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April 2013

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Subject:
From:
Robert Evans <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Robert Evans <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:26:54 -0400
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Although they have been reported previously from elsewhere in the state, it
is always interesting to see when certain species arrive here at our farm
and its "average" Appalachian Ohio upland setting.

Today I heard my first-of-season wood thrush.
Yesterday was my first-of-season barn swallow.

This is my 13th spring here. I have come to believe that our place is quite
average, upland pastures and fields (a portion of the Flint Ridge
landform,) surrounded by wooded ravines. It is not a migrant trap of any
standing, but it is a destination for dozens of species of nesting
migrants. I maintain 6 acres of the fields in various stages of scrubby
succession. There are no wetlands to speak of, although my neighbors built
a small pond 200 meters west across the road a few years ago. We have wet
areas, seeps and springs. Water flows most of the year in the deepest
ravine, where there is a 3-foot cascade we somewhat grandiosely call
Valhalla Falls. I have never seen fish, but we have amphibians and
crayfish. There is a total of 150 feet of relief, from the Lower Mercer
Limestone up to the Middle Kittanning Coal horizon (for those half dozen of
you keeping geological score. (Hi Tom!))

Although it is "average" I flatter myself to think that it receives better
than average nature observation. I have seen 136 species of birds here, my
"yard list" if you will. We will have seven or eight species of nesting
warblers. So far, Louisiana waterthrush is the only warbler to arrive this
year.

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Valhalla Acres Fiber Farm (Our 26 sheep have been shorn just this week.)
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County

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