I just finished a lovely, interesting and very muddy three weeks of
observation at our farm on Flint Ridge in western Muskingum Co. Today, I am
back at work in Orange County, CA. Such is life. As I have often stated, our
place is an average piece of Ohio Appalachian upland. It is not a migrant
trap, although many migrants pass through. It is a nesting destination for 7
to 10 warbler species every year, and this year is looking fairly typical in
that regard. We have no wetlands per se, but the rainy spring season has the
hill gushing with springs and seeps. Those beautiful yellow flowers that
love wet areas (my wife calls them "swamp daisies") are blooming in places
where they usually don't.

The expected warbler nesters:

Common yellowthroat is again common. I hear four probable territories around
the field/forest edge.

Yellow warblers are consistently calling in two edge spots.

A single blue-wing territory on the edge of the "back forty" successional
field is being consistently graced by "fee-bzzzz." The odd-singing
blue-winged and the possible golden-winged have moved on.

Two Louisiana waterthrush territories, one by the "falls" and another near
the "Beach Point."

An ovenbird is being heard almost daily on the western slope above the
"falls."

The chat that I heard a week ago has apparently moved on. I had this species
nesting on the property between 2002 and 2008, and I hoped for a return. It
looks like good habitat, but I only heard that one chat for a few days this
season.

I saw a redstart first on Saturday, 5/7, and one has been consistently
singing in the same place at the foot of the hill in the Spring Hollow since
then. Looks like a possible nester.

Cerulean warblers showed up in considerable numbers on Friday 5/6, and
continued in numbers through Saturday. Sunday and Monday, one singing
cerulean was still around, near the redstart on Sunday through Tuesday. I
had them nesting on the property 2002 - 2003, although not since. Back then
they were housed in what I thought seemed an unlikely place, a very live
grape tangle high in a dead, rotting maple snag. The snag fell in the winter
of 2003-2004 and I haven't had nesting ceruleans since. However, this guy
looks and sounds promising. We will see when I return on the 19th. (Morning
of the 20th I will be certain to check.)

No Kentucky warblers, yet.

Hooded warblers are around, possibly three territories, but they are not
singing as robustly or consistently as in years past, at least while I have
been in the woods. We will see if they persist. This is a special bird for
me, since a hooded warbler flitting down to within five feet of
eight-year-old Bob Evans in the spring of 1962 is largely responsible for
sparking my lifelong interest in birds. I am thoroughly delighted to have
them on my property, a "Signature Bird" for the place, as long as they stay
around.

Other warblers that have been seen passing through:

yellow-rumped (of course), Nashville, magnolia (first seen 5/7),
black-throated green, black-throated blue, Tennessee, palm

The bulk of the passers-through have been yellow-rumped, black-throated
green and Nashville, although this survey could be affected by my reliance
on their singing.

Other species of special interest:

Eastern wood-pewee first whined in the forest canopy on May 6. Increasing
numbers since then. The phoebe that nested the past three years in the
rafters of the "tree-house" has relocated to the wood shed, a much safer
location since the tree-house has been expanded into a straw-bale cottage
that is more frequently inhabited. Acadian flycatchers first showed up on
Saturday, May 7. Now they are common in the hollows.

Red-eyed vireos have returned in typically strong numbers. Monday I heard a
white-eyed vireo near the entrance to the ARA trail. A blue-headed vireo was
my 131st yard bird, seen well in the morning light around 8AM on the 5th. I
have always expected to see one on our farm sometime; didn't think it would
take a decade.

Indigo buntings don't seem to be as numerous as in years past, although a
few are around. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows continue to move
through. Large numbers of field sparrows, as well as typical numbers of song
and chipping sparrows are around. A single swamp sparrow visited the feeders
on 5/3. Towhees are seemingly everywhere in the forest understory.

Perhaps my most interesting returning species is grasshopper sparrow. This
year we have divided the large pasture into horse and sheep sides. The
horses have been grazing all the way across the hilltop, whereas the sheep
have only grazed within sight of the barn. I might have expected this, since
the slightest provocation can send the sheep running back to the barnyard.
They are also a bit lazier than the horses, in my opinion. The spring has
been very wet, and the pasture growth is lush. There is plenty to graze on
within the ovine comfort zone, so the pasture over the hill on their side is
getting quite lush. Sunday (5/8) I heard a grasshopper sparrow singing over
there, which startled and delighted me. I haven't seen them on the farm
since 2001, when that part of the field was fallow ground. We will see if
this situation works. I think there is only one pair or possibly two.
Returning pioneers?

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County

______________________________________________________________________

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]