Monday February 6th - All Around the Town

 

Monday February 6th – All Around the Town

          Mike and I  have developed a bad habit of chasing birds all over the state of Ohio.  We are really trying to stay closer to home and find birds locally.  Today was a free day so we decided to go to the Sandhill Crane Wetlands this morning. This is a new park which adds 280 acres to the Kitty Todd Nature Preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy. 

          We saw several raptors at this location including a Rough-legged Hawk, two Red-tailed Hawks, an adult Bald Eagle, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Cooper’s Hawk.  We also saw a huge flock of Common Grackles which was a FOY (first of the year) bird for us.  Grackles are one of the very early Spring migrants and they are just starting to head north in large numbers.

          After returning home for lunch we headed to Bay View Park in north Toledo to look for gulls and waterfowl.  We saw some Greater and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a nice variety of ducks.  We walked around the woodlot there and saw a Hermit Thrush which flew up and landed in a nearby tree.  Normally we don’t see this bird until the end of April or beginning of May so it was a great find.

          It was about 4:00pm and I was ready to head for home and have plenty of time to make a nice home cooked dinner.  However, Mike said, “Just check the postings and see if anything turned up.”  Sure enough, there was a Long-tailed Duck that had been seen at Bend View Metropark along the Maumee River which is in the opposite end of town about 30minutes away.  We decided to go look for it since a Long-tailed Duck is a very good bird.

          We arrived at the spot and after a little searching, we located the duck.  This was a very special bird found close to home, and we were very happy to find three new FOY birds.  We got home and had a nice dinner a little later than anticipated.  

                                           Hermit Thrush

                                           Rough-legged Hawk

                                           Common Grackle




  

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2023 at 7:16 PM

    Wow you saw so much in one day!! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CathyFebruary 7, 2023 at 5:31 PM

      Yes. It was a good day. Lots of birds around.

      Delete
  2. AnnFebruary 7, 2023 at 5:55 AM

    That is a good itinerary that we should follow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CathyFebruary 7, 2023 at 5:31 PM

      This was a crazy itinerary but it worked out well.

      Delete
  3. EllieFebruary 7, 2023 at 7:43 AM

    Wow a very nice day ! We like going to Bay View Park always something great to see. Thanks foe the updates.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CathyFebruary 7, 2023 at 5:30 PM

      We really like Bay View. Lots of ducks and gulls this time of year.

      Delete

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