2022 Ohio Birding Big Year

  January 27 th           The weather outside was frightful (very cold and windy).   We didn’t want to spend much time out in the elements, so we drove along the Maumee River this afternoon looking for gulls.   We didn’t have much success, but we were able to find some White-crowned Sparrows at a feeder near Grand Rapids, Ohio.   This was in someone’s yard, so Mike couldn’t really get his camera out and start taking pictures.             I will include one picture of your intrepid birders in full winter gear.   This was taken before the recent snowfall.   Also see the Red-breasted Nuthatch photo that Mike took at Oak Openings Window on Wildlife. (1 new species, total 114)           White-crowned Sparrow                           ...

  January 26 th           NEMESIS BIRD FOUND!   Mike and I have been searching high and low for a Northern Shrike and we finally found one this morning at Magee Marsh.   Northern Ohio is the southernmost winter range for the shrike, and they are quite scarce here. They nest in open spruce woods in the far north and winter in open habitats with scattered bushes or trees further south.           The Northern Shrike catches and kills a wide variety of prey including insects, lizards, mice, frogs, and small birds.   Shrikes are fierce predators known as “butcher birds”.   They can grasp a mouse by the neck with their pointed beak, pinch the spinal cord causing paralysis, then shake it with enough force to break its neck.   They often gruesomely impale their sometimes-live prey on sharp objects like spikes, thorns, or barbed wire.   This stabilizes their victim s...

  January 22 nd           I wanted to acknowledge that our birding adventure is NOT eco-friendly.   We are using a lot of fossil fuel for self-indulgent, non-essential travel even though Electra (my Prius) gets 40-45mpg.   I have a certain amount of guilt about the number of miles we are driving, but our quest to find the birds seems to be winning out.   I honestly didn’t think we would do this much chasing. Our Big Year will definitely be a one year, one time endeavor.           Back to the birds.   We left the house about 6:45am.  Destination - Athens, Ohio.  It’s been years since we’ve been to Ohio University but that’s where Cackling Geese have been regularly seen for the past three weeks.   We arrived about 3 ½ hours later and found at least three Cackling Geese fraternizing with the Canadians next to the Stadium and the Hocking River.   ...