were further surprised by the dawn flight of 9500 mergansers westward past Marblehead lighthouse as seen from Kelleys Island. Had an observer arrived 15 minutes after sunrise you may have detected just a few dozen stragglers. The more than 700 Buffleheads may well prove to be a state record flock for the winter season. Eight Lapland Longspurs were located along Washburn Rd at Killdeer Plains W.A. on the 16th - Steve Richards. Twenty birds were censused along Sager Rd. southwest of Big Island W.A. on the 11th - Dave St. John. JOhn Rakestraw had 6 American Pipits and 37 Killdeer at Spring Valley W.A. last Thursday.

I have a report of a possible Golden Eagle appx. 15 miles southwest of Columbus along I71. Locals are encouraged to keep an eye out.

Yesterday morning John Herman discovered a Western Grebe at Clear Fork Reservoir in Richland County. It was still present in the vicinity of the spillway shortly after noon - Su Snyder. Just before noon in the Chagrin River valley at Sherwin Pond (Cuyahoga Co.) Rob Harlan sighted a Golden Eagle. A winter Golden Eagle is extraordinary in the northeast as is the prospect that this may be a bird in residence - see below.

Kevin Metcalf discovered a Bohemian Waxwing at North Chagrin Reservation last Sunday amidst a flock of Cedar Waxwing. This was in the immediate vicinity of the nature center. Subsequent efforts to relocate the bird have failed, however this observation serves notice that this winter observers throughout the unglaciated portion of Ohio should take a careful look at waxwing flocks.

John Pogacnik reported an adult California Gull from Conneaut Harbor last Saturday. Elsewhere that day John noted 2 Northern Shrikes and an immature Northern Goshawk from Grand River W.A. (Trumbull Co.) and 2 Franklin's Gull at Lake Pymatuning on the border with Pennsylvannia.The following day John tallied 315 Common Redpoll overhead at Lakeshore Metropark while offshore were a Surf Scoter and an Oldsquaw. Elsewhere, Sean Zadar et al found a 1st winter Iceland Gull. At Headlands Beach S.P. Sunday Haans Petruschke located an Oldquaw and 40 Common Redpolls while nearby Fairport Harbor still hosted a Merlin and a Northern Shrike. Killdeer Plains W.A. highlights Sunday included 6 Short-eared Owls, 12 Northern Harriers, 20 American Kestrels, and 20 Great Blue Herons - Bill Rinehart. The day before Dave St. John had a Merlin along the Washburn Rd area of Killdeer Plains W.A.

A smattering of sightings to report this week. Apparently the Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Maumee Bay S.P. was independently identified by Kent Glauser last Friday, the day before its discovery by Indiana birders. Last Saturday at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Len Powlick reports 12 Red Crossbills. Over the weekend 4 Least Sandpipers were at Buck Creek State Park - Doug Overacker. While the 5th also saw 2 Purple Sandpipers at Headlands Beach State Park - Ray Hannikman and Haans Petruschke. A Chipping Sparrow appeared at a Columbus feeder on Monday - Steve Landes. The same day three Sandhill Crane were found soaring over Aullwood Audubon Center in the southwest - John Wilson. Tuesday Ed Roush counted 181 Killdeer still at Lake Cowan (Clinton Co.). Wednesday a 1st winter Laughing Gull passed along the shoreline at Painesville Twp. park (Lake Co.) - David Kriska and Sean Zadar. Sean and David also had 49 Common Redpoll at nearby Lakeshore MP, while at Eastlake just to the west, Dan Sanders & Don Burton estimated 150.

The recent Lake Co. Golden Eagle (with American Crow)


Photo courtesy Haans Petruschke

Check out a new feeder cam in Ohio located at Lake Hope State Park courtesy Dave Sapienza.

We have been under a southerly air flow directly from the Gulf States for several days now. Such weather at this time of year can result in a truly stunning discovery. This weekend that find goes to Jeff McCoy with a Northern Rough-winged Swallow flying over Maumee Bay State Park yesterday. A lingering species, which has appeared with increasing frequency late into the fall and early winter is the White-eyed Vireo. Jen Dennison may have seen one at Blendon Woods Metropark (Columbus) yesterday. I would urge some attempt at verification by local birders.

In sharp contrast to these late songbirds, winter finch sightings continue with a Common Redpoll flock estimated to number 200 at Veterans Park (Lake Co.) yesterday afternoon - James Hooper. Diligence is the order of the day for seekers of crossbills at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. The patient were rewarded with up 10-15 White-winged and 1 Red Crossbill - Jeff McCoy, m.obs.. the day before Greg Links succeeded in finding 30+ White-winged and 4 Red Crossbills. The most recent Northern Shrike report comes from Ottawa N.W.R. yesterday - Craig Caldwell. The bird was at the NW corner of the 2nd impoundment. Craig also detected a Northern Shrike yesterday at Killdeer Plains W.A. (Pond 33). The Tundra Swan flock at Ottawa N.W.R. numbered 165 birds. Friday, Jonathan Ruediseuli reports a Pectoral Sandpiper from Lost Creek Reservoir (Allen Co.).

Gulls: Two Adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were at Huron yesterday - Jeff McCoy. Another adult was at Lorain Harbor yesterday - Ben Winger et al.

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