Excellent description, Bob, of Columbiana County birding opportunities. If birders do visit this county you might try using the new Columbiana County Birding Drive: http://ohioebirdhotspots.wikispaces.com/Columbiana+County+Birding+Drive This birding drive provides a route and driving directions to visit five of the birding locations that Bob mentions. It doesn't cover every part of the county, but would provide a full day of birding. Ken Ostermiller Ken Ostermiller On Wed, Jun 15, 2016 at 9:32 AM, robert lane <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > My wife Denise and I, would like to enlighten everyone to the birding > opportunities in seldom birded by others, Columbiana County. Even though we > live in Mahoning County, we reside only 0.4 of a mile north of the > Columbiana County line. Having the advantage of growing up in the area, we > have a Columbiana County Lifelist of 258 species. E-birders have a lot of > catching up to do, with the present E-bird list at 215. Attached is a story > I was asked to write for "The Bobolink" publication, back in 2010, > detailing the variety of areas that can be explored in Columbiana County. > Basically, the only changes to the story are that The Greenway Trail is now > about 13 miles long, and Sean Logan is no longer the director of The Ohio > Department of Natural Resources. Take a ride and see another part of Ohio. > Hope to see you in the field. > > > Bob Lane > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > Next door, and to the east of The Bobolink Area, is the wonderfully, > habitat diverse, and scenic Columbiana County. Over the past five summer > seasons, during The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas, there have been about 155 > bird species recorded. The northern half of the county is glaciated, and > the southern half unglaciated; varying in elevation from 1446 at Round > Knob, to 664 at the Ohio River, a change of 782 feet. The diversity of the > county can be described as we see what borders it. > The rolling farmland of the western edge borders Stark and Carroll > Counties; The Bobolink Area. In this area, along the headwaters of the > Mahoning River, are Great Blue Heron rookeries, and some extensive marsh > habitats, one of which, this past summer, provided the first documented > county record of nesting Sandhill Cranes, producing two youngsters. In > August of 2005, two Black-billed Magpies were found by my wife, Denise, > near our hometown of Damascus. They stayed for nearly two months; being > seen by many, including many Bobolink Area residents. Cliff Swallows can be > found nesting on a few of the local barns. > The southern edge is foothills, adjacent to Jefferson County, and > includes the 2265 acre, seldom visited, Highlandtown Lake Wildlife Area. > This past late spring there were four Glossy Ibis seen here for several > days. Whip-poor-will, Ruffed Grouse, and an occasional Black Vulture are > seen here. To the south, nearby, across the county line, are nesting Common > Ravens. A hopeful future find for the appalacian hills of Columbiana County. > The southeast corner is the Ohio River and the state of West > Virginia. Here can be found: Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Double-crested > Cormorant, Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, and even an out of season Common > Loon on the river. > Everything to the east is the state of Pennsylvania. The vast Beaver > Creek State Park and Forest stretches along the tributaries of the Little > Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River. This area is nestled in rugged > sandstone cliffs, cascading streams, and many hemlock laden hillsides and > gorges. In May 2007, the lower portion of the Little Beaver Creek Watershed > was dedicated as one of Audubon Ohio's Important Bird Areas. At the state > park is a restored operating grist mill and a historic village. Remnants of > the Sandy and Beaver Canal can be seen here and throughout the county. A > visit to The Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center, when in the area, is a > must! There are over three hundred mounted birds and mammals on display, on > weekends, May thru October. There have been 23 species of warbler recorded > here in summer. The highlight specie of this area is the Common Merganser, > of which, at least seven families with young were found this past season. > Black-throated Blue Warblers are seen and heard, but nesting has not been > confirmed. Swainson's Warbler has been reported three times in the past > several years, but no confirmation. In the late 1960's they were reported > from these same locations. In July 2009, a male Blackburnian Warbler was in > the pines at the Beaver Creek State Park Campground. Golden-crowned > Kinglets nest east of the Pancake Bridge near Sheepskin Hollow State Nature > Preserve. Some of the other birds found in this Ohio hotspot are: > Blue-headed Vireo, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Summer Tanager, Purple > Finch, and the following warblers: Northern Parula, Magnolia, > Black-throated Green, Pine, Prairie, Cerulean, Worm-eating, Ovenbird, and > Kentucky, just to name a few. > The northern edge completely borders Mahoning County and holds most > of the human population. Common Nighthawks and Chimney Swifts can be found. > At the Egypt Road Swamp are Alder Flycatcher, American Woodcock, Cedar > Waxwing, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Blue-winged Teal, along with a colony of > Baltimore Checkerspot butterflies. Hard to believe now; but in the early > 1980's, the first nesting pair of Canada Geese recorded in the county was > here. My, how times have changed! > The eastern interior of the county is comprised of some large tracts > of reclaimed strip mines, providing all the grassland species, including > numerous Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, > Bobolink, and sometimes Northern Harrier. > For bicycle enthusiasts; the eleven mile long, paved Greenway > Multi-Purpose Trail goes thru marsh area on the north end, then thru open > fields, then thru hemlocks, and finally thru large sycamores paralleling > the Middle Fork of Little Beaver Creek. For those who want to combine > birding with bicycling, this is a dream ride. Sixty species are normally > recorded in a four hour ride. Near the Franklin Square Trailhead this past > late spring, an adult male, Yellow-headed Blackbird, was present for three > days, a first for the county. Nests that have been found along the trail > are: Mute Swan, Green Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Moorhen, Barred Owl, > Wood Duck, Eastern Kingbird, Wild Turkey, Yellow-throated Warbler, and > Spotted Sandpiper, just to name a few. About halfway along the trail is the > Teegarden Covered Bridge Trailhead Area; at this location you transition > from seeing and hearing Black-capped Chickadee to Carolina Chickadee. Here > you easily find Belted Kingfisher, Cerulean Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, > and Baltimore Oriole. Dragonflies abound here, the three inch plus > Dragonhunter can sometimes be found near the parking lot in late July. > The last area to be mentioned is our favorite birding spot: the > Guilford Lake and Salem Reservoir Area. Most of the habitats are here, from > large bodies of water, to extensive marshland, to sycamore and hemlock > lined stream banks. During the present, Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas, in Block > 53B5CW, a remarkable 123 species have been recorded. Guilford Lake has a > beautiful State Park Campground, and has summering Double-crested > Cormorants, and Ring-billed Gulls, along with nesting Bald Eagles, Great > Horned Owls, and Eastern Screech-owl. The Ohio Department of Natural > Resources Director, Sean Logan, lives here with his family. On a historic > note is the fact that Gillford Reservoir, note the original spelling, was > constructed about 1836 to provide water for the Sandy and Beaver Canal. > Below and to the east of the causeway is the Depot Road Marsh. The > Firestone Yeagley Wildlife Area Parking Lot is on Depot Road, providing > viewing access from your vehicle. American Bittern, Least Bittern, Virginia > Rail, Prothonotary Warbler, Marsh Wren, Swamp Sparrow, American Coot, Sora, > and numerous Green Heron can be heard and seen here. Common Moorhen and > Hooded Merganser families can easily be seen. At Salem Reservoir Osprey can > be found, and in July 2009, a Forster's Tern frequented the bait shop for > several days. Sandhill Cranes and Blue-winged Teal have summered at > Tritten's Pond in the past. The last known Barn Owl location in Columbiana > County is here, in an old unused barn, which is also home each year, to > baby Turkey Vultures. They are raised each year in an old grain bin for > about eight weeks, and then fledge from the barn at about ten weeks. > I hope you have enjoyed this review of Columbiana County summer > birding opportunities and I would like to extend an invitation to all to > come and explore an eastern neighbors' backyard. > > August 2010 > Bob Lane > > > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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] > ______________________________________________________________________ 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]