Part of my seasonal position with Black Swamp Bird Observatory requires me to go birding and share reports of what's happening with migration in this area. (It's a tough job, but someone's go to do it!).  The neotropical migrants most associated with spring migration may not be here yet, but the exciting transition into the spring season has certainly begun!  Here in the region around Black Swamp Bird Observatory/Magee Marsh/Northwest Ohio, we have been seeing many of the signs of this transition.  One of the easiest to notice is the male Red-winged Blackbirds that are singing on territory.  Personally, waking up to their song rather than the cold winter wind blowing against the windows fills me with a sense of spring warmth that the first warblers never could.

But it isn't just the blackbirds; waterfowl are beginning to show signs of spring as well!  A lot of waterfowl are beginning to move, particularly large, high-flying flocks of swans heading north.  Even the resident Canada Geese are beginning to react and are pairing up out in the marshes.  Along with the waterfowl, Killdeer are becoming more and more common and I found an American Woodcock along the John Gallagher Memorial Walking Trail at BSBO yesterday as well.

For me, one of the most interesting migrants is a bird that I did not think of as being a migrant at all!  Flocks of American Crows have been showing up, a bird that is not typical along this part of the lakeshore most of the year.  Growing up in the Wooster area I would see crows every day and did not realize that crows migrated through every spring but here I went from not seeing a single crow a few weeks ago to frequently seeing small flocks moving through.

All of this is only the beginning as you all likely know, and things should really start picking up this weekend.  When the winds start blowing from the south finally warming things up around the state it should bring a lot of new migrants with it.  A lot of the "first one of the spring" species, such as Killdeer and American Woodcock, should become groups.  However, the most dramatic change should be the first movement of hawks.  When the weather switches, expect to see hawks moving north, with the dominant species being Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, and Cooper's Hawks.  Friday and Saturday, look great for hawk-watching and places like the tower at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area or the hill at Maumee Bay State Park are excellent places to watch these exciting migrants!

It isn't May yet but migration has started! It's time to let the warm south breeze blow away the winter blues and get out birding to take in one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world. I know I will!
Ryan Steiner
Research & Education Intern
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
13551 West State Route 2
Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449
419-898-4070
www.bsbobird.org

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