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July 2017

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Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:30:29 -0400
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Hello!

Following up on an eBird report by John Puschock, I headed for Fargo Rd. (Carroll Co.) this morning to search for the reported Sedge Wren and was not disappointed.  The bird was located as described in the eBird report a little bit west and north of the green gas well at the highest point on Fargo (the grassland area).  The bird was singing and seemed to be moving around a bit.  At one time it was on the south side of the road, and then as I was entering my sightings into eBird, it popped up right next to my car (I was sitting in it) and gave the “buzz call” a few times.  A few decent photos resulted.

Also, following the spirit of Bob Lane’s updates on the Osprey activity in our part of Ohio, last night I was privileged to witness the first flight of a young Osprey at Atwood Lake on the nesting platform near Delroy.  I was returning home from a very productive day with Kent Miller in Tuscarawas Co. looking for new year birds and decided to check in on the progress of this Osprey family.  The adults have brought 2 birds to point of fledging successfully.

I set up my scope and was observing the birds and getting my video camera adapter set up when a man stopped to ask how the birds were doing.  I invited him to look through the scope and he was thrilled.  He had been keeping an eye on them through the summer.  Not long after, another gentleman pulled up who had been keeping very carful track of these birds all year.  He even proclaimed, “They haven’t flown yet, but I bet tomorrow is the day!”  Well, not 2 minutes later a bird that was jumping up and flapping against the evening breeze decided to go for it.  What a sight!

The young bird lifted off with ease and flew in circles gaining altitude for several minutes.  Soon an adult bird, one of the parents I presume, took off from a nearby tree and followed the young bird around calling at it.  It even dove toward the bird a few times in what looked like aggressive territorial behavior.  I cannot say what was happening, but the young bird flew for a full 5 minutes or more before taking an approach at landing on the platform.  It successfully set down and took some time catching it’s breath.  I am not certain if the adult bird was “helping” the fledgling or maybe thought of it as a possible competitor, but it did swoop pretty aggressively toward the young bird several times.

It was great to watch this dramatic event unfold with 2 complete strangers who shared the admiration for these remarkable birds of prey.  Unfortunately, I was not able to capture video of that first lift off.  I’m not sure if it was a technical glitch or operator error (probably the latter), but regardless it did not diminish the experience whatsoever.

Happy birding! 

Jon Cefus
Carroll Co.
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