Today, Friday, December 23, 2011, I had the enjoyment of a second day in
the field with Logan Kahle, a teenage birder from San Francisco, California.
Last June we did summer birding in central Ohio. Today I took Logan out
for a taste of winter birding in Ohio. The day was a success from the first
bird (Eastern Screech Owl) to the last bird (Short-eared Owl).
We began at the bike path at Alum Creek Park South in Westerville. Two
rufous morph and one gray morph Eastern Screech Owls.
Stop two was Blendon Woods Metro Park. Barred Owl, Cooper’s Hawk, Pileated
Woodpecker and Wild Turkey. Black Ducks are common at Blendon Woods but
try to find them in San Francisco.
Stop three was Inniswood Metro Gardens. The Ovenbird which was gracious
enough to stay around for my Christmas Bird Count last Saturday is still
putting on a show. It came up on the deck at the rear of Innis House and posed
for Logan as he shot picture after picture. Ovenbird has been one of Logan’
s nemesis species. Who would ever predict it would finally cooperate in
late December in central Ohio?
Next we checked Hoover Reservoir for activity. The best location at Hoover
today was at Oxbow Road. Some of the species we located included Common
Loon (7), Pied-billed Grebe (6), Double-crested Cormornant (1), Hooded
Merganser (4), Red-breasted Merganser (100+) and Ruddy Duck (100+).
After a break for lunch we headed up to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in
Wyandot County. We skipped the owl groves due to lack of “mudder” footwear,
but still managed to get two Short-eared Owls perched in a tree just north
of the Sportsman’s Club. Other finds included Trumpeter Swan (3), Gadwall
(150+), American Wigeon (100+), American Coot (50+), Bald Eagle (6), Merlin
(1), Northern Harrier (1) and Northern Mocking Bird (1).
In all we tallied 55 species, not a bad day considering the date and
weather. But numbers alone don’t say it all as I once again had the enjoyment
of Logan’s company as I hosted him for a day of birding in central Ohio.
Our total list follows.
Charlie Bombaci
SPECIES LIST
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Wild Turkey
American Coot
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Barred Owl
Short-eared Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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