Hi all,
Thanks to everyone - nearly 120! - who came out yesterday to experience the
Arctic-like pleasures of the Wilds in its full winter glory. I really want
to thank the staff of the Wilds and Al Parker in particular for making their
facilities available to us at a time when they'd normally be closed, and Al
for treating each of the lunch groups to a nice program on raptors. The
Wilds has been very supportive of birders and birding. Also, while too
numerous to easily name, thanks to all of the topnotch birders that
volunteered their services to help lead each of the seven parties. Everyone
did a great job.
While this isn't a boom year for raptors - oh, meadow voles, where art thou?
- it isn't bad over there. Our group had probably 12-15 different
Rough-legged Hawks, including several stunning dark morphs, which were great
fun to observe. There seemed to be a bit of courtship antics going on with
one pair, which was engaged in some paired aerial soaring and diving.
Northern Harriers are also present in decent numbers; we had probably 15-20
of them. The Short-eared Owls popped out towards dusk, and one individual
treated the 60 or so of us that stayed to see them with especially good
views. Other raptors seen included Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks,
Cooper's Hawk, and American Kestrel.
The undisputed star of the raptorial show was the Golden Eagle. As far as I
could tell, every person and group saw it, and most got good looks. Because
of the large number of people, we came in for lunch in two shifts so as to
not overwhelm the building. While our group was in there listening to Al's
talk, the eagle soared right by the windows outside, emptying all the
birders from their seats and offering stunning views. Sorry that Al got
trumped, but he recovered nicely. And he had just finished talking about
Golden Eagles, so it was as if this bird was on cue. Indeed, we were looking
for the radio transmitter antenna and the guy in the shrubs flying it, but
the bird was for real. Earlier our group had seen the eagle very well, also
from the top of the hill where the restaurant is found. It perched in a tree
for a while, getting "mobbed" by crows which, I noticed, kept a rather
respectful distance. Then it flew to the ground on a distant hillside, and
was strafed by a Northern Harrier. When other lesser birds like that get
near it, the size contrast is impressive. This Golden Eagle was a subadult
and I only saw the one, but from other reports it sounds like a different
individual may also be present. If you want to see Golden Eagle in Ohio,
this is the place. Be very watchful all along Zion Ridge Rd., the Birding
Station (deck) at Jeffrey Point is a good place, or along International
Drive.
Waterfowl were also noteworthy as many of the ponds hadn't yet frozen solid.
About twelve species were seen, including lots of Ring-necked Ducks; a
Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal were noteworthy. One Snow Bunting was
found amongst the Horned Larks, and some Eastern Meadowlarks were also seen.
Don't have a complete listing of everything that everyone found; may have
been some other notable goodies.
Again, great to see everyone yesterday, and thanks to everyone for coming.
Jim McCormac, President
Ohio Ornithological Society
Jim McCormac
Columbus, Ohio
Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/
Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org
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