Today I took Al LaSala birding at Blackhand Gorge Nature Preserve in Licking County. This was the first time Al has been to Blackhand Gorge and likely not the last. The weather was great, comfortable temperatures, low humidity, sunny and cooperative birds. We started with the Marie Hickey Trail on the north side of the Licking River. The trail is accessed from Rockhaven Road. Then we birded the Blackhand and Quarry Rim Trails on the south side of the Licking River. These are accessed from the main parking lot which is off CR 273 just before Toboso.



My highlight of the day was a gorgeous male Cerulean Warbler that foraged about 20 feet from us at eyelevel in the sunlight. His color was stunning and often not seen as the species prefers the tree crowns and usually doesn’t drop down to give such splendid views. He didn’t lack strong competition as we also had a Prairie Warbler show off as it alit on a low shrub directly in front of us and did a 360 degree turn to ensure we didn’t miss ant field marks. Then there were the multiple Blue-winged Warblers that perched at the tops of large shrubs or moderately sized tress and sang their buzz like call for us. We also got great views of the many Yellow-breasted Chats that seemed to be everywhere. A conservative estimate is that we had well over a dozen Chats living up to their descriptive name. The birds present are all species that nest at Blackhand Gorge as we didn’t observe any late migrants.



Speci
es included:

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Hooded Merganser ducklings (Bottonbush Swamp)

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Barred Owl

Chimney Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Acadian Flycatcher

Least Flycatcher

Eastern Phoebe

Great Crested Flycatcher

White-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Tree Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

House Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Wood Thrush

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Brown Thrasher

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Blue-winged Warbler

Northern Parula

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Cerulean Warbler

Ovenbird

Louisiana Waterthrush

Common Yellowthroat

Hooded Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Scarlet Tanager

Eastern Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow



Charlie Bombaci

 

 

 





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