We drove over, arriving at 8:10. Sunset was around 8:20. I figured we'd have to wait at least 15 to 30 minutes before we might hear the rail (again, a pessimist) but Shari hadn't even turned off the engine before I heard it. We had to wait about a minute for it to call again. It sounded exactly like the recording we have of it on our Thayer's Birding Software eField Guide program. Shari does an excellent impression of one and when she tried hers out she started a conversation with the rail. We listened for about 15 minutes then left with a life bird, state bird, county bird. We thought the wind might make recording impossible, but, if you turn up the sound, you can clearly hear the dry, rattling "kik-kkkkkker," of the King Rail.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sloop Creek Rd 5/31--KING RAIL
When a life bird is a 23 minute drive away from your house you can only ignore it for so long. A few days ago a couple of Ocean County birders stumbled upon a KING RAIL in the marshes around Bayville while trying to hear the even rarer Black Rail. I figured it was a one-off. I had no doubt as to the i.d. (these are good birders) but I'm a pessimist. Then I saw another report. Then another from last night. Finally, this afternoon, I mentioned it to Shari who quickly said we should go. She'd never been to that portion of the county so she was interested to see what it was like anyway.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Great Bay Blvd WMA 5/26--Least Tern
I had stuff to do in the morning and what with migration coming to an end, I figured my best shot at birds in the afternoon would be toward the water so I drove down to Tuckerton. I wasn't disappointed with shorebirds--there were pockets of sandpipers, Dunlins, turnstones, and a few of the larger shore species all along the 5 mile stretch. I also came across a fairly large flock of Black Skimmers at the start of the road, loafing on a mud flat, yipping like little dogs, a sight and sound that always amuses me.
I saw a couple of Seaside Sparrows out in the open--one was taking a little bath and the other was running from one tuft of grass to another on a mud flat practically at my feet. I also heard a couple more and had I been really paying attention to that one sparrow I'd probably have twice the number. But I was looking for new stuff. I was looking, particularly for Saltmarsh Sparrow, a bird I just can't seem to find in Ocean County and I was looking for White-rumped Sandpiper and I struck out on both, though I thought I had some pretty good candidates for the latter but they were just too far away and obscured by grass for me to call definitively.
If I focus on what I did see than I'm pretty happy with the day. I was also looking for different terns when I was out at the inlet but that area was pretty dead and the wind was unrelenting. Those of you who follow this blog (Hi Mom!) know that I abhor wind--doesn't matter if it's January or May, wind is wind to me. So the walking around part of the trip was challenging. I was walking the road between the fourth and fifth bridges checking out the marshes when I saw a tiny tern dive into a pool. It took a moment for the thought to click in, but I watched the Least Tern for about 30 seconds to confirm the i.d.
Walking back toward the car I noticed that the mud flats on one side were covered in an icky red slime which I assume is some sort of algae or the like. The birds didn't seem to mind it and it made for great contrast:
There were not the great number of egrets that are sometimes there and I saw exactly one each Glossy Ibis, Tricolored Heron, and Little Blue Heron. I had pulled off just north of the fourth bridge on my way out to make one last stab at finding something interesting and there it was--the first one I've seen this month and an adult.
I saw a couple of Seaside Sparrows out in the open--one was taking a little bath and the other was running from one tuft of grass to another on a mud flat practically at my feet. I also heard a couple more and had I been really paying attention to that one sparrow I'd probably have twice the number. But I was looking for new stuff. I was looking, particularly for Saltmarsh Sparrow, a bird I just can't seem to find in Ocean County and I was looking for White-rumped Sandpiper and I struck out on both, though I thought I had some pretty good candidates for the latter but they were just too far away and obscured by grass for me to call definitively.
If I focus on what I did see than I'm pretty happy with the day. I was also looking for different terns when I was out at the inlet but that area was pretty dead and the wind was unrelenting. Those of you who follow this blog (Hi Mom!) know that I abhor wind--doesn't matter if it's January or May, wind is wind to me. So the walking around part of the trip was challenging. I was walking the road between the fourth and fifth bridges checking out the marshes when I saw a tiny tern dive into a pool. It took a moment for the thought to click in, but I watched the Least Tern for about 30 seconds to confirm the i.d.
Walking back toward the car I noticed that the mud flats on one side were covered in an icky red slime which I assume is some sort of algae or the like. The birds didn't seem to mind it and it made for great contrast:
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| Short-billed Dowitcher on red mud |
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| Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper on red mud |
34 species
Great Egret 18
Snowy Egret 12
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 1
Osprey 10
Clapper Rail 4 Heard
American Oystercatcher 1
Black-bellied Plover 15
Semipalmated Plover 20
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Willet 7
Ruddy Turnstone 26
Dunlin 75
Least Sandpiper 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 100
Short-billed Dowitcher 9
Laughing Gull 50
Herring Gull 20
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Least Tern 1
Forster's Tern 15
Black Skimmer 32
Willow Flycatcher 1 Heard in grove, just before 5th bridge.
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 50
Gray Catbird 2 Heard
European Starling 1
Common Yellowthroat 4 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Boat-tailed Grackle 10
Great Egret 18
Snowy Egret 12
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 1
Osprey 10
Clapper Rail 4 Heard
American Oystercatcher 1
Black-bellied Plover 15
Semipalmated Plover 20
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Willet 7
Ruddy Turnstone 26
Dunlin 75
Least Sandpiper 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 100
Short-billed Dowitcher 9
Laughing Gull 50
Herring Gull 20
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Least Tern 1
Forster's Tern 15
Black Skimmer 32
Willow Flycatcher 1 Heard in grove, just before 5th bridge.
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 50
Gray Catbird 2 Heard
European Starling 1
Common Yellowthroat 4 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Boat-tailed Grackle 10
Monday, May 25, 2015
Brig 5/25--Least Bittern
Probably the best bird of the day, possibly the best bird of the year, we found first thing down at the gull pond. Shari was scoping the pond on the right side of the dike and I walked over to look in on the other side when I saw a blackbird chasing a larger, buffy bird out of the reeds. Immediately I knew what it was and I shouted, "Shari, Shari, look at the bird!" as it flew right by me, veered over the hood of our car and dove down into the reeds in front of Shari, vanishing. But we both got great looks at the bird with dark remiges and buffy coverts--a Least Bittern. I suspect that the bittern blundered too close to the blackbird's nest while it sneaked through the reeds and the blackbird was having none of it, even though a bittern wouldn't be a threat (I don't think). I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've seen a Least Bittern and I've never had one fly so close to me. An excellent sighting which made any other birds we found gravy.
And we got a couple of good ones too. After sorting through the thousands of shorebirds and not finding the one we were really looking for, we moved on up the road past the observation tower. We'd seen a few Glossy Ibises here and there, no big numbers, and in the southeast pool we found another ibis next to a Great Egret. But this one, Shari noticed, had red legs.
Yesterday I was able to see the continuing American White Pelican in the middle of the pools. It was distant, but the bird is so big that picking it out was easy once someone pointed me in the right direction. Today we weren't able to find it from the usual vantage points. I was just starting to wonder where that bird would go when it wasn't at Brig when we were coming up to an island, just before the drive goes into the woods, where Black Skimmers, terns, and gulls usually hang out. In the midst of the skimmers and plovers and other shorebirds was one huge, white bird. Even with its head tucked in we could tell it was the pelican.
You can just see the black wing tips and small portion of the yellow beak.
Other birds we were happy to find were Whimbrels, Ruddy Turnstones, and of course, American Oystercatchers. One species we didn't find, hard to believe, was Great Blue Heron.
Here's the list for our one turn around the dikes:
50 species
Canada Goose 25
Mute Swan 3
Wood Duck 7 entrance pond
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 4
Double-crested Cormorant 50
American White Pelican 1
Least Bittern 1
Great Egret 15
Snowy Egret 5
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 12
White-faced Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Oystercatcher 4
Black-bellied Plover 100
Semipalmated Plover 20
Willet 25
Whimbrel 12
Ruddy Turnstone 10
Dunlin 6000
Least Sandpiper 50
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2000
Short-billed Dowitcher 100
Laughing Gull 200
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Gull-billed Tern 2
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 25
Black Skimmer 89
Peregrine Falcon 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Heard
American Crow 1 Heard
Fish Crow 2
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 3
Marsh Wren 1 Heard
Gray Catbird 1 Heard
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow Warbler 2
Chipping Sparrow 1 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 5
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Brig 5/24--Wilson's Phalarope, Saltmarsh Sparrow
Shari, who leads a more well-rounded life than I do, had other things she wanted to do today, so I drove down to Brig by myself. I was hoping for shorebirds and I got them in droves. I was also hoping to find one of the Wilson's Phalaropes that had been reported there the last couple of days. I was expecting to do a lot of scanning of distant shorebird flocks in order to find the bird, but instead, right after marker 4, on a mudflat close to the road, I saw one Willet, and standing a couple of feet away a phalarope.
This is a male, which, unlike most species, is less colorful than the female. Still, I was proud that I found it on my own. I then stood around for 20 minutes, watching it, and hoping to hand it off to another birder to appreciate. But no one stopped. No one was curious. Pete has a theory that when people crap out early at Atlantic City, they take a spin around Brig just to do something to delay having to go back home. I think there were a lot of losers circling the dikes today. Finally, the bird, along with a few Semipalmated Sandpipers and the Willet, flew off.
I was hearing a lot of Seaside Sparrows today and saw a couple distant birds fly down into the reeds. The one serious birder I ran into today pointed out a Saltmarsh Sparrow to me. It too made a nose dive into the phragmites, but it's on the list. Not a bird I was particularly worried about. Besides, Tuckerton or Cattus Island is where I want one.
55 species (+2 other taxa)
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 1
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 15
Double-crested Cormorant 7
American White Pelican 1 Continuing bird. Large white bird with huge yellow bill. Unmistakable.
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 45
Snowy Egret 25
Glossy Ibis 50
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 3
Clapper Rail 2
American Oystercatcher 3
Black-bellied Plover 13
Semipalmated Plover 2
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Willet 15
Ruddy Turnstone 20
Dunlin 1000
Least Sandpiper 200
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1000
Short-billed Dowitcher 3
Wilson's Phalarope 1 S
Laughing Gull 100
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 20
Black Skimmer 57
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 2 Heard
Blue Jay 1 Heard
American Crow 1 Heard
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 5
Common Yellowthroat 10
Yellow Warbler 3
warbler sp. 1
Eastern Towhee 2 Heard
Chipping Sparrow 4
Saltmarsh Sparrow 1
Seaside Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
sparrow sp. 1 Anyone want to help me out with this?
Northern Cardinal 1 Heard
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Common Grackle 3
House Finch 1 Heard, parking lot
American Goldfinch 1 Feeders
I was hearing a lot of Seaside Sparrows today and saw a couple distant birds fly down into the reeds. The one serious birder I ran into today pointed out a Saltmarsh Sparrow to me. It too made a nose dive into the phragmites, but it's on the list. Not a bird I was particularly worried about. Besides, Tuckerton or Cattus Island is where I want one.
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 1
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 15
Double-crested Cormorant 7
American White Pelican 1 Continuing bird. Large white bird with huge yellow bill. Unmistakable.
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 45
Snowy Egret 25
Glossy Ibis 50
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 3
Clapper Rail 2
American Oystercatcher 3
Black-bellied Plover 13
Semipalmated Plover 2
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Willet 15
Ruddy Turnstone 20
Dunlin 1000
Least Sandpiper 200
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1000
Short-billed Dowitcher 3
Wilson's Phalarope 1 S
Laughing Gull 100
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 20
Black Skimmer 57
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 2 Heard
Blue Jay 1 Heard
American Crow 1 Heard
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 5
Common Yellowthroat 10
Yellow Warbler 3
warbler sp. 1
Eastern Towhee 2 Heard
Chipping Sparrow 4
Saltmarsh Sparrow 1
Seaside Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
sparrow sp. 1 Anyone want to help me out with this?
Northern Cardinal 1 Heard
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Common Grackle 3
House Finch 1 Heard, parking lot
American Goldfinch 1 Feeders
Ohio 5/14-5/21 Links & Trip List
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| Click photo to read sign |
Magee Marsh is on the southern shore of Lake Erie and is the last stop for migrating birds who are reluctant to cross the lake to their breeding grounds in Canada. So they plunge down into the marsh, build up their food reserves (and perhaps courage) and while doing so, put on a show for the birders who flock with them to the boardwalk. The Biggest Week in American Birding Festival takes place during migration and the boardwalk is jammed. The day after the festival ends, the boardwalk is comparatively empty, yet the birds don't know the festival is over.
Maumee Bay SP 5/14--Cliff Swallow
Oak Openings 5/15--Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker, Swainson's Thrush, Blue-winged, Nashville, Mourning, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, & Wilson's Warblers, Lark Sparrow, HENSLOW'S SPARROW, Scarlet Tanager
Magee Marsh Boardwalk 5/15--Cape May, Bay-breasted, & Blackburnian Warblers
Sandusky County 5/16--Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Bobolink
Ottawa NWR Estuary Trail 5/16--Common Nighthawk, Gray-cheeked Thrush
Erie County 5/17--Least Flycatcher, Bank Swallow, Northern Waterthrush, Tennessee Warbler, Connecticut Warbler
Ottawa NWR Auto Tour 5/17--Common Gallinule, Sandhill Crane
Metzger Marsh 5/18--Eurasian Collared-Dove-like bird
Maumee Bay SP Boardwalk 5/20-- Virginia Rail
More Pix
The list: ALL CAPS=Life Bird; Bold Italics=Year Bird; Underline=Rare Bird
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Species First Sighting
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Canada Goose Oak
Openings
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Mute Swan Pipe Creek
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Trumpeter Swan Arnold
Marsh
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Wood Duck Oak Openings
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Gadwall Pipe Creek
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American Wigeon Pipe
Creek
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Mallard McClure's
Marsh
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Blue-winged Teal Pipe
Creek
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Northern Shoveler
Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area
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Green-winged Teal
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area
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Redhead Pickerel Creek
Wildlife Area
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Ruddy Duck Pipe Creek
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Common Loon Metzger
Marsh Wildlife Area
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Pied-billed Grebe Ottawa
NWR Auto Tour
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Double-crested Cormorant
McClure's Marsh
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American White Pelican
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area
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Great Blue Heron McClure's
Marsh
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Great Egret Christy
Farm
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Green Heron Magee
Marsh
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Black-crowned Night-Heron
Arnold Marsh
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Glossy Ibis Pickerel
Creek Wildlife Area
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Turkey Vulture Oak
Openings
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Northern Harrier
McClure's Marsh
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Cooper's Hawk Pipe
Creek
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Bald Eagle McClure's
Marsh
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Red-tailed Hawk Oak
Openings
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Virginia Rail Maumee Bay SP Boardwalk
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Common Gallinule Ottawa NWR Auto Tour
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American Coot Pipe
Creek
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Sandhill Crane Ottawa NWR Auto Tour
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Black-bellied Plover
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area
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Semipalmated Plover Pearson
Metropark
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Killdeer Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
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Spotted Sandpiper Pipe
Creek
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Solitary Sandpiper Pipe
Creek
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Greater Yellowlegs
Ottawa NWR--Boss Unit
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Lesser Yellowlegs
Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area
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Ruddy Turnstone Ottawa
NWR Estuary Trail
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Dunlin McClure's Marsh
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Least Sandpiper
Pearson Metropark
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Short-billed Dowitcher
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area
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American Woodcock Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
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Ring-billed Gull Ottawa
NWR Estuary Trail
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Herring Gull Ottawa
NWR Estuary Trail
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Caspian Tern McClure's
Marsh
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Common Tern Ottawa NWR
Estuary Trail
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Eurasian Collared-Dove Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area
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Mourning Dove Oak
Openings
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Yellow-billed Cuckoo Oak Openings
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Eastern Screech-Owl Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
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Great Horned Owl Secor
Metropark
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Common Nighthawk Ottawa NWR Estuary Trail
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Chimney Swift Pickerel
Creek Wildlife Area
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Oak Openings
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Red-headed Woodpecker Oak Openings
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Red-bellied Woodpecker
Oak Openings
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Downy Woodpecker Oak
Openings
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Hairy Woodpecker Christy
Farm
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Northern Flicker Oak
Openings
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Pileated Woodpecker Irwin
Prairie
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American Kestrel
Jerusalem Rd
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Merlin Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
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Peregrine Falcon
Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area
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Eastern Wood-Pewee Oak
Openings
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Alder Flycatcher
McClure's Marsh
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Willow Flycatcher Christy Farm
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Least Flycatcher Pipe Creek
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Eastern Phoebe Oak
Openings
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Great Crested Flycatcher
Oak Openings
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Eastern Kingbird Oak
Openings
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White-eyed Vireo Oak
Openings
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Yellow-throated Vireo Oak
Openings
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Blue-headed Vireo
Pearson Metropark
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Warbling Vireo Oak
Openings
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Red-eyed Vireo Oak
Openings
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Blue Jay Oak Openings
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American Crow Oak
Openings
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Horned Lark McClure's
Marsh
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Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Pipe Creek
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Purple Martin
McClure's Marsh
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Tree Swallow Oak
Openings
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Bank Swallow Pipe Creek
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Barn Swallow Oak
Openings
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Cliff Swallow Maumee Bay SP
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Black-capped Chickadee
Oak Openings
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Tufted Titmouse Oak
Openings
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Oak Openings
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House Wren Oak
Openings
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Marsh Wren McClure's
Marsh
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Oak
Openings
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Eastern Bluebird Oak
Openings
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Veery Oak Openings
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Gray-cheeked Thrush Ottawa NWR Estuary Trail
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Swainson's Thrush Oak Openings
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Wood Thrush Christy
Farm
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American Robin Oak
Openings
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Gray Catbird Oak
Openings
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Brown Thrasher Oak
Openings
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Northern Mockingbird Pipe
Creek
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European Starling Oak
Openings
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Cedar Waxwing Pipe
Creek
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Ovenbird Oak Openings
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Northern Waterthrush Pipe Creek
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Blue-winged Warbler Oak Openings
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Black-and-white Warbler
Oak Openings
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Prothonotary Warbler Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
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Tennessee Warbler Sheldon Marsh
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Nashville Warbler Oak Openings
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Connecticut Warbler Sheldon Marsh
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Mourning Warbler Oak Openings
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Common Yellowthroat Oak
Openings
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Hooded Warbler Secor
Metropark
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American Redstart Oak
Openings
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Cape May Warbler Magee Marsh Boardwalk
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Northern Parula Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
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Magnolia Warbler Oak
Openings
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Bay-breasted Warbler Magee Marsh Boardwalk
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Blackburnian Warbler Magee Marsh Boardwalk
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Yellow Warbler Oak
Openings
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Chestnut-sided Warbler Oak Openings
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Blackpoll Warbler Oak Openings
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Black-throated Blue Warbler
Magee Marsh Boardwalk
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Yellow-rumped Warbler Oak
Openings
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Black-throated Green Warbler
Magee Marsh Boardwalk
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Canada Warbler Oak
Openings
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Wilson's Warbler Oak Openings
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Eastern Towhee Oak
Openings
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Chipping Sparrow Oak
Openings
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Field Sparrow Oak
Openings
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Lark Sparrow Oak Openings
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Savannah Sparrow Christy
Farm
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Grasshopper Sparrow Oak
Openings
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HENSLOW'S SPARROW Oak Openings
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Song Sparrow Oak
Openings
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White-crowned Sparrow Oak
Openings
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Scarlet Tanager Oak Openings
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Northern Cardinal Oak
Openings
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Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Sheldon Marsh
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Indigo Bunting Oak
Openings
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Bobolink Harder grasslands
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Red-winged Blackbird Oak
Openings
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Eastern Meadowlark Oak
Openings
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Common Grackle Oak
Openings
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Brown-headed Cowbird Oak
Openings
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Orchard Oriole Maumee
Bay SP Boardwalk
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Baltimore Oriole Oak
Openings
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House Finch Oak
Openings
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Pine Siskin Oak
Openings
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American Goldfinch Oak
Openings
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House Sparrow
McClure's Marsh
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Maumee Bay SP 5/14--Cliff Swallow
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| Cliff Swallow showing white forehead patch |
It was there that we also picked up our first year bird in Ohio, accidentally and incidentally. As I was waiting for Shari to come back out, I saw some swallows flying out from under the carport in front of the lodge. Something about them told me that they weren't Barn Swallows and when I looked up at the roof of both the carport and covered entrance way I saw mud nests attached to almost every corner, with swallows flying in and out of them. I could also hear chicks begging. The little white forehead patch cinched the identification: Cliff Swallows. One of the nests was actually built atop a Barn Swallow nest. I'm glad I got photos when I did, because a couple of days later most of the nests had been knocked down by the lodge staff--apparently they wanted to avoid paying customers getting surprises from on high.
Oak Openings 5/15--Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker, Swainson's Thrush, Blue-winged, Nashville, Mourning, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, & Wilson's Warblers, Lark Sparrow, HENSLOW'S SPARROW, Scarlet Tanager
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| Lark Sparrow Photos: Shari Zirlin |
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| Red-headed Woodpecker |
Most of the birds we get in Ohio we will probably get in New Jersey if we look hard enough, but there are a couple of sparrows that are found in Oak Openings that are respectively, very hard to get in NJ and practically impossible. Those were the birds I was especially interested in. Happily, so were the leaders.
Lark Sparrow I've seen a couple of time in NJ, both times I believe at Sandy Hook, but Oak Openings is the place to go in NW Ohio to find them. It took some doing, but finally, toward the end of our stay there we found one very accommodating bird that posed for us on the roadside.
Earlier in the day we spent a long time staring into a grassy field. It looked a lot like the fields in Colliers Mills here in NJ and it too had Grasshopper Sparrows. But that wasn't the bird of interest. After much time looking and listening I was finally able to home in on the "Gdip" of a HENSLOW'S SPARROW, a very secretive, hard to find prairie grasslands species. This was our only life bird for the trip. Hearing isn't as good as seeing but it counts and for a bird this small and furtive I count it a success, especially since two years ago we didn't even get that close. (Spoiler alert: the next day, in Sandusky County, I actually caught a glimpse on one.
When we first arrived, in the rain, the group gathered in a very fancy blind of the kind that many of the Metroparks have--Windows on Wildlife. But it was stuffy and the birds I could see were the birds I get at our feeders. Another group had a report of Mourning Warbler just behind the building, so despite the drizzle and damp, Shari & I followed them and were fortunate to see this always sought after warbler, high in a balsam fir tree, which in itself was very unusual, since the MOWA's are usually ground skulking birds.
Oak Openings is also a great place to find Red-headed Woodpecker and it lived up to its reputation. Across the field from where the Lark Sparrows nest we found at least 3 of them, feeding eye-height on the dead trees.
We spent around 7 hours at the park and garnered 68 species, 12 of them year birds. It was definitely worth the trip, even if I did feel that we could have blundered around the park just as well on our own. I doubt I would have heard the Henslow's if we had.
68 species
Canada Goose 2
Wood Duck 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1 heard
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 2 heard
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1 heard
Yellow-throated Vireo 1 heard
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 heard
Eastern Bluebird 1
Veery 1 heard
Swainson's Thrush 2
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 1
Ovenbird 2 heard
Blue-winged Warbler 1 heard
Black-and-white Warbler 1 heard
Nashville Warbler 3 heard
Mourning Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
American Redstart 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Canada Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 2
Eastern Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow 5
Field Sparrow 4
Lark Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
HENSLOW'S SPARROW 1 heard
Song Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Scarlet Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Common Grackle 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Baltimore Oriole 14
House Finch 2 heard
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch 5
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