My apologies for this report being late but the ending time
for our team Monday and commitments Tuesday prevented me from preparing a
summary earlier.
Monday the Westerville Wild Birds Unlimited team
conducted its initial participation in the Columbus Audubon Society Birdathon.
The team consisted of Dan Hall, Mike Flynn, Leslie Sours and myself, Charlie
Bombaci. We started the day at Blendon Woods Metro Park (Franklin County), and
then we birded at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area (Wyandot County), Big Island
Wildlife Area (Marion County) and finished at the Hoover Nature Preserve
(Delaware County). To count a species a minimum of two team members must
observed or make audio identification of the species. Our team recorded 113
species for the birdathon and had an additional 7 species that only a single
member of the team observed, giving the team 120 total species. If we were
slightly faster the team would have had several great additions to the “official”
list.
A recap of highlights for the day.
At Blendon Woods Metro Park (Franklin) the team recorded
20 species of warbler, Tennessee
Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided
Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated
Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler,             Palm
Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Ovenbird,
Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Mourning Warbler
and Wilson’s Warbler.
Other notables
include Green Heron, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Summer
Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White - crowned Sparrow and Rose -
breasted Grosbeak.
At Killdeer
Plains Wildlife Area (Wyandot) the highlights were shorebirds. We drove around
and scanned the flooded fields and were rewarded with 8 species. This included 5
Wilson’s Phalaropes, 4 Short-billed Dowitcher, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers,
single Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin and 10
Killdeer.
A few of the
finds included 8 Great Egrets, a Bobolink, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, many
Eastern Meadowlarks, a several nesting species at Pond 3. The nesting birds
were Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser and Pied-billed Grebe. Many
years I have also found nesting Ruddy Ducks at this location.
At Big Island Wildlife Area (Marion)
again our best finds were water loving species. The highlights include 2
immature Black-crowned Night Herons, Common Gallinule, Sora, Hooded Merganser,
Lesser Scaup, Blue-winged Teal and Trumpeter Swan.
 
Grassland species also were well
represented as we located Horned Lark, Bobolink, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper
Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Yellow Warbler Common
Yellowthroat and Ring-necked Pheasant. Another bird we found sitting in the
grass next to the water was an adult Bald Eagle.
 
Our final stop of the day was home
ground, the Hoover Nature Preserve. I couldn’t see a century day lacking a
Prothonotary Warbler. We checked Area N and Wiese Road and quickly added the
Prothonotary Warbler to the list and a few of his friends such as Northern
Parula, Yellow Warbler, Osprey, Caspian Tern and Red-headed Woodpecker. We
called it a day at this point as the light was fading and so were a couple of
us.
 
We did conclude it was a good day
and enjoyable time birding for friends and supporting a good cause, the
Columbus Audubon Society Birdathon. The birdathon is a major annual event to
raise funds to support local conservation, grants and projects, research
projects and youth scholarships. So if you haven’t already made a pledge to a
team, any team, not necessarily the Westerville Wild Birds Unlimited Team,
think about doing it now. You will be investing in protecting habitat and
promoting conservation now and in the future. There is a sponsorship form in the
May-June issue of the Song Sparrow, the Columbus Audubon Newsletter, or you ca
sponsor a team and pay a pledge at www.columbusaudubon.org/birdathon.
 
Charlie Bombaci

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