Howdy all,
My January quest for 100 species continued by starting the day at Camp
Dennison on the east side of Cincinnati, where I found three Green-winged
Teal, before the Cincinnati Bird Club Field Trip for waterfowl started.
For a complete report of that trip led by Bob Foppe, go to
Cincinatibirds.com under Sightings.  I stopped by the Tech Center east of
Milford off of Rt 50 in search of an Eastern Phoebe and first found an
adult Sharp-shineed Hawk, hunting by watching the ground below some
ornamental trees filled with berries.  I was able to get quite close to
this bird inside my van as a blind.  Sharp-shinned Hawks are really not as
common as Cooper's Hawk in this area so I had a chance to study it at
close range.  It was smaller than a Cooper's Hawk with a proportionately
smaller head, quite apparent while it was perched and also quite apparent
in flight particularly while sailing, during which the head is tucked back
in relative  to the front edge of the wings.  The nape was completely
solid dark gray with no whitish or light gray wash like a Cooper's Hawk. I
found the eastern Phoebe just where Bob Foppe told me it would be, at the
intersection of Tech Center and Eastman.  However, Saturday morning the
Eastern Phoebe was not east of this intersection, as reported to me by Bob
Foppe, but was west along and embankment just where Eastman goes down
hill.  The Phoebe continued to spend time in the area visiting trees at
the church on this corner.  I continued to Clermont County east of Bethel
to Dean Road, but had no success there finding either White-crowned and
Fox Sparrows or Red-headed Woodpeckers as reported to me by Bob Foppe.  It
was probably too late in the morning.  So, I stopped at a private yard
with feeders off of Rt 125 west of Bethel, and looked for but did not find
Fox Sparrow, but greatly enjoyed the busy Red-headed Woopeckers, at least
two.  I ended the day in western Hamilton County.  At Miami Whitewater, I
had two White-crowned Sparrows, new for the year, as well as one Eastern
Towhee, a number of Song Sparrows, along the western hedgerow that borders
the marsh and is accessible from Baughman Road and about three Eastern
Bluebirds feeding in the eastern edge of the marsh.  There were two
Killdeer in the field next to the parking area on Baughman Road.  I
checked a location reported by Paul Wharton south of I74 and south of the
intersection of Dry Fork Road and Harrison Avenue (go south at the Dry
Fork Exit on I74) on a dead end road for American Pipits, Savannah
Sparrows, which in late December where mixed in with a flock of Horned
Larks.   See report on Cincinnatibirds.com.  No luck there in the
harvested corn field, winter wheat field and grassy area.  However, the
grassy area produced a large flock of Tree Sparrows, +50, and many Song
Sparrows.  Not as much activity late in the day.  I ended the day at the
Fort Hill Power Plant below the lookout in Shawnee Lookout Park just as
the sun was setting, where I saw a Peregrine Falcon, fly behind the two
left stacks and disappear from view.  Thanks to Jeff Hayes for the hint
about this location.  Not sure if the Peregrine Falcon went to roost or
continued further east.  I briefly looked at the flooded area in the
fields along Lawrenceburg Road east from Elizabethtown, OH to the bridge
across the Whitewater River and the gravel pit (Lost Bridge area), as well
as the pond at Stateline Road nothe of Route 50 but found nothing unusual.
 There were several 100 Ring-billed Gulls in the fileds and a hadfull of
Canada Geese in the fooded gravel pit.  I ended the day at 92 species for
2007 in Ohio.  Thanks to Bob Foppe for his helpful suggestions for bird
locations.
Jay

Jay G. Lehman
Cincinnati, OH
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