Greetings!



Yesterday morning I trekked out to The Wilds in Muskingum County. The recent
spate of reports of Golden Eagles across the state helped me decide that if
I was going to try for the bird at The Wilds, Sunday was the day. I arrived
at The Wilds about 9am and was immediately greeted by a Northern Harrier
harrying a Red-tailed Hawk. I didn't spend much time driving the roads since
my goal was the eagle, but spent most of my 2.5 hours at the Jeffrey Point
birding station. Jay Lehman showed up about 10:30, right when I first
spotted the Golden Eagle cruising low across the face of the hill the
Overlook visitors center is on. We lost sight of the bird for a while but
then observed it catching a thermal and rising far up into the sky. Despite
its height, we managed to keep track of it as it headed north, then rapidly
descended and headed low across the fields perhaps no more than half a mile
away, with a brief encounter with a Red-tailed Hawk (dwarfed by the eagle).
This allowed for excellent looks at the bird as it headed back to the
Overlook hill, crossing in front of us and showing its golden coloration on
the wings and head, along with white in the base of the tail.



Another treat was the Osprey on the nest platform in the lake below the
birding station. Rough-legged Hawks are also still present and readily
observable, and two American Kestrels rounded out the raptor list for 6
species. American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds were ubiquitous.


My complete list:

Canada Goose:~300

Trumpeter Swan (residents): 5

Canvasback: 19

Ring-necked Duck: 71

Turkey Vulture: 14

Osprey: 1

Golden Eagle: 1

Northern Harrier: 6

Red-tailed Hawk: 5

Rough-legged Hawk: 7 (including 2 dark morph)

American Kestrel: 2

Killdeer: 5

Blue Jay: 1

American Crow: 3

Eastern Bluebird: 1

American Robin: ~250

European Starling: 20

American Tree Sparrow: 17

Song Sparrow: 7

Dark-eyed Junco: 21

Northern Cardinal: 1

Red-winged Blackbird: ~300

Eastern Meadowlark: 10



To get to The Wilds, take SR 146 east out of Zanesville, take SR 284
southeast from Chandlersville, and look for the big "The Wilds" sign. Turn
left on International Road once you are in the Wilds to get to the visitors
center (not open in the winter).



Good birding,

Andy Sewell

Columbus, Ohio

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