As Jim Witter reported earlier, and as predicted, there was a good arrival
of migrants this morning in the vicinity of the boardwalk at Magee Marsh
Wildlife Area, n.w. Ohio.  With strong southerly winds, migrants were
concentrated along the north edge of the woods (south edge of the parking
lot), but there were also many inside the woods along the boardwalk itself.
Birds were continuing to move into and through the area as the morning went
on.  As of midday, at least 19 species of warblers had been reliably
reported from the boardwalk area, with highlights including the Blue-winged
that Jim mentioned, Golden-winged, Orange-crowned, and Yellow-breasted Chat.
Singing male Blackburnian, Cape May, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white,
and Pine warblers were crowd-pleasers.  Other notable arrivals included
Eastern Kingbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, White-eyed
Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, White-crowned Sparrow,
Lincoln's Sparrow, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  At least four
Whip-poor-wills were found roosting near the boardwalk -- one of the
advantages of the number of birders present is that it increases the chance
that these cryptic nightjars will be spotted.  The rarest bird of the
morning was a young male Blue Grosbeak seen and photographed near the tower
at the west end of the boardwalk.  For those unfamiliar with the area, a map
is here:
http://www.bsbo.org/birding/pdf/magee_marsh_boardwalk_map_and_text.pdf

The winds are supposed to continue strong out of the south overnight Friday
night, with scattered showers moving into the area near dawn on Saturday.
Depending on the exact location and timing of those showers, the birding in
the area on Saturday could be anything from fairly good to fantastic.  It's
impossible to say at this point.  But the chance of rain certainly should
not keep birders away -- if anything, the rain could greatly improve the
birding possibilities.

Kenn Kaufman
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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