Yesterday (3/29) Ethan Kistler and I did some scouting for some of the Biggest Week Field Trips stopping at a variety of hotspots in Erie and Sandusky Counties.  Several early migrant species were in the area with the most being concentrated at Old Woman Creek Nature Preserve were we found Tree Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Towhee, and Purple Finch.  Phoebes in particular seem to have come into the area in numbers and we had individuals at several other stops as well as on the Magee Marsh boardwalk this morning.  Two other birds showing up in decent numbers are Great Egret and Double-crested Cormorant, both of which we saw at many of the stops.

Ducks were also around in good numbers yesterday.  Pipe Creek and Medusa Marsh were two of the best places to see waterfowl but the absolute highlight was Willow Point Wildlife Area.  Here one of the ponds was packed full of thousands of American Wigeon which unfortunately took flight before we could check for a Eurasian Wigeon.  Further out in the bay were 275 Tundra Swans and the highlight of the day 7 Greater White-fronted Geese.

Today (3/20) Ethan and arrived at the Magee Marsh Tower to watch hawks at 9:00.  I was able to watch hawks with the help of a variety of people throughout the day until 3:00.  The flight started around 11:00 when the wind picked and ended around 2:30 with the bulk of the migrants passing between 11-1:00.  During that 6 hour stretch we were able to see the following migrating raptors:



Turkey Vulture- 85

Cooper's Hawk- 4

Red-tailed Hawk- 41

Red-shouldered Hawk- 2

Northern Harrier- 1

Bald Eagle- 7



Bald Eagles were the star of the show for many on the tower today and there were a lot to be seen!  The 7 I report migrating were the ones that showed obvious migratory behavior but with the numbers of eagles around there were likely others heading north.  The highest number I counted that could be seen from the tower at one time was 14 Bald Eagles.

Other migrants were certainly present as well.  2 Lapland Longspurs flew through in the morning and a trickle of Horned Larks and American Pipits flew over throughout the watch.  A flock of 23 Bonaparte's Gulls that flew up in the afternoon were also a highlight.  Other early migrants such as 6 Red-breasted Nuthatch, an Eastern Phoebe, 1 singing Fox Sparrow, and a handful of Golden-crowned Kinglets passed by the tower following the treeline.

The highlight of the watch, was 2 Pileated Woodpeckers that passed by the tower flying low in the morning.  There has only been around 4 records of this species for Ottawa County so seeing 2 was very exciting!

Ryan Steiner
Research & Education Intern
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
13551 West State Route 2
Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449
419-898-4070
www.bsbobird.org

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