July Summary

July 31^st

          Mike and I were able to see eleven new species during the month of July.  This may not seem like an impressive total but since we have already seen most of the common birds that pass through Ohio, we were satisfied.  The majority of birds that we saw this month were shorebirds, with the exception of the Blue Grosbeak and the Little Blue Heron.

          The Upland Sandpiper was probably nesting near Columbus, but the other shorebirds were migrating through our area.  They were coming from their summer breeding grounds in the arctic or the western great plains.  Some were young birds like the Wilson’s Phalarope and the Little Blue Heron.  These birds tend to show up in unexpected places and are considered vagrants.

          The Blue Grosbeak breeds in small numbers in Ohio because this is the northern end of its breeding range.  Most of the birds we saw in July are considered to be scarce or rare in our area.  We had already seen a lot of the common shorebirds in the Spring, but sometimes different birds will show up during the Fall migration.

          We are currently in 1st place with a total of 286 species for the year in Ohio. Who knows what will turn up in August.  We will be keeping a close eye on things.

Birds seen in July:

Upland Sandpiper (scarce)                     Stilt Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper (scarce)   Red-necked Phalarope (rare)

American Avocet (scarce)         Little Blue Heron (scarce)

Marbled Godwit (rare)                Baird’s Sandpiper (rare)

Blue Grosbeak                      Wilson’s Phalarope (scarce)

Willet (scarce)