Rainy Day Birding

This week, Ben and I only had one day off together and it happened to be a day of 100% chance of rain... all day. We were excited to get out and find some warblers so we didn't let the rain slow us down! Well, it may have slowed us down a little. We relaxed inside with our kitty, Max, most of the morning and headed out just after lunch to Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. Last week we saw our first-of-year Pine Siskins, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrashers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, in addition to TONS of Yellow-shafted Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Fox Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and other great birds! This week we were hoping for a returned warbler. I would've been happy with even a Yellow-rumped. Ben was hoping for a Pine Warbler; but we really both wanted a Yellow-throated Warbler! I drove south in the rain, wondering why I had even agreed to leave the house. It was cold, and wet and I was grumpy. I didn't want to get out and bird in the rain (even though I wanted to see the birds!) but I also knew I had to go to Green Lawn to get a better idea of the layout so I wouldn't get lost in the loops of roads during my first field trip this Saturday with Wild Birds Unlimited! I'm really excited to be able to lead bird walks as part of my new job, so I definitely don't want to get lost on my first one and I want to be well prepared and scout out some good areas and birds!

As we pulled into the cemetery's main drive, the rain slowed to a light sprinkle! I found the meeting area and the two areas I want to take people for birding on Saturday, with no problems. Yay! Then we decided to take a walk while the rain was nearly stopped. We walked along a little gravel trail and the birds were enjoying this break in the rain too! We were delighted to find American Robins and Yellow-shafted Flickers foraging all over the grassy areas and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Carolina Chickadees lining the trees! As we noticed some leaves rustling on the ground we found Fox Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Brown Thrashers and Eastern Towhees tossing leaves to dig up some delicious bugs. "Fee-bee" called his name from a bridge and some Northern Cardinals seemed to be very upset and scolding... some sparrows? No! An Eastern Whip-poor-will!!! I jumped up and down, somehow never taking my binoculars off the bird, saying, "Oh wow, look over here! Look over here!!!" Never actually saying what I was seeing because in my excitement, I actually forgot the name of the bird, or any other bird! Ben quickly figured out where I was looking, despite my lack of describing the bird or where it was! He had thought maybe the birds were scolding a small owl, but perhaps they had noticed this life-like bump on the branch and confused it for an owl. Why else would a group of song birds be mobbing a little bird who flies around catching insects out of the moonlit skies?

Eastern Whip-poor-will in Columbus, Ohio 4.11.16

We never made it beyond the bridge before I spotted the Whip-poor-will, so we barely noticed when the rain started picking up again, until the wind started lowing the water droplets onto our scope, binoculars and phones (since we had to other cameras with us!) Then we  were stuck. Under the bridge with nothing to look at besides the cutest little bird, perched up on a branch like he was a part of it. Every so often he would sway as though the wind were blowing him around like a leaf... keeping up his disguise even though the rest of the birds were out of sight, seeking shelter from the downpour. While we were waiting under the bridge for the rain to let up, I posted my exciting find on Facebook. I had used my new cell phone to take a picture through Ben's scope and I was very pleased with the results! More than just a diagnostic photo, I had a nice portrait of this bird in his habitat! Within minutes, I had several local friends asking where we were and if we'd help them find the bird! We were just standing around waiting on the rain anyway so we agreed to stay until they could arrive. We stayed, the bird stayed, and several friends were able to add an Eastern Whip-poor-will to their lists of county or state birds or to their lists of birds seen at all! This was a new county and year bird for me, but a more exciting achievement, this is the first Eastern Whip-poor-will I have ever found on my own!! The others I have seen before were spotted by someone else, and others would either point it out to me, or I would at least know the general area to look for it. I've always wanted to find one and now I'll never forget this one!!

A very wet Eastern Whip-poor-will

Ben and I walked back to my car, deciding what to do next. We were excited about the whip and still hadn't seen any warblers so we determined that a trip south was in order. Rain or no rain, we were heading to Clear Creek Metropark in Hocking County! We thought the rain might not be as bad further south but as we headed the hour south, the rain never let up. By that time, we had three hours until sunset and we had driven all that way we made the decision to "go for it!" Ben picked a trail that he wanted to hike and we made a plan. You can either hike the Hemlock trail from the road in, and have to turn around, or you could take another trail to it, hike the Hemlock trail, and loop back to the car. I suggested the loop so we wouldn't have to backtrack and Ben agreed. Little did we know that the starting trail and Hemlock trail were quite narrow and steep, uphill, and downhill and uphill and uphill some more. All during a steady, heavy rain. These were absolutely beautiful trails with the wet weather enhancing the contrast between the wintery brown trees and the lively, green, spring wildflowers blooming on the hillsides. The fog sat low in the hills over the meandering steams and the flute-like songs of a Hermit Thrush echoed across the trail. We had very few birds (and still no warblers) during our two-hour hike, but the scenery made up for it! Before our hike ended, we caught a glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker flying in the distance. From under a piece of fallen bark, a tiny species of shrew ran and as we looked for it again, we saw a Red-backed Salamander!

The end of our hike at Clear Creek Metropark

In all it was a lovely rainy day exploring central Ohio with my husband! I am still very excited about the Whip-poor-will, and after seeing this eBird map of this year's sightings, you can probably see why! 

Map from 2016 eBird.org data, copied by J. Muller

That's my bird! The lone red dot in the middle of Ohio!! Poor bird is probably wondering WHY it decided to make the trek to Ohio on such a cold rainy weekend, but at least the weather is warmer today! Hopefully it has a safe journey to wherever it is heading this spring!

"Leaning Lena" on the way out of Clear Creek Metropark

If you are interested in joining me this Saturday, April 16 at Green Lawn Cemetery, please meet at the Huntington Chapel at 9am. If you follow the main road in, and take a right at the first fork in the road, Huntington Chapel is the biggest building you can see right in the middle. 

For more information regarding the 2016 WBU Nature Hike Series, visit our website, here. Keep your eye out for more dates being added soon, including a hike in May at Clear Creek Metropark!