Here is a list of what was on display Sept. 6 at the Treaty Line viewing place, north end of Brookville Lake, IN: Great Blue Herons (dozens lining the shore and mudflats) Great Egrets (a dozen or more) Ring-billed Gulls Caspian Terns Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Dunlin Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Semi-palmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Killdeer Semi-palmated Plover Black-bellied Plover In addition, at Acton Lake,Ohio, along with the Great Blue Herons and Killdeer in abundance were: Great Egrets Green Herons White-eyed Vireo Black-throated Green Warbler Wood Duck ___________________________________ From: Ohio birds [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of OHIO-BIRDS automatic digest system [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 12:00 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: OHIO-BIRDS Digest - 5 Sep 2008 to 6 Sep 2008 (#2008-250) There are 16 messages totalling 881 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Common Nighthwaks-Highbanks Metro Park 2. nighthawks 3. common nighthawks, Ada 4. 17 species of shorebirds, Berlin Lake 9/6AM 5. Ind. Lake, Logan Cty question - lost racing pigeon 6. Hawk ID 7. Englewood Metropark Shorebirds 8. Hawk ID & CBC info 9. 9/6 - HBSP, Conneaut - Red Knot 10. Delaware reservoir shorebirds 11. Ohio's Big White Birds 9/6/08 12. Fwd: looking for a few good OH birds 13. Blendon Woods Sept 6 14. Avon Lake and Lorain report 15. a swift night at Sells Middle School, Dublin Ohio 16. Little Blue Heron at Ottawa NWR; missing Tricolored Heron at Medusa ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 05:56:40 -0400 From: Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Common Nighthwaks-Highbanks Metro Park Rob and all-- Between 730 and 815 I had five nighthawk flights in Clintonville last night: 35 headed south, 26 headed north, 34 headed south, 45 headed north, 78 headed north. It's possible this was a foraging flock that moved over, collecting passing birds and growing larger, at intervals of 10-15 min. I was surprised to see not a single chimney swift. 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 07:41:53 -0400 From: Sandra Gaunt <[log in to unmask]> Subject: nighthawks I have had nighthawks mixed with swifts over the Hayden Falls area for the last week. Small numbers, 6-12. I am heartened to hear of the larger flocks being seen. The nighthawks are probably recovering in numbers as the crow population has been thinned over the past years by west-Nile virus, crows being a major predator on nighthawk nests. Sandy ********************************************************* Sandra L. L. Gaunt Home: phone 614-876-5829 Borror Lab of Bioacoustics, cell 614-581-1925 Curator retired 4795 Hayden Blvd Museum of Biological Diversity Columbus OH 43221 The Ohio State University 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus 43212-1192 ()< o/'o/'o/' BLB web site with catalog, database, sounds, etc. )|) http://blb.biosci.ohio-state.edu >\\_ ********************************************************* ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 05:06:16 -0700 From: CL Caprette <[log in to unmask]> Subject: common nighthawks, Ada I saw a flock of about 20 common nighthawks flying southwest over Ada (Hardin Co.) yesterday evening, together with a handful of chimney swifts. A great-horned owl has been calling regularly in the early morning hours as well. Chris ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 10:06:30 -0700 From: kent miller <[log in to unmask]> Subject: 17 species of shorebirds, Berlin Lake 9/6AM Berlin Lake in Stark County north of Allliance continues to provide excelle= nt shorebirding. For now, the prime habitat remains just west of the Rt. 22= 5 bridge. Habitat will be improving east of the bridge rapidly as well with= 3 turnstones there today. Habitat is also showing up northeast a few miles= at the Rt. 224 bridge with several sanderlings there recently. Birds can a= lso be seen looking north from the Price Rd parking area just west of Rt 22= 5 and by walking along the west shore south from the Price Rd parking area.= Following is a list of Saturday mornings numbers. Unless otherwise indicat= ed most birds were west of the Rt 225 bridge: Killdeer 505 Semipalmated Plover=A0 12 American Golden Plover 3 Black-bellied Plover=A0 1 Lesser Yellowlegs=A0=A0 61 Greater Yellowlegs=A0=A0 5 Semipalmated Sandpiper=A0 55 Least Sandpiper=A0=A0=A0 62 Baird's Sandpiper=A0=A0 2=A0=A0=A0 (south of Price Rd) Pectoral Sandpiper=A0 80 Spotted Sandpiper=A0 8 Solitary Sandpiper=A0=A0 5 Buff-breasted Sandpiper=A0 3=A0 (6 were here last night) Stilt Sandpiper=A0=A0 3 Short-billed Dowitcher=A0 1 Ruddy Turnstone=A0 3=A0 (east of the Rt 225 bridge) Wilson's Phalarope 2=A0 (1 south of Price Rd) =A0 Kent Miller Hartville, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 13:56:11 -0400 From: Darlene Sillick <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Ind. Lake, Logan Cty question - lost racing pigeon A friend who lives at Indian Lake, outside Bellefountaine, Ohio called and said they have had a banded racing pigeon hanging around their dock area for several days now. If anyone knows someone in the area who has racing pigeons they can contact Carolyn Murray at 614-738-2050. They live on Minnewakin Island, the last island from the Moundwood entrance. Thank you and my apologies in advance if this email is inappropriate for this list. Darlene Sillick Powell, 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 15:36:03 -0400 From: Bob Baran <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Hawk ID I was just going through some older pictures from last year and need help with confirming the ID on the hawk per the link below. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. This was taken at Glacier Ridge in early Spring 2007. Regards, Bob http://bsquaredphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/2297336_dpYUm#366837629_wZTx4 ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 15:36:31 EDT From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Englewood Metropark Shorebirds Saturday, Sept. 6 - 10:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Stilt sp - 8 Solitary sp - 5 Short-billed dowitcher - 1 Great egret - 6 Lesser yellowlegs - 15 Pectoral sp - 4 Least sp - 4 Semipalmated sp - 4 Am. golden plover - 1 Killdeer - 200+ Green-winged teal - 4 Belted kingfisher Great blue herons Wood ducks Cedar waxwings Red-tailed and Cooper's hawks Barn swallows Turkey vultures Indigo bunting Bluejay Eastern wood pewee Am. crows And most of the "regular stuff" Ed and Bev Neubauer Englewood, Ohio **************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 16:46:45 -0400 From: Darlene Sillick <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Hawk ID & CBC info I just sent this link to Bob Baran. After many studies of red-shouldered hawks in several states I had to do more for Bob than to say what it was. I looked up a good link for him with a similar view of his bird. I went to the intranet and typed in 'red-shouldered hawk in flight' and an interesting website popped up. Brian Wheeler has his fabulous book out on photographing and identifying these magnificent birds of prey. There is a website to visit to work through difficult views. http://www.virtualbirder.com/bkwheeler/ Brian K. Wheeler is a noted bird artist, bird photographer, and author. He is best known as illustrator, co-author, and co-photographer for Peterson Field GuidesR:Hawks and A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors. He is highly acclaimed as a raptor photographer with numerous credits in magazines and books. He also paints life-sized images of North American birds. Remember Brian will be speaking (keynote speaker) at the BSBO/OOS Raptor Conference the end of Sept. I can't wait to hear him speak. http://www.greatblue.com/cgi-bin/vbirder-boilerPlate/BKWHIF?CONFIG_ID=r19 <http://www.greatblue.com/cgi-bin/vbirder-boilerPlate/BKWHIF?CONFIG_ID=r19&C ONFIG_FILE=/vbirder/HAWK/gallery/bkwheeler/Gallery.dat&BAND=mid> &CONFIG_FILE=/vbirder/HAWK/gallery/bkwheeler/Gallery.dat&BAND=mid It appears this website has been there for a few years but I thank Bob for posting his photo question to help me find an interesting website so I can learn more. I live close to Glacier Ridge and know they have had nesting red-shoulders there. Plus the western part of Dublin is in my CBC circle and I have been delighted over the last couple years to find them on count day. Please note: the OHOS CBC (O'Shaughnessey Christmas Bird Count) is Saturday Jan 3, 2009. It takes in 3 counties, southern Delaware, northwestern Franklin and eastern Union counties. Please email me privately if you can help our team with this important CBC. And they are all important to bird conservation and citizen science!! Darlene Sillick Powell, Ohio -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Baran Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 3:36 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [Ohio-birds] Hawk ID I was just going through some older pictures from last year and need help with confirming the ID on the hawk per the link below. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. This was taken at Glacier Ridge in early Spring 2007. Regards, Bob http://bsquaredphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/2297336_dpYUm#366837629_wZTx4 ______________________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 14:15:00 -0700 From: Leidy Gabe <[log in to unmask]> Subject: 9/6 - HBSP, Conneaut - Red Knot Highlights from the Kirtland Bird Club field trip this morning at Headlands Beach State Park: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 2 Gray-cheeked Thrush 1 Blue-winged Warbler 1 Several of us continued to Conneaut, arriving shortly after noon. While only nine shorebird sp. were spotted, RED KNOT, 50+ Sanderlings, and 7 turnstones made the trip worthwhile. Good birding - Gabe Leidy Cleveland ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 16:10:41 -0700 From: Jack Stenger <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Delaware reservoir shorebirds On Friday (9/5)=A0evening Jed Burtt, Sean Williams and I birded the north e= nd of Delaware Reservoir in Delaware County. There is excellent shorebird h= abitat visible from the SR 229 bridge. 2 nonbreeding SANDERLINGS were the h= ighlights.=A0=20 =A0 Other birds: =A0 2=A0=A0=A0 Caspian Tern 70=A0 Killdeer 60=A0 Lesser Yellowlegs 6=A0=A0=A0 Greater Yellowlegs 12=A0=A0Solitary Sandpiper 3=A0=A0=A0 Spotted Sandpiper 2=A0=A0 Sanderling 3=A0=A0 Semipalmated Sandpiper 12=A0 Least Sandpiper 16=A0 Pectoral Sandpiper 3=A0=A0=A0 Short-billed Dowitcher 24=A0 Stilt Sandpiper 35=A0 Common Nighthawks =A0 Jack Stenger Ohio Wesleyan University=0A=0A=0A ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 19:51:02 -0400 From: Su Snyder <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Ohio's Big White Birds 9/6/08 Hi all: A group of us from the Greater Mohican Audubon Society and Malabar Farms visited Hoover Reservoir today. The 5 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS could be seen from Oxbow Road and were still there when we left at 1:45PM. We then took off east to see the Coshocton County WOOD STORKS, but apparently missed them by a few minutes. Another birder informed us that shortly before we arrived, they had been scared off by a Great Blue Heron--one stork took off going west, and 2 took off going east. The storks had not yet returned when we left around 4:30PM. Hopefully they are still around for those who haven't had a chance to see them yet. Su Snyder, Wooster ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 20:39:30 EDT From: Rick Waldrop <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Fwd: looking for a few good OH birds Here is my wish list again, with the right email address this time. Rick Waldrop ____________________________________ From: REWaldrop To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 9/6/2008 8:36:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time Subj: looking for a few good OH birds Hello all, I will be birding in OH (mostly southern) next week and will be looking for the following, plus any rarities in the area: Am. Widgeon N. Pintail Pheasant R. Grouse Am. Bittern Snowy Egret L. Blue Heron N. Harrier Va. Rail Black-bell. Plover Am. Golden sandpipers minus Least dowitchers Common Tern Forester's Black both cuckoos BARN OWL Whip-poor-will Yellow-bell. Sapsucker Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-bell. Acadian Least Bank Swallow Black-cap. Chickadee Brown Creeper Winter Wren Sedge Marsh both kinglets Veery Hermit Thrush Am. Pipit Golden-w. Warbler Orange-cr. Black-thr. Blue Yellow-thr. Pine Cerulean Ky. Mourning Canada Henslow's Sparrow Purple Finch Red Crossbill Pine Siskin Thanks for any help on any species, locations and other tips offered, especially for BARN OWL. Rick Waldrop Cleveland, TN cellphone 423-2846346 ____________________________________ Psssst...Have you heard the news? _There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com_ (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) . **************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 21:09:11 -0400 From: "McNulty, Robert" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Blendon Woods Sept 6 large number of warblers, most easily found on the Lake trial and around = the blinds at the lake, all morning.=20 Warblers: Magnolia american redstart blue winged black throated green tennessee blackburnian chestnut sided bay breasted norhtern parula blackpoll black throated blue ovenbird hooded canada warbler cape may swainson's thrush woodthrush blue gray gnatcatcher yellow bellied flycatcher pileated woodpecker philadelphia vireo scarlet tanager cedar waxwing =20 Bob and Elaine McNulty=20 =20 ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 01:34:12 +0000 From: jen brumfield <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Avon Lake and Lorain report Greetings birders -=20 =20 This morning the shores of Lake Erie were blustery with sustained NNE winds= at 25+mph. Birds were moving wildly along the coast. I was really hoping t= o get my heart jumping with a jaeger or something of the sort but alas noth= ing in the way of real "seabirding" came about. Between 9am and 11am I set = up shop off the jetty at Avon Lake and scanned the horizon religiously with= my scope. Amazingly=2C I was glad I'd brought along my wool hat and thick = windbreaker=2C as my eyes started to tear up quickly in the almost-like-Nov= ember weather.=20 =20 Any sort of distant lake-or-sea watching is not exactly an easy task. Typic= ally in sustained winds and "rough" white-capped water your scope views are= relatively brief and often strained. Coupled by birds typically moving at = a high rate of speed and low over the water...and you have the makings for = a really sore pair of eyes after repeated scans.=20 =20 The following list of birds were mostly very distant. Both species of teal = were seen in broken numbers associating with passing small flocks of Mallar= ds. Swift and martin are included because they were high out over the lake = associating with soaring "kettles" of gulls. Three yellowlegs of unidentifi= ed species flew over at an ungodly height=2C and a passing flock of Black-b= ellied Plovers was so distant it took an entire 180 degree field of view=2C= following the flock on the horizon with my scope=2C to finally be certain = of the call on ID. Seawatching rocks.=20 =20 "Seawatch" at Avon Lake:=20 Mallard - 40+ Green-winged Teal - 15 Blue-winged Teal - 30 unidentified duck spp - 20 Double-crested Cormorant: 450=20 Black-bellied Plover - 11 (single flock) Sanderling - 8 yellowlegs sp - 3 Ring-billed Gull - 600+ Herring Gull - 60+ Great Black-backed Gull - 1 Bonaparte's Gull - 24 Caspian Tern - 4 Chimney Swift - 100+ Purple Martin - 25 =20 =20 =20 Lorain Impoundment adjacent to Spitzer Marina: 10 spp shorebirds The majority of the birds were encountered in the southernmost mudflat (imm= ediately north of the parking lot upon walking ontop of the dike) and north= easternmost corner of the impoundment. Shorebirds were joined by a flock of= 16 Green-winged and 8 Blue-winged Teal=2C very very flighty birds.=20 =20 Killdeer - 4 Semipalmated Plover - 13 Baird's Sandpiper - 3 White-rumped Sandpiper - 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper - 30 Least Sandpiper - 25 Stilt Sandpiper - 1 Pectoral Sandpiper - 8 Short-billed Dowitcher - 2 Lesser Yellowlegs - 6 =20 Other:=20 Osprey - 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 Yellow Warbler - 14 Common Yellowthroat - 4 =20 =20 best of birding-=20 jen =20 Jen Brumfield [log in to unmask] Sharon Center=2C OH =20 =20 =20 _________________________________________________________________ Want to do more with Windows Live? Learn =9310 hidden secrets=94 from Jamie= . http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!5= 50F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=3DTXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008= ______________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 22:07:10 -0400 From: Darlene Sillick <[log in to unmask]> Subject: a swift night at Sells Middle School, Dublin Ohio Not the numbers of astounding counts of by gone years, but tonight at Sells Middle School in Dublin Ohio (161/Rt 33 just east of 270) was the best of the 2008 season. I would imagine the numbers will continue to increase for the next couple weeks. I estimated about 750 chimney swifts give or take. 20 -25 birders and now new birders enjoyed the awesome evening and spectacle. The first bird went in at 7:20pm and last went in about 8:20pmET. Between 7:20 and 8:05 pm about 40 birds went in the chimney then the stream of birds descended. From 8:05 to 8:18pm about 700 birds streamed in. From 8:18 to 8:20pm another 8 to 10 birds went in. The light by the little more than crescent moon gave a nice back light to the chimney. About 7:15pm I could see a stream of nighthawks to the south heading east. With the school building in the way, I could only see about 8 birds above the roof. Definitely a flock on the move... As with a couple nights ago, a low flying bat was chased away by a couple swifts when it entered the area where the large swift flock was tightening their counter clockwise flight pattern. Try to head out before 7:30pm and watch the large chimneys in your areas. It really is an interesting spectacle to observe. Larry & Elaine Smith of Hilliard Ohio emailed me last night to say that the activity is high at the Galena United Methodist Church. "We got a pizza and some soda and parked there in the school bus lot to the east like we were at an old timey drive-in theatre. The show was truly spectacular - the most amazing thing I have seen outdoors in a long time! I was enjoying the beauty of it too much to try getting a count, but at their peak the swift density was such that I would estimate there were many more than 1,300 birds swirling overhead! Unfortunately, we were the only people there to see it (except for occasional strolling townsfolk, probably jaded from regular exposure, who gave the birds only brief glances). It was exciting to think that the swift show was no doubt going on in Dublin simultaneously! When we arrived at 7:33 pm, there were already maybe 3-4 dozen birds in the air. After countless apparently aborted attempts, the first swift actually dropped into the chimney at 8:03 pm, and they were all inside by 8:20 pm (which happened to coincide with the time that the first katydids began calling . . . wonder if the two species are triggered by the same light intensity level??). What an amazing show - I am speechless! Something every lover of nature should witness at least once." Thanks, Darlene Sillick Powell, 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 22:36:48 -0400 From: Bill Heck <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Little Blue Heron at Ottawa NWR; missing Tricolored Heron at Medusa The Tricolored Heron reported at Medusa Marsh was not in sight today at about 10:30 am. There were plenty of egrets, though, including a surprising 8 or so Snowies. Birds were very sparse in the early afternoon at Ottawa NWR, but an immature (white) Little Blue Heron was associating with a few egrets in the far corner of the pond behind the old nature center/store. The bird was easier to see from the service road/trail running alongside the pond than from the small boardwalk in back of the buidling, as the little island in the middle of the pond blocks the view from the latter site. The water was *very* high in the channel and estuary at Ottawa, apparently too deep even for herons and egrets for the most part. The two ponds most easily accessible were largely choked with vegetation. The end result was very few birds. But continuing the low quantity/high quality theme, a Peregrine Falcon flew over and a locally uncommon Northern Mockingbird was on the trail not far from the old parking lot. Several eagles, particularly young ones, were easily seen soaring about. -- Bill Heck ______________________________________________________________________ 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 - 5 Sep 2008 to 6 Sep 2008 (#2008-250) *************************************************************** ______________________________________________________________________ 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]