Jan. 1 is always a fun day to go birding and start the year. Last year I went for the 100 species in January, and got that fairly easily, but as the year progressed I stopped keeping track and have no idea how many species I saw in Ohio for 2007. I can't remember exactly what I did or didn't see during the spring and fall migrations at this point. I have no intentions of driving all over the place this month just to find 100 species with gas at over $3 a gallon, but it's still fun to start the year out seeing everything with a fresh view. Hopefully I can at least keep track of what I saw throughout the year too.

I slept to a comfortable hour and got up around 9:30, late for a birder, but still pretty early for a musician who doesn't have to work that day. I opened the curtain quickly by where my feeders are to scare off the House Sparrows that may have been present. Northern Cardinals (#1) started off the year. If they were present when I opened the curtain, it didn't take long for House Sparrows (#2) to return. Looking around, there were American Goldfinches (#3) at my thistle feeder, a Downy Woodpecker (#4) at the suet, and some White-throated Sparrows (#5) feeding on the ground. After making a cup of coffee I stepped outside, still not dressed yet and in my bare feet. It was very cold and very windy. Some American Robins (#6) flew overhead and some Ring-billed Gulls (#7) could be seen through the trees flying over the Scioto River. It was too cold to stand around for long out there without a coat or shoes, so I came back in for another cup of coffee. There wasn't much feeder activity in the wind and only a few more regulars made an appearance : Carolina Chickadee (#8), House Finch (#9), and Dark-eyed Junco (#10). After a shower and a bite to eat, I finally made my way down to the riverbed around 10:30 or so. It was sheltered from the wind and there was a lot of bird activity down there. American Robins, which were absent here 2 days ago for the CBC were present in the hundreds, and along with them were a few of the inevitable European Starlings (#11). Sheltering themselves from the wind in the riverbed were some more backyard regulars : Mourning Doves (#12), a Red-bellied Woodpecker (#13), and a pair of Carolina Wrens (#14). A Belted Kingfisher (#15) was heard rattling before I even turned by binoculars toward the river itself. The first bird I saw when I did look to the river was a large bird flying over it, a Red-tailed Hawk (#16).  I walked north a short way along the river to a spot where I saw a Common Goldeneye for the CBC two days ago. I didn't see the goldeneye, but did add Mallard (#17), and Great Blue Heron (#18) to my year list. Turning back, the neighborhood White-breasted Nuthatches (#19) were calling in the riverbed just below where my feeders are. Where were the Red-breasteds? A pair has been present here since mid-Sept., but were nowhere to be found today. Downstream in the river I saw some Canada Geese (#20) and Hooded Mergansers (#21). Since this morning's pot of coffee was so tasty, I went back inside to enjoy another cup hoping the Red-brested Nuthatches would show up for some suet, but they didn't.

At around 11:30 I started a quick loop to look at some of the most productive spots from my CBC route. I first headed north to the part of the Scioto River below Griggs Dam. From the parking lot by the frisbee golf course I could see some American Black Ducks (#22) and a Pied-billed Grebe (#23) in the river. The little woodlot by the dam wall was swarming with passerines two days ago including most of the starlings and robins for my CBC tally, but both those species were totally absent there. I did find a pair of Brown Creepers (#24), and a flock of about 8 Golden-crowned Kinglets (#25). Two days ago in all the commotion I could only find one creeper, and didn't see any kinglets at all. In the reservoir above the dam I scoped through all the gulls hoping to refind the Herring Gull that was there for the CBC, but only Ring-billeds were seen. The next stop was the bike path south of 5th Ave. It was again very windy above the river, but I walked about a half mile or so until I saw my first Wood Duck (#26) of the year. There were a few passerines that I hoped to add along that stretch, but it was too windy to find much. The next stop was the Watermark quarry.  I didn't see anything in it. If any of the ducks from the CBC were still present, they were sheltering in the back end of the quarry. The office building on the peninsula had locked the gate, so I couldn't drive out there. I parked in a lot on Watermark and carried my scope out to the back of the peninsula in the brutal cold wind. Yep, at the far end was each and every bird that was there two days ago huddled in a tight raft. First to see with out my scope was the large white Mute Swan (#27). As I focused my scope all the others came into view in : Ring-necked Duck (#28), American Coot (#29), Redhead (#30), Gadwall (#31), Lesser Scaup (#32), and finally Canvasback (#33). On the way back to the car, I caught a glimpse of a Song Sparrow (#34) quickly darting between bushes in the wind. 

I was time for a pit stop at Tim Horton's where I got a bagel before heading south. I didn't have to venture far before seeing some Rock Pigeons (#35) and American Crows (#36).  I got to Deer Creek before 2:00. I tried to poke through the fields in the Wildlife Area north of the reservoir, but it was just too windy. There were a lot of hunters around so I was wary about venturing too far away from the road into secluded sheltered areas. I did see some American Tree Sparrows (#37) and a few Northern Harriers (#38), but I'm sure many more birds were hunkered down out of sight such as White-crowned and Swamp Sparrows. The narrow riparian corridor offered no shelter from the wind and I didn't add any new species in there at all. A short loop through some nearby farm fields yielded only two more new species for the year : Horned Lark (#39) and American Kestrel (#40).

Giving up on passerines because of the wind, it was time to scope around the reservoir. Have I mentioned the wind? It was brutal. Not much was seen until I got to the Miller Park picnic area. There were hundreds of gulls, but all were Ring-billeds. I continued south to the parking area by the bridge south of Pancoastburg. I walked along the edge of the reservoir to where I saw a huge raft of puddle ducks. There were probably 600+ Mallards, and 100 Am. Black Ducks. Also present were more Ring-billed Gulls, a lot more. There were lots of birds, but not much variety. I got as close to the flocks as I could from the shore and spent a long while scoping through the birds. Eventually I did see a Gadwall, but that wasn't a year bird any more. After what seemed like an eternity in the wind, a small group of Mallards flew in and joined the raft. That caused all the birds to do some reshuffling. That's when I finally saw some Northern Pintails (#41) moving in the mix. They had been there all along out of sight. I then went to the south side of the reservoir in the state park, which is the windiest place in central Ohio to look for birds. Nothing much was seen from the beach except more Ring-billed Gulls, so I went to the lookouts down the road. That cliff is to central Ohio what Avon Lake is to the north.  It took a while to focus my scope because my eyes kept getting watery, but I did manage to eventually look at the only three ducks in the water, they were Ruddy Ducks (#42). Among the many gulls flying below was one and only one Bonaparte's Gull (#43). I then decided to go to the eastern side of the reservoir in the state park, where I erroneously thought I could find some sheltered wooded areas without much wind. The few places I checked were still very windy and largely devoid of noticeable birds except for the occasional chip notes of cardinals and juncos. The water treatment pond by the horseman's day area did hold a few more Gadwalls as well as several Northern Shovelers (#44). I was about to give up and go home when a flock of 33 Sandhill Cranes (#45) flew overhead.  I decided to head back to the other side of the reservoir to look and see where they landed and if there were any more. I did locate them near the huge raft of puddle ducks, but only those 33 individuals were there and I didn't want to hang around any longer. The surprise last species of there was seen then. A group of 7 Black Vultures (#46) briefly flew up and then back down on the NE side of the reservoir. There must be a small winter roost, since I saw them regularly last winter in the same spot. I spent a lot of time there doing atlas work last summer without ever seeing a Black Vulture anywhere in the area. It was already nearly 4:30, and still brutally windy without much light left, so I called it a day. There are a lot of common birds that I should have seen, but the year is young.

Bob Royse,
Columbus



1 - Northern Cardinal
2 - House Sparrow
3 - American Goldfinch
4 - Downy Woodpecker
5 - White-throated Sparrow
6 - American Robin
7 - Ring-billed Gull
8 - Carolina Chickadee
9 - House Finch
10 - Dark-eyed Junco
11 - European Starling
12 - Mourning Dove
13 - Red-bellied Woodpecker
14 - Carolina Wren
15 - Belted Kingfisher
16 - Red-tailed Hawk
17 - Mallard 
18 - Great Blue Heron
19 - White-breasted Nuthatch
20 - Canada Goose
21 - Hooded Merganser
22 - American Black Duck
23 - Pied-billed Grebe
24 - Brown Creeper
25 - Golden-crowned Kinglet
26 - Wood Duck
27 - Mute Swan
28 - Ring-necked Duck
29 - American Coot
30 - Redhead
31 - Gadwall
32 - Lesser Scaup
33 - Canvasback
34 - Song Sparrow
35 - Rock Pigeon
36 - American Crow
37 - American Tree Sparrow
38 - Northern Harrier
39 - Horned Lark
40 - American Kestrel
41 - Northern Pintail
42 - Ruddy Duck
43 - Bonaparte's Gull
44 - Northern Shoveler
45 - Sandhill Crane
46 - Black Vulture



Robert Royse
[log in to unmask]
www.roysephotos.com

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]