What a beautiful morning. I got out with my birding dog by 6:30 am, and
returned home about 2:30. We birded the Dillon WA across from the main
entrance to Black Hand Gorge, then walked the eastern 3 miles of the bike
trail, and return, total of about 8 miles. We saw 59 species, including a
new life bird for me. Lots of warblers were singing but not visible in the
leaves, so there were many birds that I did not ID, and thus did not include
below. A couple were new Licking Co. life birds, besides the gray-cheeked
thrush, which was an all-time lifer. I had great looks at this bird, saw it
from several angles in decent light at fairly close range for several
minutes. I know that it is hard for beginners to distinguish Swainson's
thrush from gray-cheeked, but I'm convinced that this is the correct ID.
I've seen Swainson's several times, including one earlier this year. The
bird I saw today had NO buffy overtones, no buffy spectacles. This bird was
overall cold gray, with the throat and breast spots standing out a little
more prominently than I expect on a Swainson's. Oh, happy day! Lifers are
getting harder and harder to collect without extensive traveling.
The day's list:
Great blue heron
Canada goose
Wood duck
Turkey vulture
Red-shouldered hawk
Red-tailed hawk - the closest I've ever been to a perched RTH!
Wild turkey
Killdeer
Mourning dove
Chimney swift
Belted kingfisher
Red-belllied woodpecker
Yellow-bellied sapsucker - very skittish bird - almost missed her!
Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker
Eastern wood-peewee - new year bird
Acadian flycatcher - new year bird, numerous and vocal!
Eastern phoebe
Tree swallow
Bank swallow
Gray catbird
Gray-cheeked thrush - LIFE BIRD #456
Hermit thrush
Wood thrush
American robin
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Carolina chickadee
Tufted titmouse
White-breasted nuthatch
Blue jay
American crow
European starling
White-eyed vireo
Yellow-throated vireo
Red-eyed vireo - numerous and singing
Warbling vireo
American goldfinch
Tennessee warbler - new Licking Co. bird (I may have seen one earlier, but
failed to ID it. This guy was singing, which helped.)
Northern parula
Yellow warbler
Black-throated blue warbler - first of the year for me
Yellow-rumped warbler
Black-throated green warbler
Yellow-throated warbler
Cerulean warbler - at the Dillon WA, the best looks I think I've ever had of
one, including Shawnee last year
Northern waterthrush
Louisiana waterthrush
Common yellowthroat
(Sadly, the Prothonotary warblers did not return to the Dillon WA wetlands
this year.)
Scarlet tanager
Eastern towhee
Song sparrow
Northern cardinal
Indigo bunting
Rose-breasted grosbeak - Dillon WA - single female
Red-winged blackbird
Common grackle
Brown-headed cowbird
Baltimore oriole
The bird du jour has to be the gray catbird. They were abundant, bold and
loud. One was taunting a white-eyed vireo who has been trying to establish
its territory, by imitating the white-eyed's call. I thought the vireo was
going to have an apoplectic fit. I swear the catbird winked at me, when I
started laughing.
Total species for May in Licking Co. to date: 89
Margaret Bowman
Licking Co., OH
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