Wow, Troy!  Thank you so much for that excellent summary!  I'm not
necessarily "new," but really appreciate having all that info in one place
and will pass it along to any new birders I encounter.  Thanks to Kenn for
additional links and info as well!
Sincerely,
Katrina Heinzen
Cleveland Heights

On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 10:46 AM, troy shively <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I think its great to see so many new birders is Ohio.  For those of you new
> to the area the OOS website ( www.ohiobirds.org ) has many great resources
> including site guides for good places to see birds in all areas of the
> state.  If I were an avid birder and I just moved here I would try to visit
> the following places in the next year or so to maximize your Ohio/life list:
>
>
>
> March:
>
> 1. If you are into gulls, and it takes a special birder to be into gulls, I
> would visit East 72nd Street in Cleveland as well as Eastlake Power Plant
> and Lorain Harbor.  There are many other very worthy spots along the lake
> for gulls and waterfowl, but these are often the best.
>
>
>
> 2. Another great March birding experiance is Killdeer Plains/Big Island.
>  Short-eared owls are still around and all the other winter raptors can
> still be found with not too much difficulty.  You also should have good
> waterfowl numbers and a fair shot at rusty/brewer's blackbirds.
>
>
>
> April:
>
> 1. This is the spring shorebirding month, and I would return to Killdeer
> Plains and Big Island. You have a shot to get about 15 species of shorebirds
> if you spend a whole day there sifting through birds.  Most Aprils have
> hundreds of American golden plovers in this area and woodcocks are usually
> easily found at dust at killdeer.
>
>
>
> 2. Shawnee State Forest - Plan to spend a couple days down here the last
> week of April.  You can easily get 20 warbler species, and you often get
> good views.  A good map is needed, and I would follow the site guide at the
> OOS website.  Also a night trip to the Edge of Appalachia Preserve should
> get you whips and chucks.  On your way down, stop by Columbus to get the
> yellow-crowned night heron.
>
>
>
> May:
>
> 1.  May is for marshes, and I would spend several days checking out the
> following places for migrants and shorebirds: Magee Marsh, Ottawa National
> Wildlife Refuge, Metzger Marsh, Mallard Club Marsh, Pipe Creek, Pickerell
> Creek, Maumee Bay, and may others in that area.  You could easily get 150
> species with some heavy birding on a weekend up there in May.
>
>
>
> June:
>
> 1. I would spend June cleaning up your year list by visiting a spot to get
> grassland species.  its a long drive, but Crown City Wildlife Area is good
> for lots of things including blue grosbeak.  Other good spots are: The
> Wilds, Killdeer Plains/Big Island, Woodburry Wildlife Area and Glacier Ridge
> Metropark.  Learning the songs before a visit is a must as often the birds
> are down in the grass.
>
>
>
> 2. I would also visit the Oak Opennings/Irwin Prairie for lark sparrow,
> summer tanager, blue grosbeak, and a host of other birds that are hard to
> get anywhere else in Ohio.
>
>
>
> 3. Lastly, no June should go by without a visit to the Hocking Hills/Clear
> Creek Metropark.  These are the best places to see nesting warblers such as
> cerulean and worm-eating warblers as well as hermit thrushes and veeries.
>  Check the site guides for more details.
>
>
>
> July:
>
> 1. This is a rough month because most of the June trips would still apply,
> but the birds are only singing in the early morning.  I would suggest at
> least one trip near the end of the month to Conneaut Harbor.  Go on a
> weekday.  The shorebirds are tame here and you always have great variety.
>
>
>
> August/September
>
> 1.  These are also shorebird months, and I would visit the sites listed in
> April as well as Conneaut.  Magee can be good these months for fall
> migrants, and places like the Oak Opennings can always have something neat.
>  Check the listserve these months to find the hot spots.
>
>
>
> October/November-
>
> 1.  I would take a trip to anywhere that sparrows are being seen in
> numbers.  Often the old Collesium, Funk, Big Island, and Arcola Creek will
> have Nelson's and/or Leconte's sparrows.
>
>
>
> 2. Hit the western lakes and resevoirs.  If you spend a day or two hitting
> the following areas: Indian Lake, Grand Lake St. Mary's(especially the
> hatchery), Buck Creek, Caesar's Creek, and the Lima reseviors, you should
> have a good chance at getting one or more of the following: red-necked
> grebe, eared grebe, laughing gull, franklin's gull, one of the scoters,
> cackling goose.  Keep an eye out for sabine's and california gulls as well.
>
>
>
> 3. This is also a good time to look for brant, red phalarope, harlequin
> duck, jaegers, gannets, eiders, and purple sandpipers at places like
> Headlands Beach, Fairport Harbor, Conneaut and many of the other gulls spots
> from March.
>
>
>
> 4. Decemeber/January/February
>
> 1. Do some CBC's for some real fun. I suggest the Kingston count on January
> 1st.
>
>
>
> 2. Hit the Oak Opennings for a chance at siskins, crossbills, and other
> winter finches.  The windows on wildlife feeders there are always worth a
> check.
>
>
>
> 3.  hit the Killdeer Plains are for winter raptors and longspurs/snow
> buntings.  A trip to The Wilds is always a lot of fun this time of year as
> well.
>
>
>
>
>
> All in all this list should lead you to most of the regularly occuring
> birds.  There are many clubs and organizations that lead tours and that is a
> good place to start.  You can meet other birders from Ohio and often share
> the gas cost. Like I said before, the site guides are nice, and if you watch
> the listserve you will often get to see who are the "owners" of each local
> patch.  They would be the people to ask about more specific birds. If I
> could go only one place all year, I would go to Magee Marsh the second week
> of May on a weekday.
>
>
>
> I hope all this rambling had some use:)
>
> Troy
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection.
> http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/
>  ______________________________________________________________________
>
> 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]