Hi everyone,
Since I am probably the newest member of this listserv I figured I should introduce myself. I am
an active contributor to MassBird, as I am a MA resident, but I work for a company based out of
Dayton, and thus I have been flying out here almost every month, usually staying for 1-2
weeks. I figured it was time to join this list since I am out here so frequently, and I am always
birding when I come.
Anyway, on to some sightins from this weekend!
I birded the Hoover Reservoir yesterday (7/21) from 6:30am-4pm. My goal was to find my first
Prothonotary Warbler. (I have tried 3 other times this week at locations closer to me and struck
out each time). I was finally successful finding more than TEN of them in one very compact
location at the north end of the reservoir! (this was off in the woods near the waters edge, feel
free to contact me for exact location). Included amongst the 10 was one very young bird with
no tail feathers. I was confused by this, as I don't know if this is normal or not, however, it was
able to fly. It would follow one of its parents who was finding bugs and bringing them back to
her/her to eat.
Now on to the LITTLE BLUE HERON. Since I have never been to this reservoir before, let me
apologize in advance for not knowing exact location names. I drove along the East coast of the
reservoir, and took the first street that cuts through the middle of the reservoir (crossing the
bridge). There was a boat ramp and parking lot just after the bridge. I parked in the lot and
walked back up to the street, and walked along the guardrail towards the water and then
hopped over the guardrail and climbed down the rocks in order to reach the mudflats I had
seen from the road (I was on the North side of the bridge). I saw in the distance what I
assumed was a Great Egret and paid no attention to it. I photographed some of the shore birds
and green herons near me instead. Then I continued walking the flats towards the white bird.
As I got closer I realized it was too small to be a great egret, and it seemed too big or elongated
to be a Snowy Egret. I snapped a few shots from a distance and couldn't figure out why this
bird seemed different to me. I Then zoomed all the way in on one of the photos I took and
realized this bird lacked yellow lores! I have only seen 2 little blue herons prior to this one, but I
remembered that little blue herons are white when they are juveniles. After checking in my
Sibley guide when I got back in the car, and more closely examining my photos, the bird was
clearly a juvenile little blue. Since I have no way of processing my photos until I get home to
Boston, I took a photo with my phone of my LCD screen on the back of my camera so you all
can at least see the distinguishing characteristics.
You can see the photo on my Flickr page here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAQV3GG
This appears to be the first little blue heron sighting at the reservoir since 2007 (according to
ebird data). And the first sighting of a little blue in the central part of OH for the year (according
to ebird data).
The other rare-ish sighting in the same location on the reservoir was that of 9 GRAYLAG
GEESE. They were all hanging out together in a flock of about 80-100 Canda's. At first I
thought they were Snow Geese, but upon closer inspection they were clearly Graylags. Is this
a normal sighting here? You can find a photo of the Graylags at the same link above. In order
to find them you have to continue along the mud flats until they turn left into an inlet. The birds
were right after this left turn on the shore on the other side of the water.
Sorry for such a long post! Once I become more familiar with locations I will shorten them up, I
promise! Complete sighting lists for each location can be found below.
Thanks for letting me join the OH birding community!
Best,
David Bernstein
Boston, MA
DavidBBernstein AT gmail
North Hoover Resevoir, Delaware, US-OH
Jul 21, 2012 6:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.4 mile(s)
Comments: Walked the boardwalk
31 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 75
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 40
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 25
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 9
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 3
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 3
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 60
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) 15
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 10
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 4
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 2
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 1 *appeared to be Prairie subspecies. All red
breast and belly with spotting on sides of breast. Will confirm once I am able to examine my
photos more closely.
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 5
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) 1
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) 8
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 4
Purple Martin (Progne subis) 1
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) 50
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 3
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 7
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Hoover Nature Preserve--Area N, Delaware, US-OH
Jul 21, 2012 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: Walked from below boardwalk all along water's edge back along the woods and
found trail back to street then retraced my steps back to where I started covering the same
tracks again
49 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 50
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 9
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 3
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 30
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 20
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 5
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 25
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 2
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 3
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) 2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 7
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 3
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) 3
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 9
Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) 3
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 4
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 2
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 20
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 2
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 15
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 12
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) 1
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) 10 All were found in a very small area. I SAW 10,
but I assume there were more. I photographed one juvenile being fed by a patent.
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 2
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 5
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 5
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 1
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 2
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 18
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
On Sunday, July 22, 2012, wrote:
Hoover Nature Preserve--Mud Hen Marsh, Delaware, US-OH
Jul 21, 2012 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
25 species
Graylag Goose (Anser anser) 9 Flock of 9. 3 all white, 6 brown with white bellies? Photos
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbbernstein/7625115398/" title="Graylag (domestic)
Geese by davidbbernstein1, on Flickr"><img
src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8018/7625115398_708c9e9b36.jpg" alt="Graylag (domestic)
Geese"></a>
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 100
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 20
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 25
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 6
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) 1 Juvenile. All white. Thick bill gray from base turning
black last quarter to tip. Green dull legs. Photos. Will attach photo later. <a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbbernstein/7625109006/" title="Little blue heron
Hoover Reservoir by davidbbernstein1, on Flickr"><img
src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7625109006_2ee2ba917e.jpg" alt="Little blue heron
Hoover Reservoir"></a>
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 3
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 8
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 40
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) 2
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 3
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 3
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 2
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) 3
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 6
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 25
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 15
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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