Trifecta

 

July 30^th (posted July 31^st)

          After a wonderful visit with Becky, Scott, Ryan, and Jared, we dropped everyone off at Detroit Metro about 8:15am.  Our week had included a Mudhens game, visit to the Toledo Zoo, a ride on the canal boat at Providence Metropark and searching for fossils at Fossil Park.  We played mini golf, rode go karts, spent time at the pool and had a full day at Cedar Point.  We played Clue, Connect Four, Chinese Checkers etc. etc.

          Before the visit, we decided to rent a minivan so we could all fit in one vehicle.  We got upgraded to a premium SUV which was a black Nissan Armada.  We nicknamed it “the monster”.  After returning from the airport, we stopped at home to change into our birding clothes and pack a lunch.  We returned “the monster” to Toledo Express Airport and were off in “Electra” my Prius for another birding adventure.

          We headed for Hilliard, Ohio which is a suburb on the west side of Columbus.  An immature Little Blue Heron had been spotted at a pond in the Heritage Preserve development.  We arrived about 12:45pm and immediately found the heron in the middle of the pond.  An adult Little Blue Heron is a smaller sized heron with a purple-maroon head and neck and a dark slaty-blue body.  It has greenish legs and a bicolored bill with a black tip.

          The immature Little Blue is strikingly different.  It is all white in the first year and is very similar to an immature Snowy Egret.  The Little Blue always has dull greenish legs and usually a two-toned bill.  Their normal range is along the gulf and southern Atlantic coasts.

          While driving to Columbus, Mike received an alert about a Baird’s Sandpiper that was seen on the Wilderness Road between Mansfield and Wooster, Ohio.  After a picnic lunch at a local park in Hilliard, we decided to chase the Baird’s.  This meant a

1 ½ hr. drive northeast.  We arrived a little after 3:00pm and had pretty specific directions about where to find the Baird’s Sandpiper.  We spent quite a lot of time scanning the mudflat which was far away and in bad light.  We found the Baird’s and spent more time confirming its size, shape, and markings.  It was a less than satisfying look, but we were both convinced that we had found the bird.  We stayed a little longer to look for a Wilson’s Phalarope that had also been reported.  No luck with that, so we left the area about 5:00pm.

          I was driving and I thought the plan was to head for home, but Mike noticed that Kenn Kaufman (a well-known birder) had seen an immature Wilson’s Phalarope on the Ottawa National Wildlife auto tour this afternoon.  We decided “what-the-hell”, let’s go for it.  It really didn’t take us too far out of the way, but it was all back country roads.  We arrived at ONWR a little after 7:00pm.

          We quickly drove to the section that runs east along the Ottawa/Lucas Co. line to the third pullout.  It was a mudflat and there were shorebirds, but we saw no sign of the phalarope.  Usually, Mike is the more dogged birder, but in this case, I said, “Let’s just walk back to that other pullout.  Maybe it’s there.”  We went back and Mike started scoping the shorebirds and said, “I’ve got it!”  This capped an end to a very eventful week. 

          It was after 8:00pm and we were starving.  We had a delicious dinner at the Oregon Inn while relaxing on their patio. (3 new species, total for the year 286)

          Little Blue Heron (scarce)

          Baird’s Sandpiper (rare)

          Wilson’s Phalarope (scarce)

                        Little Blue Heron (immature)

            Wilson's Phalarope (immature) 

             Distant view - note black cap