June Birding in Ohio: Places to Visit

Summer is generally not my favorite season. I prefer cooler weather, and maybe I like summer less because there aren't as many ducks right down the road as there are during the other seasons! Either way, there are definitely some fun things that I enjoy in the summer! (Like swimming in a lake!) There are also some interesting locations in this part of Ohio to explore in the summer.

Here are some short descriptions and bird lists from some of the nearby places I have been birding in June...

Last weekend I combined two fun outdoor activities with good birding friends; the outcome was definitely fun. Sunday I biked and birded the Heart of Ohio Trail, and on Monday I kayaked and birded Clearfork Reservoir. I had never biked the Heart of Ohio Trail, in Knox County. My friend Gary and I rode 21 miles starting in Mt. Vernon. During our ride, we were able to see or hear 70 species of birds! The trail was not crowded, although that could be because of the rain, but it also seemed to have pretty decent habitat for a variety of birds. I definitely recommend checking it out if you are looking for a place to bike/bird in Central Ohio. We had to have heard at least 30 Indigo Buntings along the way! They seem to be holding territories all along the trail. Some other great birds we saw were Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, four species of Vireos, Northern Parulas, Hooded Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Cliff Swallows, a Scarlet Tanager, Northern Mockingbird, Wood Thrush, two Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and maybe my favorite was the Black Vulture that we saw picking at some food along the edge of a road we passed! They were all great birds though, so it is hard to choose which to list without typing out all 70! If you'd like to see our full tip list, check out our eBird list, where you can also see which had young and how many were out singing that day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18866800

Last Monday, I birded from the water with my friend. We met at the Clearfork Reservoir boat launch and set out to explore the tributary and shores along the west end of the reservoir. We saw some great birds and even saw a few dragonflies, turtles and small mammals. Clearfork is a nice, calm area to kayak and the habitat is great along the edges! I always see lots of interesting critters. If you like to bird by county, you have to be careful on the reservoir and surrounding property because it switches back and forth between Morrow and Richland counties in several spots! A few of the highlight species were young Cliff Swallows in nests under a bridge, an Ovenbird singing, and spectacular views of Prothonotary Warblers! Here are the two lists from out kayaking trip:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18898964
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18899328

While there is a lot of shoreline that can only be accessed from the water, there are some great picnic areas along the reservoir that yield some pretty cool birds too, so don't miss out on birding the reservoir if you don't have a kayak or other small watercraft! My favorite area in the summer is Picnic Area #3, the one closest to the marina and the only one in Morrow County. Just the other day I heard several Yellow-throated Warblers while training dogs with a friend.

The trails at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary are also a great place to look for breeding birds! Earlier this month, I went out with Gary to conduct a breeding bird survey and while it was raining part of the morning we still had a great diversity of birds! Blue-winged Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush may have been my favorites that day! We had quite a few different woodpeckers, vireos, and flycatchers, 10 species of warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Swamp Sparrows and more! Before we left, there was even a Broad-winged Hawk showing off near the driveway! Check out what we saw:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18807779

A few weeks ago, I visited Brown's Lake Bog with my mom and her friend Jan. It is a beautiful place to visit, even if you aren't interested in birds. The boardwalk runs from the parking lot through the woods and out into the open bog leading to one of the few kettle lakes remaining in Ohio. In the woods, you may be lucky enough to see a White-eyed Vireo showing off, but you will definitely see lots of Gray Catbirds! Once you make it out into the bog, look closely at the incredible plants growing out there. My favorites are the carnivorous Sundew and Pitcher Plants! I recommend bringing your bug spray and a camera if you choose to stop by Brown's Lake Bog this summer! Here's my list of birds from the bog:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18722602

Drosera (Sundew) is one of my favorite carnivorous plants!

If you are in Ohio and looking for something to do next June, be sure to check out the Time & Optics birding event in early June, where this year, I saw my lifer Blue Grosbeak! Also, don't miss Greater Mohican Audubon Society's Bobolinks and Butterflies event at Byers Woods in late June! This year, Gary Cowell, Tim Leslie and I guided two hour-and-a-half long bird walks around Byers Woods. We were able to spot Bobolinks for nearly everyone on both walks to see and we also saw some other fun birds! I know on the second walk, several people had some good views of an Indigo Bunting singing away! Here are the birds seen during the event:

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday was an awesome day!! In the morning I received an email forwarded from a new friend/birder I met during my first week here in Indiana. We met at a prairie burn that we both helped with and them met again at the South Bend/Elkhart Audubon Society meeting. Anyway, the email informed me of two rare birds in Michigan. One was a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck... a very cool bird, and definitely a good bird for the area but 1, it wouldn't be a life bird, 2, it wouldn't be a new year or even new month bird, and 3, even though I don't have the bird in the United States, I am not all that concerned with my Michigan list. (If it would have been in Ohio I would have considered going for it!) The second bird though, would be a life bird for me, so I decided to chase that one!!

Here's the thing... I may be 25, but several circumstances have kept me from getting my driver's license up until this past Tuesday morning, and until yesterday, I haven't driven in a car alone. I originally set up a plan to meet part way and carpool but then I was reminded that I had a class to attend that evening in Michigan and I had to drive to that already and the bird was only ~30 minutes from where I needed to end up. So I was somewhat thrown into making the full drive alone.

I quickly gathered my binoculars, scope, shorebird guide, and notebook, I made sure I had the right location and that I figured out how to use the GPS on my new phone before I got into the car and I gathered my notes for my class and set off on my first adventure with my new license.

I'm sure it is no surprise to anyone who knows me even slightly that my first drive alone would be an hour away to chase a rare bird! I was off to see a Snowy Plover on the beach of Lake Michigan! Excitedly, I drove up, easily found the beach, grabbed my binoculars and hopped out of the car to see the bird. I had just talked to my friend who I was meeting there, and the bird had been on the beach, easy to see. I was hopeful. When I found my friend, he wasn't looking at the bird... he was walking towards me and informed me that the bird along with the Sanderling it had been hanging out with had just flown further down the beach.

Luckily, it wasn't long before a little shorebird flew in near us. We got on it and sure enough... Snowy Plover!! a male in full breeding plumage!!! It was fantastic! I was so excited, I could hardly stand still. I just drove alone for the first time, visiting Lake Michigan for the first time, to see a LIFE BIRD, Snowy Plover!!!

Unfortunately, in my excitement and nervousness leaving, I totally forgot to pack my camera into the car! It wasn't until I was standing on the beach in Michigan that I realized I was missing it. I was only slightly disappointed, because I know I'll never forget this bird, even without a photo. I was able to get this shot of the location with my phone though! You'll just have to take my word that there is in fact a rare Snowy Plover standing on the beach!

Heading to Guatemala!

In about 6 hours, I will be boarding a plane to Guatemala! I'll try to update if possible from there, but if not, be sure to check back for lots of photos and stories of my adventures after April 2nd!!

Guatemala, 2013

Spring Migration is Upon Us!

It may still seem like winter out there, but the birds have already begun their annual spring migration back north to their breeding grounds! I had an awesome weekend witnessing some early spring migration!

You may not know that my current job is working as an intern for local photographer, David FitzSimmons. This past weekend, he was leading a bird photography workshop in Linton, Indiana, and invited me to go along to help identify and point out birds to the groups he was leading. If you haven't heard of Dave, you should definitely check out his amazing photography in his Curious Critters book series, that he wrote and published! They are wonderful books for children to learn about and begin to appreciate nature and wildlife while having fun and reading! I have given copies of Curious Critters Volume One to two of my nephews and they both absolutely love it!! If you live in Ohio, specifically, central Ohio, you should consider going to the ODNR Wildlife Diversity conference THIS Wednesday in Columbus!! Dave is the Keynote speaker, and I will be there too!

Goose Pond Wildlife Area, located in Linton, Indiana

Anyway, back to the weekend: On Friday morning, we left Ohio and headed southwest to Linton to get some scouting done, and good thing we did! Birding on Friday evening was SPECTACULAR!! The field location for the workshop was Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, which is an integral stopover site for birds migrating in the Mississippi Flyway. Evidence of migration was everywhere and Dave and I estimated nearly 20,000 Sandhill Cranes on Friday evening!

Sandhill Cranes in the morning fog

Throughout the weekend, we also estimated around 5,000 Snow Geese, several thousand Greater White-fronted Geese and Canada Geese, at least a thousand individuals in mixed flocks of blackbirds, including Red-winged Blackbids, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings. I even saw and heard some early migrating individuals: a tree swallow, field sparrows, and several American Woodcocks, American White Pelicans, and Killdeer, to name a few.

Snow Geese

We spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday in the field sharing this wonderful experience with nearly 50 other people! The best part of the trip was being able to share my knowledge of birds with all of the people. The photographers came with various experience levels but across the board, nearly all were interested in, but knew very little about birds. I was able to point out life birds to many of the folks who were then able to document their finds with their images!

Sandhill Cranes forage in fields before continuing their migration north.

It was a blast seeing the excitement from photographers seeing their first Northern Pintails and American Wigeons through my scope and hearing their interest when I explained things such as how Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls inhabit the same areas and nearly fill the same niche other than the time of day that they are active. One of the most exciting events was when we had one of the small groups watching an easily accessible Bald Eagle nest. The nest could be clearly seen from the roadside without disturbing the pair who seemed to be sitting on eggs. While I had the sitting eagle in my scope for everyone to easily see her, three migrating Bald Eagles circled above. The eagle in the nest began calling incessantly; warning the migrating birds that this was HER territory and that they should keep moving. While she warned the intruders, her mate flew in to preen in a nearby tree. This was a great treat for the photographers to witness this behavior and gain a better understanding of the eagles' interactions!

A Bald Eagle sitting on eggs

We tallied 59 species of birds for the weekend at Goose Pond and even had a chance to observe a highly endangered species, which was absolutely incredible and also a life bird for me! If you ever find yourself in Linton, Indiana or Goose Pond, I recommend stopping by Monical's Pizza Restaurant in Linton. Their specialty is their thin crust pizza, and it is some of the best pizza I have ever had (and I love pizza and eat it frequently, but I'm picky!) It was so good that after having it on Friday, we decided to go back for more on Sunday before heading out of Linton!

Sandhill Cranes

March: The adventures begin again!

It has been a long winter. I love winter and the snow, cold weather, and winter birding that goes along with it, but I haven't been traveling any. Instead, I have been working several jobs through the winter to save up for this year's adventures, and I have some fun things planned!! One of my jobs has been working for a local photographer/author/publisher. My first trip this year is going to be with him. He is leading a bird photography workshop this weekend at Goose Pond in Indiana, and I will be going along to help out and be the bird guide during that event! I am really excited because I have a decent chance of seeing a new life bird: Whooping Cranes!

Less than a week after I return from guiding in Indiana, I will be heading south to Guatemala for 20 days of birding with my friend, John Cahill, who is doing a Guatemala Big Year to raise money for cloud forest conservation! During his last big year, in 2012, he was able to find 591 species; this year he is hoping for over 600 and he is well on his way with already over 500 species at the end of February! While I am there, we will be visiting some areas on the eastern side of Guatemala, including Punta de Manabique which is a peninsula in the Caribbean Sea! Be sure to check back for photos and stories from my trip! You can follow John's exciting year on his blog:
http://bigyear.cloudforestconservation.org/johncahill

As you may know, in March of 2013 I was also in Guatemala, and while I was there for a very different reason, I fell in love with the country and I'm very excited to be going back! Check out these photos from last year's trip...

Homes in the Guatemala City dump

Me with a boy who lives in the city dump community

Black Vultures flying over the dump behind the cemetery 

La Limonada; the highly populated ghetto in Guatemala City

Turkey Vulture soaring above Lake Atitlan in Panajachel, Guatemala

Black-handed Spider Monkey hanging out while I was hiking at Reserva Natural Atitlan

Bushy-crested Jays in Guatemala, one of my favorite corvids

Delicious Guatemalan bananas!

After I return from Guatemala on April 2nd, I will be moving to northern Indiana to start working on a sustainable farm!! With a 40 acre restored tall grass prairie on the property, I assume I will be seeing quite a few grassland birds without even leaving the farm! Doing a little research on eBird, I was able to find out that I will also be about 8 miles from the top eBird hotspot in the county as well!

Keep checking back to hear the details of the birds I'm seeing and the fun along the way!