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Fri, 5 Jun 2009 19:14:26 -0400 |
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Some days life is good. Today marks the ninth anniversary of my open heart surgery. I celebrated still being here [my blockages were discovered by accident and before they got me] by getting out to give coverage to a new block in Delaware County for the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II. The site is on private property owned by a fine gentleman and his lovely wife who I have had the privilege to meet through a mutual friend. They have kept this land pristine and it is home to many animals and plants that are flourishing. I tip my hat to them for being wonderful stewards of this property. The 78 species of birds I observed there today was a great way to celebrate being alive. Some of the species I located I expected, but then there are the delightful surprises that seem to drop into your lap like the pair of Brown Creepers I discovered building a nest beneath the loose bark of a tree in a large natural forest pond. I had gone to this pond to get the two pairs of Red-headed Woodpecke
rs and a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that I knew should be there from a recent visit. Other things that stood out were Wild Turkey hens with their pullets in tow, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks constructing their nest, an adult Barred Owl with its owlet who is getting big, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher snuggling down on her tiny nest, finding two male Cerulean Warblers in the sunlight and then finding a female with one of them, the intense red of a male Scarlet Tanager in the sun, and a Yellow-breasted Chat that seemed to carry on a conversation with me. The list of species I observed in this special tract of habitats were:
Canada Geese with goslings
Wood Duck hens with ducklings
Mallard hens with ducklings
Hooded Merganser hen with ducklings
Wild Turkey hens with their pullets
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl and big owlet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 pairs feeding young at nest hole
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpeckers feeding young at nest hole
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Charlie Bombaci
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