Since signing up last week to atlas seven blocks for OBBA II, I have been
concentrating my time on "over-view", to check out the available habitats,
contact landowners, etc.  I have some great access to otherwise unavailable
land, and the biggest surprise is how accommodating the owners/residents are
when they learn of my purpose.  People are even stopping me to ask what I'm
doing, and then volunteering "their" woods, streams, fields, fencerows, etc.
I've put in about 10 hours so far, with interesting results/observations.



Surprise #1:  red-headed woodpeckers.

If you are having trouble finding one for your year list, just travel any
road in Utica 4 (59C6NE).  I believe my count is up to 21 different birds
now, all in that block.  I've seen pairs, groups of three, singles carrying
food.  A landowner told me this morning that she has two that spend the
night in her yard tree, and fly out the next day to wherever.  They also
take suet from her feeders in winter.



Surprise #2:  while trying to spot a calling scarlet tanager in the
treetops, I was witness to a pair of yellow-billed cuckoos copulating. (My
apologies to the blissful couple.)



Surprise #3, which shouldn't have been a surprise, really.  The common
nighthawks that aren't coming around my neighborhood, haven't left Licking
Co. altogether.  They may be found in multiples over downtown Newark,
seeming to center over the area of 2nd Street and East Main.  Block Newark 5
(59D6CE).



Watching adults feeding recently fledged young is always a thrill:



Friday in Newark 1 (59D6NW) - a pair of orchard orioles feeding two
fledglings

Saturday in Utica 4 (59C6NE) - field sparrow feeding good-sized young in a
fencerow

Sunday in Utica 2 (59C6CW) - great-crested flycatchers feeding two pretty
good sized fledglings

Today in Utica 4 (59C6NE) - an adult northern flicker feeding a very fuzzy
single fledgling



This morning, after my pre-dawn run to check on the common nighthawks, I
birded Utica 4 (59C6NE), and observed all of the following:



Great blue heron - X (fly-over)

Turkey vulture - OS, some perched in trees, others circling overhead

Red-tailed hawk - OS

American kestrel - PO, and some interesting interactive behavior between
them

Killdeer - OS, many, many - probably included several first summer juveniles

Mourning dove - OS

Yellow-billed cuckoo - CC

Red-headed woodpecker - CF

Northern flicker - CF, FY

Eastern phoebe - I believe these may have been first summer juveniles, as
their call was hoarser and lower-pitched than adults

Barn swallows - OS

Cedar waxwing - CM (they seem to favor shrubby habitat with lots of rose
hips, crabapple and wild blackberries.)

House wren - T1

Gray catbird - PO

Northern mockingbird - T1

Brown thrasher - PO, CF - several pairs observed

Wood thrush - OS

American robin - OS

Blue-gray gnatcatcher - OS

Carolina chickadee - OS

Blue jay - OS

American crow - OS, probable first summer juveniles, whose call is low and
hoarse like a fish crow

European starling - nesting in martin house

House sparrow - nesting in same martin house, not too choosy about who its
neighbors are!

White-eyed vireo - OS

Warbling vireo - female CF

American goldfinch - these guys are finally getting serious about settling
down to raise their families.

Yellow warbler - three pairs, PO, CF, T1

Common yellowthroat - OS, T1 (several singing males)

Scarlet tanager - PO

Eastern towhee - OS

Chipping sparrow - T1

Field sparrow - at least 9 pairs in the shrubby pasture where I was
permitted access, some carrying food.  T1, CF

Song sparrow - OS, T1

Northern cardinal - PO

Indigo bunting - PO

Eastern meadowlark - OS

Common grackle - OS

Brown-headed cowbird - PO

Baltimore oriole - a pair chased a crow out of "their" sycamore tree.  Would
the code be AG?

Orchard oriole - until I started atlasing last week, I had never seen one in
Licking Co.  Now I've seen two, in two different blocks.



I believe that's 42 species, plus the common nighthawk I got pre-dawn,
mentioned above.



A couple of comments on my methods for keeping track of statistics:



I use AviSys software, and have for some time now.  It's easy to set up
"locations", so I created a separate location for each of the blocks that I
signed up to atlas.  As I am out, I take notes in a small notepad which fits
neatly in any pocket.  As soon as I get home, I enter the notes into my
software.  Then, I print out a report, which I three-hole punch and keep in
my atlasing notebook.  I printed out two kinds of block maps for each of my
blocks, which I have in sheet protectors in the notebook, as well.  Then, I
enter all that day's sightings onto the Atlas website.  It took me a little
while to get the hang of it, but now it goes pretty quickly.  This way, I am
always up-to-date, and less likely to forget something important - and at my
age, forgetting things is the norm, not the exception.



While I may drive around some to scope out future birding locations, I try
to limit my focused birding to one block per morning.  It's a lot less
confusing that way, and I feel that I am less likely to get confused on
where I've seen something and get it entered into the wrong block.



I wish you all the same joy I experience each day.



Margaret Bowman

Licking Co., OH






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