There were three stilt sandpipers at Pickerington Ponds today at 6:30pm (mudflats observed from the Wooduck picnic area). One was still in breeding plumage and the other two were molting into basic. Thanks to Ben W. for looking at my pics & confirming the ID (still learing all these shorebirds!). Other species present included:
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Killdeer
Great Egret
Green Heron (peeking in and out of the grassy area by the road)
I hope to find even more shorebirds with the Columbus Audubon Avids tomorrow at 5:30am (meeting in Worthington Mall parking lot, if anyone feels like waking up early ;-)
Cheers,
Heather
--- On Thu, 7/30/09, Dave Slager <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: Dave Slager <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Owling & human encounters
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009, 5:34 PM
> Some more things I've found helpful
> for roadside birding, atlasing, and owling:
>
> 1) Park away from houses or other buildings, and look
> for places
> where you can pull well off the road. If possible,
> use Google Maps
> aerial images ahead of time to plan good parking locations
> near
> quality habitat and away from houses.
>
> 2) Go to a Farm and Fleet store and buy a $5.00
> orange vest with
> reflective tape similar to what construction workers
> use. Wearing
> this while birding along the roadside increases your
> personal safety
> near traffic (especially at night) and virtually eliminates
> encounters
> with people--both people who might otherwise view you as
> suspicious
> and even well-meaning folks who might otherwise stop to ask
> if you are
> OK.
>
> 3) Hold a clipboard while birding and pretend to
> write things down
> while cars pass by.
>
> 4) If you are owling, avoid Friday and Saturday
> nights. Many more
> people are out and about on weekends than on weeknights.
>
> 5) You will invariably have at least some encounters
> with people.
> Have some official OBBA2 checklists and documents handy to
> show
> people. Mentioning OSU always does wonders!
> Take advantage of the
> opportunity to explain what you are doing and why it is
> important.
>
> Good luck and good birding,
>
> Dave Slager
> Columbus, Ohio
>
> On 7/30/09, Terri Martincic <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> > All,
> >
> > While owling for the atlas the police
> occasionally ask questions, mostly asking if I was
> OK. One evening at the end of a housing development a
> curious resident stopped to chat. He said he thought this
> project was in the newspaper, was that me? Was it in the
> police blotter I asked? We had a good laugh.
> >
> > I did print the sign for the car from the OBBAII
> website, and keep it in the car window. One time the
> officer took a good long look at it. Mentioning this is
> an Ohio State University bird research project helps.
> >
> > Peace,
> > Terri
> >
> >
> ______________________________________________________________________
> >
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> >
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> > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Dave Slager
> Graduate Student
> Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab
> School of Environment and Natural Resources
> The Ohio State University
> 210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road
> Columbus, OH 43210-1085
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> 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]
>
______________________________________________________________________
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]
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