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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