APRIL 03, 2015 - Cuyahoga Valley Monthly Towpath Census.HIKE: Red Lock Trailhead to Merriman Valley. TIME: 6:55am-3:45pm TEMP.: 48-62-52 COND.: Heavy fog/low ceiling until 10:10am; fog lifting; partly sunny from 11:20am-12:10pm; turning partly cloudy then cloudy until 1:45pm; then overcast with light sprinkles at 2:40pm changing to light rain until the end. TRAIL COND.: Wet & rutted. RIVER COND.: Higher than normal & muddy.FT.MI.: 13.0 OBS.: John Henry & Douglas W. Vogus.I. MAMMALS: 6 SPECIES. - Opossum - 1 (Tied Census High on 02/2010 & 02/2011) - Eastern Chipmunk - 8 - Eastern Fox Squirrel - 2 - Red Squirrel - 14 - Muskrat - 6 (New Census High - previous was 3 on 05/2010 & 04/2014) - White-tailed Deer - 8 (does) II. BIRDS: 59 SPECIES (New High for April - previous was 57 in 2012 & 2014)(NOTE: ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed) - Canada Goose - 96 (2 nests) - Tundra SWan - 1 (first April record on census) - Wood Duck - 7 (3m,3f,1*) - American Black Duck - 3 (2m,1f) - Mallard - 27 (18m,9f) - Ring-necked Duck - 41 (26m,15f - New Census High - previous was 29 on 04/2013) - Hooded Merganser - 2 (1m,1f) - Wild Turkey - 1 (m) - Pied-billed Grebe - 1 (first April record on census) - Horned Grebe - 1 (New Species on Census - now at 173 Species since 01/2010) - Great Blue Heron - 45 (New Census High - previous was 42 on 03/2012) - Turkey Vulture - 17 - Red-shouldered Hawk - 4 (Tied Census High on 11/2012 & 01/2014) - Red-tailed Hawk - 6 (1 immature & 2 active nests) - American Coot - 4 (Tied Census High on 04/2014) - Killdeer - 10 - Herring Gull - 1 - Rock Pigeon - 3 - Mourning Dove - 12 - Belted Kingfisher - 5 (3m,2f) - Red-bellied Woodpecker - 8 (1m,7*) - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1 (m) - Downy Woodpecker - 16 (3m,5f,1?,7*) - Hairy Woodpecker - 5 (1m,3f,1*) - Northern Flicker - 8 (1m,7*) - Pileated Woodpecker - 4 (1m,3*) - American Kestrel - 1 (m) - Peregrine Falcon - 1 (m) - Eastern Phoebe - 10 - Blue Jay - 28 - American Crow - 40 - Tree Swallow - 13 - Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1 - Black-capped Chickadee - 16 (1 excavating a nest hole) - Tufted Titmouse - 13 - White-breasted Nuthatch - 13 (6m,1f,6*) - Brown Creeper - 1 - Carolina Wren - 1 - Winter Wren - 1 (first April record on census) - Golden-crowned Kinglet - 24 (2m,3f,13?,6* - New Census High - previous was 21 on 04/2012) - Eastern Bluebird - 9 (3m,2f,4*) - American Robin - 65 (1 nest) - European Starling - 21 - Eastern Towhee - 7 (5m,2* - New Census High - previous was 6 on 02/2014 & 05/2014) - American Tree Sparrow - 2 - Field Sparrow - 1 - Fox Sparrow - 2 - Song Sparrow - 86 - Swamp Sparrow - 5 - White-throated Sparrow - 4 - Dark-eyed Junco - 13 (8m,4f,1*) - Northern Cardinal - 59 (43m,12f,4*) - Red-winged Blackbird - 112 (69m,3f,40?) - Rusty Blackbird - 4 (1m,2f,1*) - Common Grackle - 47 - Brown-headed Cowbird - 12 (9m,3f) - House Finch - 18 (7m,7f,4* - 1 nest) - American Goldfinch - 23 - House Sparrow - 16 - Unidentified Passerines - 3 REPTILES: 4 SPECIES. - Common Snapping Turtle - 4 - Red-eared Turtle - 3 - Midland Painted Turtle - 171 - Northern Brown Snake - 1 AMPHIBIANS: 4 SPECIES. - Northern Spring Peeper - less than 20 (heard only) - Western Chorus Frog - 4 (heard only) - Bullfrog - 3 - Wood Frog - well over 100 (7 seen) Douglas W. Vogus - Akron, Ohio. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]