Hello!

I wanted to share an update on the status of Fargo Road in Carroll Co as of today.  The hayfields have begun to be harvested.  It looks as if it began on either Friday or Saturday, but I have no real idea how much of that ground can be covered in a day of harvesting.  Many American Crows and Turkey Vultures, as well as 2 Black Vultures, were feeding on the exposed insects and whatever else may have been exposed by the activity.  I wonder what this hay is used for as it is pretty much devoid of any moisture and the clover is gone.  Some kind of straw perhaps?  Anyway, this marks the second year in a row  that these fields were cut late and only once, which I presume has been great for nesting field birds.  I saw/heard very few birds today, with just 3 Bobolinks, 2 Henslow’s Sparrows, and 1 Grasshopper Sparrow in the grassland area.  Numbers were down across the board with the exception of American Goldfinches, Chimney Swifts, and American Crows.  I had 30 species. 

Also, in news from Carroll, at Atwood Lake the numbers of Ring-billed Gulls are steadily increasing.  I estimate that there were at least 200 on the Carroll side of the lake just along SR 542 between Fargo Road and Dellroy this afternoon.  On Wednesday evening, there was a single non-breeding plumage Bonaparte’s Gull feeding with the gulls on some kind of major mayfly emergence on the lake.  It was quite the spectacle.  There have also been a couple of Caspian Terns hanging around the Osprey Platform for a few days now.  

A couple of things on eBird.  First of all, in 3 days (8-10-16) we will be losing arguably one of the best reviewers out there.  Vic Fazio is moving on and it is all of our loss as eBird users.  While I have high hopes that folks are in place to fill his big shoes, we were fortunate to have someone so dedicated to making filter adjustments based upon data being entered in areas not frequently birded.  Vic also we always helpful with me as a new birder and he helped make me a committed user of eBird.  I consider it my avocation at this point and strive to do good work, regardless of whether the data makes it into the larger database.  Kudos to Vic Fazio and best of luck in whatever endeavor he is moving on to next.  Thanks Vic.

Speaking of eBird.  I entered my 500th list of 2016 in Ohio in eBird today.  364 of those lists have been generated in Carroll County alone this year.  Even the most dedicated county surveyor goes “off mission” from time to time.  I blame Ben for that, but I am the ultimate enabler… Considering I just passed the 2000 eBird lists mark a few weeks ago since I began birding in 2013, this seems pretty significant.  It’s not hard to figure out what I’ve been up to this year! 

Happy birding…see you on the trails!


Jon Cefus
Carroll Co. 
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