NEW BLOG: NorthNW
Check out my NEW BLOG devoted to daily sightings on the NE Ohio lakefront: NorthNW
http://www.northnw.wordpress.com
NorthNW is updated daily with current weather predictions for Fall bird migration during the period of July 1st through December 1st. Target region: Northeast Ohio, from Huron/Lorain east to Conneaut. Key focus: determining/predicting and commenting on the daily status of fall migration of shorebirds, jaegers, gulls, waterfowl and other waterbirds, and migrant passerines, with an emphasis on current lakewatching conditions.
NorthNW represents NNW winds: the best possible wind direction for mass movement of waterbirds along the Lake Erie coastline in Fall.
Key contributors: Jen Brumfield, Gabe Leidy, Jerry Talkington, Craig Holt. Site design, posts, reports, and commentary by Jen Brumfield. Reports are collected via on-the-spot phone calls and texts from birders, word of mouth, reports to ohiobirds listserv, rarebird.org, etc. The collaboration includes ALL Ohio birders who avidly enjoy witnessing the spectacle of Fall migration on the Northeast coast of Ohio. Your comments, articles and observations are welcomed.
Scoring the Black-throated Gray Warbler
September 25th, 2011
Lucas County, Ohio
East Beach of Magee Marsh WA
Rarity day: shorebirds
The second in a series of Local Patch Birding August shorebird workshops, on the 21st, was incredibly successful, with great looks at 2o species of shorebirds, with highlights of 8 American Avocets, 6 Willets, a Wilson’s Phalarope, a Baird’s and White-rumped, and two juvenile Western Sandpipers, and then some. Between Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Lorain Impoundment, we wracked up a fine day list and more importantly, great studies of tricky-to-ID shorebirds.
Below is a short photo gallery featuring some of our highlights:
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When we arrived at Lorain impoundment at 7:30 a.m., a single basic-plumaged American Avocet was present. Shortly after workshop participants arrived, a brilliant group of 7 avocets dropped in to bring the grand total to 8! One of the avocets was still retaining most of its alternate (breeding) plumage (center).
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A spritely Wilson’s Phalarope put on a show, “vortexing” and swimming in the far corner of the impoundment. At one point, it point on a great show up close. Shown here with a Lesser Yellowlegs. Note its wholesomely white plumage, dumpy body and long neck and fine pointed bill.
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Two juvenile Western Sandpipers graced the mudflats. This, the longer-billed of the two juveniles, was readily apparent amidst a flock of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers that worked the edge of the mudflat not far from us. Compared to Semipalmated, note the long, slim bill with a slight decurve and droop towards the end.
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Juvenile Western Sandpiper (left) and juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper. Note the Western’s paler overall plumage (whiter/grayer) and longer, slimmer, decurved bill with a droop towards the tip.
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Juvenile Western (right) and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Note Western’s very slightly larger size (taller), paler (whiter) face, and bill shape/length.
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Ouzel
American Dipper, doing it’s do: a dapper dipper dipping on the trail up to Emerald Lake, just up from Bear, Nymph, and Dream Lakes, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Fantastic how it seemingly denies the physics of rushing water.
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You’d think it’d be easy…
…but it’s not: White-tailed Ptarmigan is one tricky, tricky bird…
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Adult male on the high tundra, Medicine Bow Curve, RMNP, August 2nd, 2011
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Masters of camouflage! 29 years to finally track down this intricately-plumaged bird.
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Dusky Grouse, Wild Basin CO
Point-blank Dusky Grouse in Wild Basin, Lower Copeland Falls trail, Colorado, on July 31st, 2011. At least one chick running the base of the rock, below the adult. Nice, leisurely morning in the field, with Violet-green Swallows, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Western Tanagers, Dusky Flycatchers, Williamson’s Sapsuckers, Black-headed Gros and Pygmy Nuthatches along this riverside trail. Now if we can score White-tailed Ptarmigan like this at Rock Cut or Medicine Bow…
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Lorain: Avocet & Willets
A stunning breeding plumaged American Avocet graced the Lorain impoundment mudflats on Saturday, July 9th, to the delight of a Local Patch Birding workshop tour group. The next day, another LPB workshop had a grand finale of a day, finishing with not one but 15 (!) Willets at Lorain at 4:00 p.m., on a hunch that late-afternoon-drop-ins would score big. And we did. Enjoy the small gallery below. Photos by J. Brumfield.
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Alternate plumaged American Avocet, Lorain, July 9, 2011
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Alternate plumaged American Avocet, Lorain, July 9, 2011
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Fifteen Willets at Lorain, July 10, 2011
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Lorain impoundment habitat shot, southern impoundment – July 10, 2011
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Speaking engagements: May/June 2011
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The Biggest Week in American Birding
May 5th-15th, 2011, Magee Marsh and Ottawa NWR
Friday, May 13th, “Birding in NW Ohio in Fall”, 11 a.m. Ottawa NWR visitor’s center.
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Massillon Museum
Brown Bag Lunch Series
Tuesday, June 28, 2011, from 12 – 12:45 p.m.
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Festival of the Birds: final piece
A full post covering the SPECTACULAR May 6-8th Festival of the Birds event in Presque Isle, PA, to follow shortly. In the meantime, the final illustration, crafted specifically for FOB 2011, is below. See previous post for details on each species. The illustration was received extraordinarily well by festival goers, who shared that the birds chosen were assuredly “perfect” for Presque Isle…
From guiding trips to speaking, to spending time in the field with some remarkable folks, this year’s Festival of the Birds was simply a brilliant event. More raving, plus photos, to follow…
Till then: “Presque Isle in FLIGHT”:
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Wood Thrush, Piping Plover, Purple Martin, Mourning Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Broad-winged Hawk
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Detail…
Signed and numbered matted prints are available in 11×14 : $35.00. Email or use the contact form to place an order request.
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Festival of the Birds: FLIGHT
A new illustration in the works and very near completion: for the 2011 Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania, May 6 – 8th, 2011. Each participant will receive a signed print in their event “gift bag.”
From left to right, starting at bottom: Wood Thrush, Piping Plover, Purple Martin, Mourning Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Broad-winged Hawk.
There’s a story behind every species featured…
Wood Thrush: A fairly common and widely-distributed Neotropical migrant. This gorgeous thrush’s eerie, flute-like song pours out from rich, moist woodland all across the East. Populations have dwindled with habitat destruction, Brown-headed Cowbird numbers on the rise, and second-growth deforestation due to excessive White-tailed Deer populations.
Piping Plover: became nearly extinct as a breeder in the Great Lakes, until a reintroduction program salvaged the population. “Pipers” are show-stoppers. They nest on quiet, open beaches with sparse vegetation. Dozens of pairs now call the Great Lakes home, with the majority of the population residing in Michigan. It is hoped that a pair or two (or more) may one day call Presque Isle State Park home, particularly near and around the sandspits of Gull Point.
Purple Martin: the B-52 bombers of swallows. These high-powered insect eaters migrate through and nest in the region. In spring, martins are regular migrants. In fall, their numbers escalate, and Presque Isle is a staging point for thousands upon thousands of martins. While “purple,” the silky sheen of martin feathers glows indigo, sky-blue, purple, black, and pinkish.
Mourning Warbler: a true “skulker”, this sporty warbler mainly nests far to the north but is a regular migrant throughout the Great Lakes. During spring, the sight of a Mourning is a red-letter event, since their tendency to work thick tangles and fallen matrixes of logs makes observation quite tricky.
Baltimore Oriole: loud, showy, stunning, bright, and a real show-stopper. A common migrant and abundant breeder. Orioles surely have “converted” many folks to birding. Their tear-dropped shaped, meticulously-woven nests are often hung from Eastern Cottonwood and Eastern Sycamore trees along watercourses.
Broad-winged Hawk: a small compact buteo that spends the winter across South America. In spring, particularly late April, Broad-wings stage large movements across the East. When all of the right weather components allow, mass congregations of these stout but compact and quick hawks can awe the observer. Sometimes, kettles and streams of hundreds to thousands of birds will fill the sky at once. The Presque Isle peninsula offers a fantastic funnel for collecting Broad-wings. Talk to Jerry McWilliams and meet up with him in the parking lot of the TREC center to share the wonder of raptor migration at PI.
More, updated scans of the illustration to follow, soon…
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Thumbnail image to illustrate shape and flow. CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE for large, detailed version.
Close view of Piping Plover and Purple Martin, below.
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NORTHERN GOSHAWK
I led a Local Patch hawkwatch at Edgewater State Park (lower and upper),
just west of Cleveland, on Sunday the 10th, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Twelve (12) species of raptors, including a single immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK,
and fantastic numbers of Sharp-shins and kestrels, plus passerine migration,
were highlights. The morning passerine flight (8 a.m. to 11 a.m.) yielded the
brilliant sight of mass movement and incredible numbers of robins, flickers,
swallows, and blackbirds. Species diversity was great, from Great Egret to
Chimney Swift, Rusty Blackbird to Golden-crowned Kinglet, and thensome.
There was almost always a steady stream of birds, from raptors to passerines,
overhead, until late afternoon. Complete count list BELOW.
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The hawkwatch highlight, an immature Northern Goshawk gliding directly
overhead. Photo by Dane Adams. THESE and Dave Galvin's photos
constitute the ONLY photos of Northern Goshawk ever taken in NE Ohio!
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Huge props to Dane Adams for firing these incredible photos as this
beast of a bird pumped by heading hard east.
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8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Flight, west to east. Temps steadily rose from 9 a.m. to 2:30, with
80+ degrees and winds SSW at 20mph in late afternoon. Sharp-shins and kestrels
moved steadily from 8 a.m. to end of day. Buteos didn't rise till after 12 noon.
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RAPTORS:
Turkey Vulture: 1250
Osprey: 2
Northern Harrier: 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 685
Cooper's Hawk: 24
Northern Goshawk: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2
Broad-winged Hawk: 1
Red-tailed Hawk: 38
Rough-legged Hawk: 2
American Kestrel: 428
Peregrine Falcon: 1
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ADDITIONAL SPECIES, all migrants (majority pushing west to east):
Red-breasted Merganser: 45
Wood Duck: 8
Common Loon: 2
Great Egret: 1
Great Blue Heron: 9
Double-crested Cormorant: 460
Killdeer: 15
Caspian Tern: 25
Herring Gull: 400
Ring-billed Gull: 1300
Northern Flicker: 425
Pileated Woodpecker: 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1
Belted Kingfisher: 12
Chimney Swift: 4
Tree Swallow: 1600
Barn Swallow: 280
Northern Rough-winged Swallow: 120
Purple Martin: 4
American Crow: 750
Horned Lark: 230
American Robin: 3,600
warbler species: 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 2
Chipping Sparrow: 35
Savannah Sparrow: 1
Dark-eyed Junco: 4
Eastern Meadowlark: 3
Red-winged Blackbird: 8,500
Common Grackle: 9,000
Brown-headed Cowbird: 2,000
Rusty Blackbird: xx (heard)
American Goldfinch: 40
Rusty Blackbirds
First, a bit from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
“Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause.” (All About Birds)
It’s fairly well known throughout the birding community, now, that Rusty Blackbird is a threatened species. Why, exactly, we do not know. Inevitably, it likely comes down to a loss of habitat on the blackbird’s wintering grounds in the eastern states. Rustys breed in the far north, in the Canadian boreal forest. Huge steps have been taken to secure the boreal forest as a worldwide important region (not only for wildlife, but a resource). So it’s very likely that Rustys are met with trouble on their migratory and wintering grounds. Wet woodlands are favored, particularly those with “swamp” characteristics. Woodlands as a whole are on a rapid decline throughout the U.S.; targeted for housing developments and shopping plazas.
Numerous studies are in place to understand their plight, namely the popular Rusty Blackbird Blitz ( HERE ).
Still, relatively large flocks of Rusty Blackbirds can be found during migration through Ohio. While flocks do not regularly number in the high hundreds, observers can find packs of 20 to 100 birds in February through April.
For the past 3 days, a flock of nearly 100 Rustys has been frequenting my neighborhood. Their squeaky-door calls fill the air in a loud chattering/whiny chorus. Take a look at the video below, with your sound on. You’ll hear a Tufted Titmouse loudly calling in the foreground, but focus on the chorus of blackbirds sitting atop the oak trees. A few Red-winged Blackbirds and European Starlings have joined this flock, but the group is mostly pure Rusty.
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EARED GREBE
There’s endless surprises in the field…
Local Patch Birding’s March 27th trip along the lakefront (from Avon Lake to Euclid) was extraordinarily successful. Highlights included a near-full breeding plumaged EARED GREBE, Caspian Tern, Surf and Black Scoters, Glaucous Gull, and seventeen species of waterfowl for the day, amongst 50 total species. Between Wendy Park and Whiskey Island and the Gordon Park boat launch marina, we found a waterbird bonanza. The Eared Grebe was striking, showing gaudy plumage. Irene originally found the bird, noting an odd grebe. A subsequent hour was spent in triumph over the find. The full day’s tour ended on another high note, with male Surf Scoters and a female Black Scoter at Sim’s, and stellar weather all day long…
Here’s a quick video clip of the Gordon Park marina EARED GREBE, Cleveland. March 27th, 2011. Thanks to SANDY BROWN (videographer).
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New series: BIG YEAR BIRDS
A new series of blog posts will highlight select, somewhat tough-to-get species and locations and tips for where to see them in Ohio. Hopefully this will aid you in your 2011 state big year.
BELL’S VIREO
Bell’s is a small vireo, more compact and vivacious then Warbling, favoring dense, low, shrubby vegetation, generally early successional stages in riparian areas, brushy fields, young second-growth forest or woodland, scrub oak, and brushlands, often near small watercourses. Bell’s Vireo is rare in Ohio, but it does breed in small numbers, particularly in the southwestern/south-central portions of the state. There are several pairs that have, for the past several years, reliably nested within the Columbus city limits. One of the best spots to see Bell’s is along the Heritage Bike Trail where it passes along Homestead Park, on Cosgray Road in Hilliard.
(The Heritage Trail is a multi-purpose trail converted from abandoned right-of-way located in Franklin and Madison Counties in Central Ohio. The trail starts in Old Hilliard off of Main Street and continues toward Plain City.)
Homestead Park, operated by the city, is a quaint greenspace with small walking trails, picnic areas and play areas. The multipurpose bike trail, which runs north-south, can be reached by walking west from the parking lots at Homestead, just a few hundred feet. Head NORTH on the bike trail, and on both sides of the trail, you’ll see low-lying brush and second-growth trees. We didn’t have to walk far before hearing a male Bell’s chattering away. The sound is quite unmistakable, a hurried, throaty, jumble of notes. Much faster, harsher, and twangier than Warbling Vireo.
Check out a sound clip here, on Cornell’s site: BELL’S VIREO SONG
Our “Eastern” Bell’s Vireos look similar to Warbling Vireo, but are very yellow underneath, particularly on the flanks and sides of the chest. The head pattern is pretty sharp, too, sporting a full bluish-gray cap, nape, and cheeks, and a constrasting white eyeline.
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WHEN TO GO: mid May through June. Birds arrive in May, set up territories, and sing vivaciously through June.
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Just in time for…
…spring migration. A simple bird counting game. Or not so simple?
Do we typically underestimate, or overestimate bird numbers when witnessing flocks (aerial, land-based, hardly a difference)? It appears that we usually underestimate our counts, as a whole. But that likely varies from person to person. Would those with finer visual observation skills tend to score higher on “games” or actual bird counts? Probably. Across the board, it seems as if we typically undercut our counts by at least 100… so, it could be said that most counts of large flocks (i.e. blackbirds) could be underestimated by hundreds if not thousands. If you estimate a passing flock to contain 350 birds, more than likely the flock is actually composed of nearly 500.
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If thousands of Blue Jays or American Crows or Northern Flickers, or Turkey Vultures and hawks (!) for that matter, are streaming overhead on a warm April day, hopefully the RATE of passage is “slow” enough for an accurate count. Bunches and swarms of birds in flocks are difficult to decipher to a number. When birds are streaming over in a steady line (as do most raptors, jays, crows, flicker), we’re more likely to put an accurate total to our counts. Trickier, then, are nocturnal Neotropic passerines… where our counts of birds streaming overhead are only based on occasional flight calls…
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Iceland & Lesser Black-back
First-basic Iceland Gull and a second-basic Lesser Black-back at East 72nd, Saturday, February 26th, 2011.
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Two first-basic Herring Gulls at left.
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First-basic Herring and adult Ring-billed above and at right.
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Note dark mantle and wings of second-basic Lesser Black-back, slimmer bill, far less bulky build, long wings.
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At a distance, note details listed above and smaller size. Slimmer build and long wings really pop.
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BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
First-winter male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE off of Veteran’s Memorial Park in Avon Lake, on February 23rd, 2011.
Photos by Dan Gesualdo. Digiscoped.
Note bulging rounded forehead. Head angled forward, not backward as in Common. “Peak” of head at forehead, not at crown in Common. Rear of head rather bulky and broad. Bill comparatively not as long and large as Common; smaller, slightly stubbier, and finer. Very dark brown, almost blackish head, blackish upperparts, small dark spurs, grayish sides, and very white chested. Could be pulled from flock of 150+ goldeneye (300 total) by head shape and dark plumage.
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Test: SMLO pdf
PDF upload test, for Smith’s Longspur article.
How to download:
Click “smlo” link below
A new web page will open up.
Please allow time for download!
You can read and print directly from this web page OR, in header bar, under “FILE” go to “SAVE AS” and save the file to your desktop. Once saved, open the file on your desktop to make sure all pages have downloaded correctly. This is a PDF document. Once you have opened the PDF document, you can print directly (and easily).
Click here for the article:
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Music of Nature
By far, one of the most important and stunning resources I’ve found for naturalists, birders, wildlife enthusiasts, and earth-adorers all around:
Hours, days, and weeks can be spent going through the “blog” posts and “videos.”
This site is a must-see. An absolute treasure.
How quickly we go to dwell in memory and imagination within each recording that we hear.
Hermit Thrush video below:
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Youtube channel for Music of Nature:
Larks & Screeching
A few recent photos from the field: Horned Larks on Springville Road, off of Route 3, just south of Wooster, and a gray phase Eastern Screech-Owl at Chippewa Ford stream crossing in Brecksville Reservation, February 2011.
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This gray phase screech is one of a pair that will likely nest or is currently nesting. The “other half” is a brilliant plumaged red phase…
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