I'd add one thing to Troy's Ohio birding schedule for July--the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas! Atlasing makes what would be a slow month into a really happening month for birding in the state. www.*ohiobird*s.org/obba2 Good birding, Dave Slager On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 2:08 PM, Katrina Heinzen <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Wow, Troy! Thank you so much for that excellent summary! I'm not > necessarily "new," but really appreciate having all that info in one place > and will pass it along to any new birders I encounter. Thanks to Kenn for > additional links and info as well! > Sincerely, > Katrina Heinzen > Cleveland Heights > > On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 10:46 AM, troy shively <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > Hello all, > > > > I think its great to see so many new birders is Ohio. For those of you > new > > to the area the OOS website ( www.ohiobirds.org ) has many great > resources > > including site guides for good places to see birds in all areas of the > > state. If I were an avid birder and I just moved here I would try to > visit > > the following places in the next year or so to maximize your Ohio/life > list: > > > > > > > > March: > > > > 1. If you are into gulls, and it takes a special birder to be into gulls, > I > > would visit East 72nd Street in Cleveland as well as Eastlake Power Plant > > and Lorain Harbor. There are many other very worthy spots along the lake > > for gulls and waterfowl, but these are often the best. > > > > > > > > 2. Another great March birding experiance is Killdeer Plains/Big Island. > > Short-eared owls are still around and all the other winter raptors can > > still be found with not too much difficulty. You also should have good > > waterfowl numbers and a fair shot at rusty/brewer's blackbirds. > > > > > > > > April: > > > > 1. This is the spring shorebirding month, and I would return to Killdeer > > Plains and Big Island. You have a shot to get about 15 species of > shorebirds > > if you spend a whole day there sifting through birds. Most Aprils have > > hundreds of American golden plovers in this area and woodcocks are > usually > > easily found at dust at killdeer. > > > > > > > > 2. Shawnee State Forest - Plan to spend a couple days down here the last > > week of April. You can easily get 20 warbler species, and you often get > > good views. A good map is needed, and I would follow the site guide at > the > > OOS website. Also a night trip to the Edge of Appalachia Preserve should > > get you whips and chucks. On your way down, stop by Columbus to get the > > yellow-crowned night heron. > > > > > > > > May: > > > > 1. May is for marshes, and I would spend several days checking out the > > following places for migrants and shorebirds: Magee Marsh, Ottawa > National > > Wildlife Refuge, Metzger Marsh, Mallard Club Marsh, Pipe Creek, Pickerell > > Creek, Maumee Bay, and may others in that area. You could easily get 150 > > species with some heavy birding on a weekend up there in May. > > > > > > > > June: > > > > 1. I would spend June cleaning up your year list by visiting a spot to > get > > grassland species. its a long drive, but Crown City Wildlife Area is > good > > for lots of things including blue grosbeak. Other good spots are: The > > Wilds, Killdeer Plains/Big Island, Woodburry Wildlife Area and Glacier > Ridge > > Metropark. Learning the songs before a visit is a must as often the > birds > > are down in the grass. > > > > > > > > 2. I would also visit the Oak Opennings/Irwin Prairie for lark sparrow, > > summer tanager, blue grosbeak, and a host of other birds that are hard to > > get anywhere else in Ohio. > > > > > > > > 3. Lastly, no June should go by without a visit to the Hocking > Hills/Clear > > Creek Metropark. These are the best places to see nesting warblers such > as > > cerulean and worm-eating warblers as well as hermit thrushes and veeries. > > Check the site guides for more details. > > > > > > > > July: > > > > 1. This is a rough month because most of the June trips would still > apply, > > but the birds are only singing in the early morning. I would suggest at > > least one trip near the end of the month to Conneaut Harbor. Go on a > > weekday. The shorebirds are tame here and you always have great variety. > > > > > > > > August/September > > > > 1. These are also shorebird months, and I would visit the sites listed > in > > April as well as Conneaut. Magee can be good these months for fall > > migrants, and places like the Oak Opennings can always have something > neat. > > Check the listserve these months to find the hot spots. > > > > > > > > October/November- > > > > 1. I would take a trip to anywhere that sparrows are being seen in > > numbers. Often the old Collesium, Funk, Big Island, and Arcola Creek > will > > have Nelson's and/or Leconte's sparrows. > > > > > > > > 2. Hit the western lakes and resevoirs. If you spend a day or two > hitting > > the following areas: Indian Lake, Grand Lake St. Mary's(especially the > > hatchery), Buck Creek, Caesar's Creek, and the Lima reseviors, you should > > have a good chance at getting one or more of the following: red-necked > > grebe, eared grebe, laughing gull, franklin's gull, one of the scoters, > > cackling goose. Keep an eye out for sabine's and california gulls as > well. > > > > > > > > 3. This is also a good time to look for brant, red phalarope, harlequin > > duck, jaegers, gannets, eiders, and purple sandpipers at places like > > Headlands Beach, Fairport Harbor, Conneaut and many of the other gulls > spots > > from March. > > > > > > > > 4. Decemeber/January/February > > > > 1. Do some CBC's for some real fun. I suggest the Kingston count on > January > > 1st. > > > > > > > > 2. Hit the Oak Opennings for a chance at siskins, crossbills, and other > > winter finches. The windows on wildlife feeders there are always worth a > > check. > > > > > > > > 3. hit the Killdeer Plains are for winter raptors and longspurs/snow > > buntings. A trip to The Wilds is always a lot of fun this time of year > as > > well. > > > > > > > > > > > > All in all this list should lead you to most of the regularly occuring > > birds. There are many clubs and organizations that lead tours and that > is a > > good place to start. You can meet other birders from Ohio and often > share > > the gas cost. Like I said before, the site guides are nice, and if you > watch > > the listserve you will often get to see who are the "owners" of each > local > > patch. They would be the people to ask about more specific birds. If I > > could go only one place all year, I would go to Magee Marsh the second > week > > of May on a weekday. > > > > > > > > I hope all this rambling had some use:) > > > > Troy > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. > > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/ > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > > 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] > -- Dave Slager Graduate Student Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab School of Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, OH 43210-1085 [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]