An excursion to Deer Creek yesterday afternoon and another to Spring Valley this afternoon put me over the 100 mark, and not a moment too soon. My listing for the year is over, Yea! I've had enough. The best part of it for me was to force myself to take at least one photograph daily with only my 14mm lens where I found a year bird. On a few of those days the photo ops were mighty slim pickings. Now that this is over I definitely look forward to using some longer lenses and taking photos elsewhere!

At Deer Creek yesterday the reservoir was entirely frozen over, the first time I've ever seen it that way. At the north end where the creek flows in, a narrow stip of open water still hosted a couple of American Pipits. I saw no sign of any shrikes this year, but that doesn't mean the bird isn't around. If anyone has seen it, please let me know. Many Ring-necked Pheasants are easily seen now out in the open with all this snow in the northern parts of the wildlife area (Fayette County). ODNR hasn't restocked pheasants at Deer Creek in decades, so they're countable unlike the birds around Charlie's Pond and Killdeer Plains. The sunflower field near Miller Park was swarming with passerines in the hundreds, mainly Am. Goldfinches and Am Tree Sparrows, but also numerous other species including woodpeckers, titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, towhees, cardinals, etc. Anything could turn up there.

Spring Valley was loaded with birds today, not only at the well stocked feeders but along the trails too. The sunflower patch bordered by a row of standing corn there also hosted a wide variety of species. Sparrows I saw there on the trails included Am Tree, Field, Song, Swamp, Fox, White-thr, White-cr, and D-e Junco. The female Purple Finch put in an appearance at the feeder during my short sit there. Year bird #100 for me was Red-shouldered Hawk, of which I saw several more of on the drive home through Ceasar Creek. I know they're locally common in parts of Ohio, but I don't see them often in the places I visit regularly. Other birds at Spring Valley today included Hermit Thrushes, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Brown Creepers. The resident Barred Owl called from its regular spot at 4:00 this afternoon to make for a nice way to wind up the afternoon.

Bob Royse
http://www.roysephotos.com/2010listJAN.html

Robert Royse
[log in to unmask]
www.roysephotos.com


__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4765 (20100112) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

http://www.eset.com


______________________________________________________________________

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]