Pomarine Jaeger

 

December 19th

          As our Birding Big Year winds down, we have been unlucky with our recent chases until today.  A Pomarine Jaeger was first seen yesterday during the Toledo Christmas Bird Count near the Bayshore Power Plant which is only twenty minutes away from our house.  We were busy yesterday and not able to chase the jaeger.  This morning, Mike wanted to go see if it was still around.  We arrived around 8:30am and ran into another birder who had been there since dawn and had not seen the bird.  We did a pretty thorough search and could not find it either. 

          Naturally, about half an hour after we left someone spotted the jaeger.  I had a mah jongg game this afternoon, but Mike decided to go look again.  While playing maj, I got an urgent call from Mike saying that he had relocated the bird.  Luckily there were five of us so I could leave without breaking up the game.  I drove a little fast and when I arrived, Mike still had the bird in his sights although it was a very distant scope view. 

          When Mike was initially searching for the jaeger, Matt Anderson, one of the best local birders drove up and showed Mike where he had spotted the bird.  We were both fortunate to get a look at this special bird which was an Ohio lifer for us.

          The Pomarine Jaeger is the biggest of the three jaeger species and is a fast, agile relative of gulls known for harassing and stealing food from other seabirds.  On their arctic breeding grounds, Pomarine Jaegers survive almost entirely on lemmings.  Generally, they spend the rest of the year on the open ocean, where they attack smaller seabirds, sometimes taking them for food or forcing them to give up their catch.  They generally migrate late in the fall and can occasionally be found on the Great Lakes.

(1 new species, total for the year 304)

Pomarine Jaeger (scarce)

 

Comments

  1. AnnDecember 20, 2022 at 5:40 AM

    What a great year! That many birds is almost one new bird everyday for the year. For a small state, like Ohio, that is a great feat.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 20, 2022 at 4:06 PM

    Are you getting ready for a Michigan Big Birding Year to see if you can beat this one?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January Summary

Image
  February 1 st           The first month of our Birding Big Year has drawn to a close.   Mike and I have worked hard to find the important winter target birds as well as some rarities.  We are pleased with our progress.   Here is a list of the winter target birds that we have found:           Snow Goose                                           Snowy Owl           Ross’s Goose                                        Long-eared Owl           Greater White-fronted Goose                   Short-eared Owl           Cackling Goose                                       Northern Saw-whet Owl           White-winged Scoter                               Northern Shrike           Long-tailed Duck                                    Purple Finch           Iceland Gull                                            Common Redpoll           Glaucous Gull                                         Lapland Longspur           Rough-legged Hawk                                Snow Bunting
Read more

Chuck-will's-widow

Image
  May 22 nd             This morning Mike and I left for southern Ohio but took a round about way of getting there.   First, we went east to Lorain to look for several birds that had been reported there.   We did find a Cattle Egret at the Lorain Impoundment which is a marshy area near the boat launch and pier.   Cattle Egrets are common in the South but are scarce in Ohio.   Our view of the egret was somewhat obstructed, but it was definitely in full breeding plumage.           From here we headed south for our destination which was Shawnee State Park.   Some of you will remember that we were here just about a month ago with Ann and Howard Rosenberg. That trip ended with the “stomach flu” episode.   We arrived about 4:00pm today and went out for a walk.   There had been a report of a pair of Mississippi Kites seen near the firepit in the cabin area.   We found the spot and immediately saw a kite perched high on a dead snag.   As Mike was taking pictures, I spotted the second kite.
Read more

Saturday March 25th - Black-legged Kittiwake

Image
  Saturday March 25 th – Black-legged Kittiwake           A Black-legged Kittiwake had been hanging around at the Spitzer Riverside Marina in Lorain, Ohio for more than a week and was seen by many birders.   Mike and I had actually gone to chase this bird the previous Sunday without success.   Since so many people had found the bird, we decided to give it one more try.           We drove 1 ½ hours to Lorain, pulled up to the marina and immediately saw the kittiwake floating by itself really close by.   Mike was able to get some great pictures, and it was worth the trip.   This is only the second time we have seen a Black-legged Kittiwake in Ohio.   The previous time was in 2015.           A Black-legged Kittiwake is a type of gull that gets its name because of the shrill sound of its call “kittee-wa-aaake”.   A kittiwake is a small gull and the breeding adults are pale gray above with black wingtips, white below and a yellow bill. The legs are jet black.   Juveniles are quite st
Read more