----- Original Message ----- From: "OHIO-BIRDS automatic digest system" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:00 AM Subject: OHIO-BIRDS Digest - 3 Aug 2008 to 4 Aug 2008 (#2008-217) > There are 6 messages totalling 442 lines in this issue. > > Topics of the day: > > 1. Lorain Impoundment update > 2. Hoover Nature Preserve > 3. Lorain impoundment and birds > 4. Englewood Metropark Shorebirds > 5. Pipits and their I.D. contenders > 6. Gilmore Ponds/Firebird Wetland > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 11:53:41 -0400 > From: =?windows-1252?Q?Matt_Vosniak?= <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Lorain Impoundment update > > Hey All, > > I just got back after a quick check of the Lorain Impoundment to check on= > =20 > the progress of the dredge spoil filling Jen Brumfield reported on=20 > Saturday. There is no longer any shorebird mudflats in either the easter= > n=20 > or western ponds. The water levels are filled back up to the levels > of=20= > > the early spring. If you have been out there in the last couple weeks yo= > u=20 > will be quite surprised if you go now as to the change in water level.=20= > =20 > They were no longer pumping anything into the ponds while I was there.=20= > =20 > The north pond has not been filled and still has some good muddy areas. = > I=20 > had a few least and semi-palmated sandpipers here along with 1 semi- > palmated plover, 2 lesser (I think) yellowlegs, 1 spotted sandpiper, > and=20= > > loads of killdeer. If they do not add into the northern pond it still ha= > s=20 > some good shorebird potential over the next couple weeks but I don't thin= > k=20 > the other wet areas will dry up enough to have any good spots for quite a= > =20 > while as the water levels are now very high. I will also say if you like= > =20 > house finches go to Lorain as they are there by the hundreds. I have=20 > never seen that many in one place before. > > Take Care All, > > Matt Vosniak > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=3DOHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 13:14:48 EDT > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Hoover Nature Preserve > > I spent the morning policing trash at the preserve while checking the > status > of the water level near my nest boxes. The water is mostly gone at Area > N, > but there is a layer of mud up to your knees. I'll have to wait for it to > harden before trying to walk out to the nest boxes for cleaning and > maintenance. > At all the other area I checked the water is still present around the > nest > boxes. Thus, no shorebird habitat of note yet. > > Today I observed 17 Prothonotary Warblers, all juveniles, foraging in the > black willow trees and cottonwoods. This is the first time since April > that I > haven't found any adults. It appears that the adults have begun their > journey > south to their winter retreats in Central and South America. The juveniles > are > fully grown but still lack much of the adult's color. They will follow > their > parents south in drips and drabs over the next several weeks and then the > long wait until next April to see them again. > > 2008 was another successful year for the Prothonotary Warblers at the > Hoover > Nature Preserve. I'm in the process of perfecting my records for entry to > NestWatch. Because of the high water I couldn't get to several locations > and > this caused a slight dip in numbers, but I think the total identified > territories will be between 150 to 160 in 2008. Fledglings weren't > confirmed for all > sites but if the success rate matches the average of previous years there > should be approximately 500 fledged Prothonotary Warblers from the known > nest > sites. I got the first indication of a good year back in April when I > hosted an > Ohio Young Birder's Club Chapter and we tallied about 40 males in just > Area > N. I'll post the final numbers by sections of the nest box trail in a > follow-up > posting. > > There was activity other than Prothonotaries at Area N this morning. > Perched > at the end of the Area M boardwalk were 2 Great Egrets, surrounded by > numerous Ring-billed Gulls. About 25 Double-crested Cormorants were in the > water > between Areas M and N. The young Osprey at the platform off Area M were > taking > short flights over the water and back to the platform. They aren't ready > to > take the big step yet. One of the adults was present and busied itself > harassing passing Great Blue Herons. It looked like a version of Osprey > Skeet's. > Belted Kingfishers were on several snags off the Area N trail and several > Spotted Sandpipers were working atop the driftwood. > > Along the old roadbed in Area N I observed several Yellow-billed Cuckoos, > Eastern Kingbirds, Green Herons, Red-headed Woodpeckers, a rather raggedy > looking Yellow-throated Vireo, and as I was walking back to the car, > American > Crows mobbing a Great Horned Owl which they sent across the trail right in > front > of me. > > Not a bad morning considering I was there policing trash. I guess I should > consider it a reward for a good deed. > > Charlie Bombaci > Hoover Nature Preserve > > > > > **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your > budget? > Read reviews on AOL Autos. > (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 > ) > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 13:47:23 -0400 > From: Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Lorain impoundment and birds > > The Corps of Engineers built the Lorain impoundment to hold dredge > spoil, not to preserve Lakeside habitat for birds. These constructions > on behalf of local industry are expensive, and will be exploited to the > fullest, literally. At best, this site may end up like Dike 14 in > Cleveland or the Huron impoundment or any number of similar sites along > Ohio's shore, brimful of chemical-laced mud scooped from rivers and > harbors, and vegetated by whatever plants--native or not, probably > not--end up getting a foothold there. In the meantime, as Jen hinted, > shorebird habitat may improve slightly, but only temporarily. > Were Lorain's sculpted impoundments of last year just cheap > temporary > window-dressing? Even left alone, the soil was a cookie-dough of churned > spoil and chopped-up Phragmites that would soon have ended up just as it > was before. When the impoundment is filled, the USACE will probably > proclaim it a Bird Sanctuary as they have Dike 14, as there is little > other use for it, composed as it is of a huge turd of sludge from Ohio's > most contaminated river. > Commendably, Cleveland has developed plans for Dike 14 that > preclude > the marinas, housing, and commerce that already crowd the lakeshore, and > will include wildlife in the picture. One hopes Lorain will do likewise, > even if the pressure to plant a Casino Toxico there is high. As for > birds, migrant warblers will probably do OK in Bratenahl, and good > numbers of migrant and wintering gulls will continue to use Lorain > Harbor as long as fish die there. Shorebirds will not do so well. > Natural shores along Lake Erie, even in our 'wildlife' areas, are > nearly erased. The once-enormous marshes of the Western Basin now > connect directly and naturally to the Lake in areas that add up to maybe > a few hundred yards instead of 50 miles. Stagnant, beset by invasive > plants, they ferment behind walls of stone. Temporarily pumping them > down to accommodate shorebirds involves too much trouble and expense, > and often conflicts with management for game species. Since the last > large connection with the Lake was closed at Metzger Marsh over a decade > ago, most big counts of shorebirds have come from Crane Creek, which > necessarily retains a narrow opening to the Lake. Counts are down now. > Dike 14 and Huron don't host shorebirds anymore, even though within > memory they were real Meccas for these birds. And the same will be true > for Lorain soon. What will replace them? > Bill Whan > Columbus > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 14:36:53 EDT > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Englewood Metropark Shorebirds > > Englewood Main Metropark - 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. > > Great egret - 2 > Lesser yellowlegs - 2 > Pectoral sp - 4 > Least sp - 3 > Semipalmated plover - 2 > Solitary sp - 8 > Spotted sp - 5 > DC cormorant > Belted kingfisher > Great blue herons - 22 > > Sitting on a fallen tree branch over the lake observing the waterfowl > was a great horned owl. Go figure. > > Ed and Bev Neubauer, Kurt Stein > > > > **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your > budget? > Read reviews on AOL Autos. > (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 > ) > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 19:35:28 -0400 > From: Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Pipits and their I.D. contenders > > On Saturday Aug. 2 there was a report of a possible Sprague's Pipit seen > Saturday in Sandusky County. As I write this, there hasn't been any more > traffic about that bird on Ohio-birds, but over on RareBird.Org there were > a > couple of posts from observers who went to the same place and saw > potential > candidates for the species on Sunday. > > I went to the site today (Monday Aug. 4) and spent almost two hours > scoping > the entire edge and surroundings of the pond repeatedly. It was early > afternoon, but the high overcast made for very good lighting with no harsh > shadows nor obvious heat shimmer. A lot of shorebirds were present, to > make > the search more enjoyable. There were many swallows foraging low over the > water, and a couple of Eastern Kingbirds perched low and flycatching near > the pond. On the ground I saw a few dozen each of Eur. Starlings and > Mourning Doves, a couple of Savannah Sparrows, and at least two juvenile > Horned Larks. > > I wouldn't presume to tell someone else what bird they saw. But anyone > who > has been to the site, or is planning to go, should be aware that birds > suggesting the appearance of Sprague's Pipits out of range in summer may > be > juvenile Horned Larks. Several years ago I saw a parallel situation in > another state, and even though the observer had managed to photograph his > "pipit," he reacted angrily to my identification: "I know a - - - - - - - > Horned Lark when I see one!" But in fact, most birders are not familiar > with juveniles of this species, which look strikingly different from > adults > and which have not been illustrated well very often. The larks remain in > this plumage only a very short time, a few weeks at most, and their > appearance is changing throughout that time as the feathers become worn > and > molt begins. By the time we start to see winter flocks, that plumage has > been replaced and the birds are easily recognized. > > I just glanced at a couple of field guides -- older editions of the Natl > Geographic guide had a really poor picture of a juvenile; the latest > edition > has a better picture, but it fails to capture the face pattern and it > shows > a darker bird than most of the ones around here. Sibley usually has > excellent illustrations of juveniles, but most of the juv Horned Larks > I've > seen in Ohio have been paler, warmer, buffier, paler around the eye, > whiter > on the throat, and less evenly washed on the chest than his illustration. > The juv in the Kaufman guide shows the broad pale eye-ring and supercilium > that make the eye stand out as conspicuously dark in a pale face, but it > shows a darker buffy throat than most of the birds around here and it > doesn't show the back pattern well. And some guides don't show juveniles > at > all. Compounding the problem is the great amount of variation in plumage > in > this species, so that even a perfect illustration of one individual might > not look much like another individual. > > Across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia there are almost 100 species of > larks, many of them quite hard to identify, while in the Americas we have > just the Horned Lark (plus introduced populations and stray individuals of > Sky Lark). Horned Lark is not a typical member of the family -- only one > other lark has a similar pattern to the adult plumage -- but the juvenile > Horned Lark looks superficially very similar to many of the larks in the > Old > World. If you've birded a lot overseas, when you see one of these > juveniles > your first reaction might be "uh-oh, it's a lark," followed by, "oh, yeah, > it has to be Horned Lark here." But if you've birded extensively in North > America, even if you've seen thousands of adult Horned Larks, you can > still > be thrown off by the juveniles because they are very different-looking > birds. > > I don't want to discourage anyone from going to look -- after all, the > shorebirding is quite good at the site now, with crisply marked juveniles > of > several species starting to show up. But observers should be aware that > Sprague's Pipits have no history of showing up out of range in summer, > they > rarely walk around on open ground among corn stubble, and many of their > stated field marks could apply equally well to juvenile Horned Larks, > which > are known to be at the site. So if you do find a Sprague's Pipit there, > please try to get photographs! > > And, finally, kudos and thanks to the original observers for getting the > word out about their sighting. When we see a "possible" rarity, it's > tempting to keep quiet about it until we're absolutely sure, but that > might > mean that the bird will get away before others have a chance to look for > it. > It takes guts to publicize a tentative rarity, but we all appreciate > having > the chance to know about these things promptly. > > Kenn Kaufman > Oak Harbor, Ohio > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > >------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 21:14:40 -0400 > From: John Habig <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Gilmore Ponds/Firebird Wetland > > I stopped by Gilmore Ponds after work today. It has acres of mudflats > and shallow water. The only thing missing were the shorebirds. Maybe > morning would be a better time to visit? If you go I would park at the > Symmes Rd parking lot and walk back to the first viewing platform. > Firebird Wetlands is located at Firebird Ct next to 6200 Union Center > Blvd. This wetland has some ponds that are starting to dry out and held > Killdeer and Solitary Sandpiper today while I was there (about 20 > minutes). > > > > Killdeer (dozens) > > Solitary Sandpiper (7) > > Spotted Sandpiper (3) > > Least Sandpiper (1) > > Semipalmated Sandpiper (1) > > Indigo Bunting > > Carolina Chickadee > > Blue-gray Gnatcatcher > > Robin > > Catbird > > Pied-billed Grebe (5 juveniles) > > Great Blue Heron (38) > > Great Egret (5) > > Mallard > > Canada Goose > > Wood Duck > > Cardinal > > Purple Martin > > Tree Swallow > > Barn Swallow > > House Wren > > Willow Flycatcher > > Common Yellowthroat > > Song Sparrow > > Field Sparrow > > Flicker > > American Goldfinch > > House Sparrow > > Pigeon > > Mourning Dove > > Red-winged Blackbird > > Grackle > > Starling > > Red-tailed Hawk > > > > > > John Habig > > 261 Lantis Dr. > > Carlisle, Ohio 45005 > > [log in to unmask] > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ------------------------------ > > End of OHIO-BIRDS Digest - 3 Aug 2008 to 4 Aug 2008 (#2008-217) > *************************************************************** > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]