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July 2007

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From:
Laura Dornan <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Tue, 3 Jul 2007 23:51:40 EDT
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My husband, Tim, & I were joined by another couple, Joyce Stevens &  Dave
Kuseyeski, on a jaunt across the state to try to add several new birds  to our
Ohio lists.  Our target birds were the several rarities that have  been seen
lately.  We left early Mon. morning & headed to W. Manchester  to look for the
Eurasian Collared-doves.  We searched the town thoroughly,  by foot & car, for 1
1/2 hours with no luck & just as we were ready to  leave to try Ft.
Jefferson,  we saw 2 doves fly by.  The second one  was NOT a Mourning Dove!  We were
able to not only get good looks at 2  collared-doves on the ground but to share
our views through the spotting scope  with a few of the locals.  One of these
ladies was a postal clerk.  If  you go there to see the doves, stop in at the
post office to say hi & tell  her why you are there.  The town locals were
amazed to know people  were coming to their little town just to see birds.  And
while you are  there you might want to drop some money into the economy at the
little pizza  shop/restaurant on the corner.  We wanted to but it is closed
on  Mondays.

From there, we headed to Columbus to find the Yellow-crowned  Night-herons.
Bill Whan's directions from his posting on June 16 led us  right to the spot &
we had very little trouble finding the fledglings  (branchlings?) moving
about on the branches around the 2 nests.  We saw no  adults in the 1/2 hour or so
we spent there but we did see 5 birds in the  southernmost nest tree & then
later 5 in the nest tree to the north & we  never saw them move from 1 tree to
the other.  But I really don't think  just 2 nests could produce 10 birds,
could they?  Again, we shared  views with a lady & her daughters who said she
used to live in the  house right across from the nest.  They now live in Ariz.
but when they  come back to Ohio, she always comes to see the night-herons!

Our next destination was Logan for the Mississippi Kite, but as it was  now
late afternoon, we laid over in Lancaster & headed to Logan Tues.  morning.  We
arrived at the golf course at 9:00 AM, hoping we would be  lucky & find it
perched in a tree.  That didn't happen, but right  on schedule & with the help
of a few other people who had shown up, we saw  the kite soaring over the golf
course at 11:05.  Good enough looks to  easily tell it was a Mississippi Kite
before it dropped down below the  trees.  And then a grand bonus for us:
while watching for the  kite to come back into view, an immature Broad-winged Hawk
 flew to right above us & circled several times.  For Tim  & I, this was
another bird we had never seen in Ohio.  What a trip this  was turning out to be.
And if that wasn't enough, during the 2 hours we  waited to see the kite, we
of course checked out the other birds in  the trees & shrubs along the road.
One of those happened to be a  White-eyed Vireo feeding a fledgling, found by
Jim Fowler from  Detroit.  Yes, I will enter this in the OBBS.

Time now to head to Tri-Valley WA.  We had tried to find a Blue  Grosbeak
that had been reported in Clark County but were unsuccessful.  We  felt sure we
would find one at Tri-Valley.  But first a stop for lunch  at Clay Haus in
Somerset.  Great food, neat antiques, really nice  people & very reasonable
prices.  I highly recommend it.  We left  a "birding calling card".  At Tri-Valley
we drove what we believed to be  Madison-Hall Rd.  It was the right kind of
habitat & we easily  found Grasshopper & Henslow's Sparrows but no Blue Grosbeak.
 Upon  reaching the end of the road, we realized we weren't on Madison-Hall
but Black  Snake Rd.  It was time to head home but we decided to get back on
Madison-Hall for at least a little bit.  Drove a ways down the road, still  no
luck finding the grosbeak.  By now we did need to start  heading north, so we
turned around to head back, went just a few car lengths,  & there in a bush
was a Blue Grosbeak!  The collared-doves  &  grosbeak have taught us a new
birding strategy...upon arriving at  the intended spot, get out of the car, look
around, say "OK, it's time to  go" & head back to the car...the bird you want
will then appear!

What a trip this has been.  We found every bird we were aiming for  with a
special bonus.  Tim & I added 5 birds to our state list; Joyce  & Dave added 4
to their state list (they had seen a Broad-wing at Magee  Marsh) & 1 life bird
(Blue Grosbeak).  To end the trip in a fitting  manner, as we were driving to
Dave & Joyce's house, a Turkey Vulture took  off from the road in front of us
& flew straight & low down the  road.  Suddenly, from the woods to our right,
a Cooper's Hawk flew right at  the TV, hit it with it's talons on the back &
then stayed right on him for  several yards before flying back into the woods.
None of us had ever seen  anything like that before!  I am sure the Cooper's
has a nest  somewhere in those woods but why would it attack a TV, of all
things?   Wow.

Laura Dornan
Louisville, Stark County



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