MAY 14, 2011 It turned out to be a gray, misty day with rain ever-threatening overhead, (on what is traditionally one of the true "big" days of spring in terms of birder numbers), that caused a distinct downturn in birders compared with recent years on this International Migratory Bird Day. Sadly, the "weekend warriors" looking for a true "classic" migration day may have once again been frustrated by the fantastic Friday that preceded this much slower Saturday (much as last week). That was not to say the birding was poor by any stretch-_this is the Magee/Ottawa region after all_, but simply put there was a changeover in the night (before the stormy weather moved in), when the region seemed to have leaked birds, leaving lower _numbers _of birds in general relative to yesterday, and lower diversity. Of course having said all of that this is Magee and so this "slow" day still conjured up 24 WARBLER SPECIES. So a bonus today was lower numbers of birders around (compared to recent IMBDs) but plentiful warblers to check out. Top billing among them were perhaps several furtive MOURNING WARBLERS hiding out at the east end of the boardwalk, and the west end of the parking lot, a lonesome PINE WARBLER on the boardwalk (possibly wondering where the pines are), and a smattering of CANADA WARBLERS in the mix. Warbler trends saw very few PALM WARBLERS lingering on, and much fewer YELLOW-RUMPEDS that had been evident just a little earlier in the week. Same too occurred with NASHVILLE WARBLERS that were abundant in the extreme in the early part of the week, but were represented today by just a few "remnant" birds. PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS were still around, although notably there were more females than previously and this was very different from the explosion of "lemonheads" that was evident in recent days. The full warbler list is posted at the end of this write-up to fire up those Sunday searchers heading to Magee tomorrow. Away from this celebrity group that is Magee's big drawcard, several cuckoos appeared suddenly mid-morning along the boardwalk, with multiple BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS, and at least one YELLOW-BILLED too. Thrush numbers and diversity were steady with some very friendly GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES in particular, along with SWAINSON'S, VEERY and the odd WOOD THRUSH too. Flycatchers continue to trickle in, although by no means have come through in their true numbers just yet: WILLOWS are on territory between Black Swamp Bird Observatory and Magee Marsh, ALDER was recorded on the Ottawa Bus Trips as part of this vibrant birding festival, and LEASTS continue to "_chebek_" in the woods too. Yellow-bellied were conspicuously absent, with more due soon. Vireo diversity was maxed out, with all possible vireos recorded between the various sites visited as part of the BIGGEST WEEK IN AMERICAN BIRDING, with PHILLY, YELLOW-THROATED and BLUE-HEADED gracing the front edge of Magee (just a stone's throw from the banding demonstrations being performed at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory marquee), and a WHITE-EYED heard at least on one of the Ottawa bus trips. "Wintry" species persisted, with regular flyovers of CEDAR WAXWINGS, several RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES climbing the trunks at Magee, a pair of SANDHILL CRANES floating low over the boardwalk, and the odd small flock of PINE SISKINS too. The Ottawa Bus trips also picked up a lingering CANVASBACK and REDHEAD to challenge the idea of spring in the air, and also revealed a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER too. Another trend of the day was a striking seepage of sparrows from Magee, with very few WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS that had been so conspicuously common in recent days, a few LINCOLN'S, and a surprise CLAY-COLORED along the boardwalk to keep us on our toes. Not sure what the "birding prophets" are predicting for tomorrow, but any day that yields twenty plus warblers is a good migrant day in my book, and we'll all be happily treading the boards again tomorrow hoping for much more of the same... SAM WOODS ______________________________________________________________________ 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]