In years past I've found early September to be a great time for studying
terns at Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., n.w. Ohio. Today (Friday Sept. 5)
I visited and found about 300 terns resting on the beach there -- my
estimates were roughly 160 Common Terns, 120 Forster's Terns, and 20 Caspian
Terns. The opportunity to compare a lot of Forster's and Commons side by
side makes it easier to recognize the species when we see smaller numbers of
them separately. Right now there are still a few adult Commons that are
mostly in breeding plumage, but most of the birds are in transitional
plumages and showing a lot of variation. With the birds resting at close
range, it's possible to check the identifications of odd individuals by
considering their bill shapes, as the Common's bill is distinctly smaller
and narrower, more attenuated toward the tip. When the birds get up and fly
around (as happens periodically when they're disturbed), it's possible to
study their flight patterns also.

The flocks of gulls resting on the beaches and in the parking lots today
(mostly Ring-billed, some Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls) included a single
one-year-old Lesser Black-backed Gull in the 2nd lot back from the beach --
this species shows up more frequently in winter here. Along the water's edge
on the beach were single juveniles of Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone. Brian
Zwiebel had seen a Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the grass near the beach a few
days ago but I didn't see it today.

A quick check of the wildlife beach at Magee Marsh turned up a flock of 9
Sanderlings (2 adults, the rest juveniles), a Spotted Sandpiper, and a
single juv Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  When I've seen Buff-breasteds on open
beach situations before, they've always acted nervous, as if they felt out
of place, and today's bird was acting that way as well.  A number of migrant
Magnolias and a few other warblers were in the brush along the wildlife
beach but they were quiet and elusive.  With the wind shifting around to the
north now, I expect there will be an influx of songbird migrants this
weekend.

The window on wildlife at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory now features a
new rain garden and water feature, and migrants are discovering the water --
a Mourning Warbler was seen there today, a Canada Warbler a couple of days
ago.

Needless to say, while I was out today I didn't encounter any
hurricane-related birds.  But there was a frigatebird seen in east-central
Illinois yesterday ... it's still possible that some odd storm-driven bird
might show up in Ohio.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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