Hi Everyone,
Beth and I left Cleveland under pouring rain Saturday morning, but our
confidence in the weather forecasts was rewarded; it was a beautiful day in
the Western Basin.
We went first to do the Ottawa auto tour. We did NOT see the yellow-headed
blackbirds, but considering it Œs the summer solstice, when we wouldn¹t
expect a great variety, it was a good day. Actually, it¹s always a pleasure
to spend time at Ottawa, and as usual on these mothly tour days, we saw a
few friends, always an added bonus. Here¹s our Ottawa list:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk (we heard what I ‹and some others‹thought was a fledgling
calling from a big cottonwood tree, but couldn¹t see it. I also heard an
adult call nearby)
Common Moorhen
American Coot (Coots and Moorhens heard but not seen‹were they protecting
young by sticking to the reeds?)
Killdeer. (At one point, we found a Killdeer ³nest²--four eggs right on the
road, obviously laid since the last tour, and they will hatch before the
next one. We put out an orange cone from an nearby junction to warn
motorists, and interestingly, it seemed to calm the adult that was sitting
on the eggs (s)he stipped getting up for each approaching car after that.)
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Flycatcher‹Empidonax sp. Since ti didn¹t sing....but with others, felt it
might have been Willow?
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-wing Swallow
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Marsh Wren (several‹ at least four in each of two different spots)
Sedge Wren ! (This was because some friends were already listening to this
bird‹but we heard it well, and got good looks. The bird of the day for me!)
American Robin
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
From Ottawa, we went to Metzger Marsh, and took the trail well into the
southern area of the marsh, hoping for bitterns or rails. No such luck,
though we had enough mayflies (³Canadian soldiers²) to satisfy us for the
next ten years or so‹we left the trail with scores of them on each of us. At
Metzger we added to our list for the day:
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Common Tern
Forster¹s Tern (there were VERY few gulls or terns‹we saw half a dozen
individuals or fewer)
Double-crested Cormorant (one!)
Great Crested Flycatcher
Chimney Swift
Baltimore Oriole
Finally, we stopped at Magee Marsh. At the Center, we added:
Purple Martin
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
We went to the boardwalk, which of course was nearly empty of people at this
date. We saw one other birder and one person talking a walk for exercise.
But the place has its charms at this time‹the foliage is very dense, which
makes birding difficult, but it¹s quite beautiful. The woods are filled with
huge numbers of Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and American robins,
but there are other birds there, of course. We added to our day list:
Downy Woodpecker
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Prothonotary Warbler
We were also treated to seeing a Black-crowned Night Heron being chased by a
blackbird, not once but twice...
Finally, in addition to mayflies, deer flies, and some other flies we didn¹t
know, there were a good number of odonata species out.
Best wishes,
Steve Cagan
Cleveland Heights
-----------
Steve Cagan, photographer
www.stevecagan.com
216-932-2753 (USA)
Current and upcoming activities:
stevecagan.com/contents/currentactivities.html
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