May 8, 2009 The day dawned with a light smattering of rain, which then quickly cleared to a bright clear morning with blue skies overhead. Not long after dawn birders were out in force on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, many armed with the knowledge these would be great conditions for birding at the perfect time of year for hitting Magee. Warbler fiends were to leave very happy indeed today as at least 29 species were reported as the trees were literally loaded with “Erien” migrants. Rapid fire binocular action along with a good dose of “warbler neck” was the order of the day. The free guided morning walks out of Black Swamp Bird Observatory had people craning their necks up to the large leafing cottonwoods, where some of the top end celebrity warblers hung out. Early on a spanking hot male Golden-winged Warbler tried to slip past a diligent group on the boardwalk and chaos ensued in our attempts to glass him. Others from the warbler crowd gracing Magee today were far more obliging, hanging out in the woods all day long. Birds like fiery-faced male Blackburnian Warblers, “blood-splattered” male Bay-breasted Warblers, and nifty navy male Black-throated Blue Warblers were regular “list fodder” today (the latter was surely in double figures along the boardwalk). Few birders left without them. Several citrine-flushed male Wilson’s warblers also appeared but were fleeting and tantalizing. Other headliners at Magee today included a seductive male Hooded Warbler that flitted around in the underbrush, and dazzled patient observers off and on well into the afternoon. Unlike this flashy little number the Worm-eater found in the area avoided most birders gazes. While birders scoured the edges of the woods beside the parking lot at Magee thin notes in the treetops drew us to a brilliant Blackpoll male, one of several of these charming visitors today. As one crowd was checking this out a Yellow-throated Warbler appeared suddenly in a treetop, and the Blackpoll was quickly dropped like a hot rock. Ovenbirds were seen regularly throughout the day, often strutting around fully in the open within spartan vegetation, allowing everyone an eyeful in the process. One highlight was an impressive stand-off between a pair of these ground-dwelling warblers that aggressively flared up their burnt-orange crown feathers to each other. As all of this was going on the word went up that a Mourning Warbler had popped up at the back end of the parking lot, and soon enough birders were diverting to this special spot. Known for their shy and skulking behavior this choice male threw out the rulebook and gave everyone sweet looks out in the open. Other highlights included a princely Prothonotary Warbler by the photographers gathered on the tower by the boardwalk, and Blue-winged hiding out at the eastern end of the boardwalk. An earlyish Canada Warbler also popped up in the afternoon for the birders watching the nesting Soras at the eastern end of the Magee boardwalk. The warblers kept us more than a little busy, some people checking their watches and realizing belatedly lunchtime had passed them by in a wave of warblers. However, there were other goodies in the woods at Magee Marsh, with Philadelphia Vireo hiding out among the legions of Warbling Vireos. On the vireo front there were also Yellow-throated, a few Red-eyed and Blue-headed also out there today. Cuckoos were slippery but about all the same with early Yellow-billeds and Black-billeds soon after going to ground. The Eastern Screech-Owl that had been around yesterday decided to let itself be admired for another day on the boardwalk, rooted to the very same spot as it was on Thursday. A Least Bittern was heard regularly from the boardwalk too, reminding those of us who spent the day staring at the treetops that there is a still a decent marsh out the back of the boardwalk too, and one or two birders even sneaked at it too. Other migrants floating around the Magee lakeshore woods included a number of shocking Scarlet Tanagers, “blue bullets” (Indigo Buntings), Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, while flycatchers as yet are only being represented by the odd Great-crested and Least. The bulk of the tricky empid crowd is not due in just yet. Thrushes were well-represented with many hopping around in the open within feet of birders checking them out on the boardwalk, one area just off the parking lot holding Veery, as well as Gray-cheeked, Swainson’s, and Wood Thrushes all in the one thrush hot spot. All-in-all a great day for the trailblazers on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, with a veritable feast of warblers available to all, along with the odd other “Erien” migrant too, for those who could be dragged away from the wood-warblers massing in the treetops. Sam Woods Volunteer Guide Black Swamp Bird Observatory ______________________________________________________________________ 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]