It feels good to save a life...

Some days are better than others.

While this phrase holds true with most things in life, it is definitely true for herping. Looking for reptiles can have some pretty extreme highs and lows. Today, Ben and I went out to road cruise for snakes. If you aren't familiar with road cruising, it consists of carefully driving roads in good habitat, looking for reptiles that may be crossing the road. Often this is done at night, but in the fall in Ohio, snakes like to come out onto the roads as they warm up after a cool night. This opens up all the opportunities for them to be killed by vehicles, both accidentally, and intentionally. So we road cruise in the fall, not only to see some really cool critters, but to hopefully save the lives of some of them that may not otherwise have a chance.

Today was rough. Although we found an astonishing 77 snakes total in about 4.5 hours, we only had a 55% success rate. Today we found LOTS of dead snakes. The area we selected is home to 3 species of endangered snakes. Often, we don't see any of the three, but today, we found 5 endangered Kirtland's Snakes (Clonophis kirtlandii) and unfortunately all 5 were dead. Some were flattened and had been there for a while, but several may have been saved if we had gone yesterday too. We found 16 Eastern Garter Snakes... dead. 10 Dekay's Brown Snakes... dead. Red-bellied Snake? Dead. Northern Water Snakes... yep, also dead. Perhaps, the most crushing moment of the day was towards the end of the afternoon, when I was already feeling tired and ready to go home as we cruised one final road. I pulled a live Dekay's off the road on my side of the car while Ben mentioned that I might not want to see what was on his side. I went to see what he found, and he was right. I did not want to see my lifer Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis) with fresh fatal wounds. Perhaps if we had cruised that stretch of road even an hour prior I might have ended the day with a huge victory rather than immediate sadness.

A Kirtland's Snake (Clonophis kirtlandii) that I found in 2014.

Sometimes it is difficult for me to see past the dead snakes and enjoy the day, but I try hard to see the bright side. A 55% success rate means that 42 of the snakes we found were saved from the road! Although the lows were extremely low with endangered species and life snakes, if felt great to see so many live snakes slithering into the grass OFF the road! As we cruised along slowly on gravel roads, we would stop for any snake and many sticks that looked a bit snake-like. In some areas, I would get out and walk along the road while Ben followed in my Prius. One of my best finds while I was walking was this very young Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)... one of my favorites!

Red-bellied Snake 

Red-bellied Snake

Diversity of the living snakes was low, but individual counts were high! We found 19 Dekay's Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi) ranging from 5-13" long. Here are a few of the cute little snakes:

Dekay's Brown Snake

We also encouraged 21 Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) from the road. Immediately after my defeat in seeing the Green Snake, I spotted a live snake in the road. We stopped and I jumped out, exclaiming that it looked dark. Once I got close enough to see, it was all black! Melanistic Garter Snakes aren't common, and especially not in this region of Ohio. This little one was especially beautiful and unique since it had a pink chin. Melanism is essentially the opposite of albino. Melanistic animals have an excess of the dark pigment, Melanin. Moving this gorgeous animal far from the road was definitely a highlight of the day.

Eastern Garter Snakes vary a lot in color and pattern. Check out a few of today's finds!

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Eastern Garter Snake

In all it was a good day to be out helping the wildlife!

Overcoming a Cavernous Fear

"Today I went into a cave."

That is a sentence I never imagined being able to say again.

As a young child, I loved caves. With my family and girl scout troop, I visited caves all over Ohio and Kentucky. When I was 10 years old, a family friend was visiting from out of state and we took him to Olentangy Caverns, here in Central Ohio. I won't go into too much detail, but towards the end of our visit, the lights went off in the cave. My family, our friend, and I were trapped in the cave; locked in with the lights off. There was no warning over the intercom that they were closing; no inspection by employees to make sure all guests were out. They closed up and went home. Finally, as the gift shop attendant was heading home she saw our vehicle in the lot. She searched the other attractions, before finally checking the cave.

Needless to say, I hated caves after that. Just the talk of a cave, or a photo, or a sign for a cave would make my heart race. 15 years after the incident, I was in Guatemala. The farm where I was staying had a cave on the property with a colony of White-collared Swifts. With a natural opening, and a lot of motivation to see the swifts, I decided to brave the cave. The swifts were spectacular but the experience was not good. The person leading me through the cave decided she wanted me to see the underground river, although I wasn't interested. I was hopping over rocks with gaps between and I had no idea how deep they went. I didn't have a flashlight and it was dark. I slipped and fell at one point, and nearly threw up by the time I got out. My knees were giving out, and I could hardly make it back to the cabin. I vowed that I would try a cave again in another 15 years. Maybe.

My friend Ruth standing in a natural beam
of light in the cave 

I had Ruth take my picture, knowing my family
wouldn't believe I went into a cave.

Fast forward 19 years from the originial incident to today... Ben and I were planning to visit Cedar Bog in Urbana, Ohio when we started driving through some rain. Since we were already nearly halfway there, I did a quick google search to find something to do in the area besides hiking all day in the rain. "Ohio Caverns" popped up on the list under Cedar Bog, a canoe livery, a berry farm that wasn't open, and.... the "World's Largest Loaf of Bread." At first I was joking. I said, "we could go visit a cave." But when I said it, I didn't immediately feel my chest tighten. My heart didn't start racing and my palms didn't get sweaty. I decided that I was willing to give it a try, but it had to be now. I didn't want to plan to come back another day and have days or weeks to talk myself out of it.

The weather cleared up so we hiked at Cedar Bog. I didn't think about the cave any over the next few hours while I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wildlife. Afterwards, Ben mentioned the cave again, and I said, "okay." This time I did start to feel anxious. I didn't want to talk about it before hand, I just wanted to book the soonest tour and get it over with. We met in front of a water tower for the 2:15 tour. It was 2:13 when the guides arrived and it seemed like hours before 2:15 finally came. We started the tour by walking down a long winding ramp to the entrance. Ben was asking if I was okay... asking if we should tell the guide about my fear... asking if I wanted to be in the front or back of the group... asking if I wanted to hold his hand. I could barely hear or focus on the questions with ringing ears. I didn't want to talk about it or think about it. I just wanted to get inside and get it over with.

We arrived at the door. It was a locked metal door with a key pad to get in. At that moment I knew if I went inside, I would have to finish the tour. I wouldn't be able to just turn around and leave. Tears filled my eyes and I swallowed hard. I wanted to turn around and run, but I looked back at the kid behind me who had just said he had never been in a cave before. I remembered how much I loved caves at that age. I didn't want to cause a scene and ruin his experience, so I kept going.

I went inside.

We walked about 50 feet in before the guide stopped us to start talking about the cave system. I was already crying but trying to take deep breaths and convince myself that I was going to be okay. It was going to be fine. I couldn't hear much of what the guide was saying even though she was immediately next to me. And then I heard the words. "Now I'll show you what it's like without the lights." She explained that it would be dark and your eyes wouldn't be able to adjust to the darkness. I had heard these exact words before, over 20 years ago on previous tours in other caves. I remembered these words 19 years ago when we were trapped in the cave. And now I was hearing them again. I tried hard to keep breathing. She flipped the switch and the lights went out. I took a breath and thought everything would be alright... and then I was sobbing. I couldn't do this. I heard the guide quickly say she didn't like the dark and the lights came back on. I wanted to ask to leave but I couldn't speak. I also realized I had survived that second and a half and I wanted to keep going.

For the next 20 minutes or so, I walked through the cave. I was still crying at times but feeling less and less anxious. Every corner we turned was another amazingly beautiful natural feature of the cave. Before long, I wasn't feeling anxious at all! I was taking photos with my phone and actually enjoying my surroundings. By the time the hour-long tour ended, it hadn't seemed like an hour at all!

As we exited the cave, I was climbing the stairs to exit and it hit me again. I vividly remembered holding my sister's hand as we ran up the stairs together exiting the cave 19 years ago after the lights finally came back on, and the gift shop attendant led us to the door. I quickened my pace and climbed the 60 stairs today to get out of the stairwell. I reached the top out of breath and my legs were feeling it. But I did it! I went in the cave. I enjoyed the cave. I survived. And guess what? I might go into a cave again. It's not my favorite thing anymore; I won't be planning trips around visiting special caves, but at least I know I can do it.

After thinking about it all evening, I decided to share my fear and share my story with my friends. I hope that it can help even one person decide to take a step towards conquering their anxiety or fear. Not immediately, but when the time is right. For me, for some unknown reason, my time was today. It took me nearly 20 years to be ready to face my fear again and force my anxiety away long enough to make it through that doorway. But even after getting through the cave, reliving 19 years ago and even reliving my expeirence today had me crying the entire time I was typing this post. It'll be a long road, but I am proud to say, "today I went in a cave."

Please enjoy some of the beautiful features of the Ohio Caverns that I visited today.

2018 Birdathon Big Day

Monday, May 14, 2018

The BenAnnaquits set off for our 3rd year of participation in the Columbus Audubon Birdathon! This year's Birdathon was extra exciting because we were testing out a new route. Our goal was to beat last year's total of 153 species. We started off at 11:00 PM Sunday night to head towards our starting destination in Southern Ohio. An hour later, our timer started and we rolled down the car windows, anxiously awaiting our first bird of the day. Gray Catbird! We continued towards Tranquility Wildlife Area, making several stops along grassy fields listening over the sounds of Cope's Gray Treefrogs and Blanchard's Cricket Frogs. We added Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Mockingbird, and Henslow's Sparrow before arriving at our starting destination. As we quietly crept down the roads of the wildlife area, our main target began to call... a Chuck-will's-widow! Chuck-wills-widow was even a new state bird for me! (#331 for Ohio) Several Eastern Whip-poor-wills called all around us as we listen for a distant Barred Owl.

Clear Creek Metro Park. Photo by Anna Wittmer

We arrived at Clear Creek Metro Park before the dawn chorus started. An Eastern Whip-poor-will called into the silence of the night. As the birds woke up, we began our hike. A chorus of Wood Thrushes sang through the mist of the morning. Cerulean Warblers and Black-throated Green Warblers buzzed in the tree tops. Before long, we heard a Worm-eating Warbler, not far from the trail. It didn't take long before our team all got to see him as he sang repeatedly! Driving from one end of Clear Creek Metro Park to the other, we saw a beautiful Luna Moth flutter in front of us. Shortly after, Ben spotted a Milk Snake in the road. This has been a nemesis herp of mine for years! I jumped out to see it and help it across the road. I was thrilled to have this gorgeous guy in my hands for the first time!

Me with my lifer Milk Snake! Photo by Julie Wittmer

Milk Snake bellies. Photo by Julie Wittmer

Just seconds down the road, an Eastern Box Turtle crossed. Again I hopped out of the car to assist her crossing. We added several more species, including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Pileated Woodpecker, Indigo Bunting, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird before continuing our journey north. Along the route, we added Turkey Vultures and Rock Pigeons.

Eastern Box Turtle crossing the road. Photo by Anna Wittmer

Upon arriving at Pickerington Ponds Metro Park at 9:20am, it was alreay getting rather warm. We quickly scoped a Barn Owl nesting site before tallying a White-eyed Vireo in the parking lot!

Our next stop was Bolton Field Airport. We found a patch of shade to scope the grasslands as we heard several Eastern Meadowlarks call. Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, and a Cooper's Hawk swirled in the sky above. We heard Savannah Sparrows as we scanned for our main target. After a few minutes, we were preparing to leave when Ben spotted it: an Upland Sandpiper! We all grabbed quick views before jumping back into the Prius.

By the time we arrived at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, it was hot! 88 degrees is not ideal for wetland birding in the spring. We managed to add Sora and Virginia Rails, Common Gallinule, Ruddy Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Marsh Wren, and several other species, but missed the bitterns we were hoping for.

Photo by Julie Wittmer

The fields around Battelle Darby yielded Horned Larks, a Vesper Sparrow, and an American Pipit as we continued north. We soon realized we had made a fatal mistake and had left our food bag at home. We opted to stop by to pick it up and take a restroom stop rather than making several other stops for food or snacks throughout the day. We headed back towards home, which thankfully was mostly on the way to our next location anyway. On the way home on Interstate 270, the storms started rolling in. High winds, hail, and torrential downpours followed us home and we waited longer than we should have for the rains to let up before we left again for the 2.5 hour drive to Magee Marsh.

In the time it took us to drive north, the outside temperature had dropped 20 degrees. Birding Magee Marsh was FANTASTIC! We arrived to a rather large crowd all looking for a vagrant Black-throated Gray Warbler. I immediately ran into my bird-sister, Ashli and she informed us that the bird hadn't been very cooperative lately. We decided to give it a try but not spend too much time for one species. We added a few new warblers along the way such as Chestnut-sided Warbler before arriving to the largest group of people. Just as we stopped to wait, someone called out that she spotted it. We were a ways from the epicenter of the group, but we lucked out having this lovely female Black-throated Gray Warbler right out in the open where we could all easily admire her! We weaved our way through the crowd, briefly stopping to greet my bird-dad Kenn Kaufman who generously pledged a donation per species we found on our Big Day! We continued to add the rest of the expected warblers that we needed, including Black-throaed Blue Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler. We enjoyed incredible close-up views of a Canada Warbler before continuing on to find a Philadelphia Vireo, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and an Eastern Screech-Owl. We were surprised to observe a Sedge Wren foraging on the ground just inches off the edge of the boardwalk. Their intricate patterning was impressive to see that closely. We saw 23 species of warblers at Magee Marsh! There were so many birds everywhere we looked that it made it very difficult to pull ourselves away from the boardwalk to continue our Big Day.

Black-throated Gray Warbler at Magee Marsh. Photo by Rick Nirschl

Our next destination was a quick drive through the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour. Our targets here were Black-necked Stilts, and any other shorebirds or waterfowl we could locate. We were not expecting to add a Rough-legged Hawk during our Big Day since they usually leave Ohio by late March or early April. Some other additions included Green Heron, American Wigeon, Common Tern, and Dunlin.

The Eastern Screech-Owl we saw at Magee Marsh
Photo by Chris Brown

A brief drive through Metzger Marsh yielded Cliff Swallows for the day before we arrived at Howard Marsh. Howard Marsh is an impressive 1000-acre wetland restoration project completed by the Toldeo Metroparks that just opened earlier this month. It has already been hosting a wide variety of migrant shorebirds, waterfowl, and waders, and quickly became the home of a nesting pair of Osprey. Getting late in the day, we were still able to aquire several new species! Dunlin were present in the hundreds and among them were 38 Short-billed Dowitchers and 2 Wilson's Phalaropes. We tallied Bonaparte's Gulls and a single Lesser Scaup before our departure.

The sun was getting low in the sky, but we had just enough time to get to Oak Openings Metropark before last light. As soon as we rolled down the windows, we could hear several American Woodcocks "peenting." A Wild Turkey called from a distance and a single Lark Sparrow sang his last bit of song before nightfall. We missed several species by arriving so late in the day but got lucky with these ones! Eastern Whip-poor-wills called at the third location of the day to start and end our Big Day.

As the night grew darker, we were off to Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve. Several occasions of recent scouting offered a variety of rails, Wilson's Snipes, and more. Tonight, we accidentally flushed a single Song Sparrow from the edge of the boardwalk. We didn't detect a single species more, besides hundreds of Gray Tree Frogs, and a few Spring Peepers, and Western Chorus Frogs!

Our team was exhausted and opted to head home since we had to work the next morning. We didn't set any state records, but we did set a new record for our team! 158 species in a single day!!

Click HERE to contribute to our donations for Columbus Audubon! THANK YOU!!

Some Stats

Species of Warblers Observed: 30 Species
Species of Sparrows Observed: 12 Species
Total Species of Birds Observed: 158 Species
Number of Reptiles/Amphibians Observed: 16 Species
Number of Mammals Recorded: 9 Species
Miles Driven: 591 Miles
Miles Walked: 4.5 Miles
Counties Birded: 8 Counties
Total Hours Birding: 22.5 hours

Although I drive an eco-friendly Toyota Prius, I was feeling guilty about our carbon footprint during our Ohio Big Day. To help offset the damage, I donated to the Nature Conservancy in support of habitat restoration efforts and research into climate change solutions.

Meet the BenAnnaquits

Anna Wittmer - I formed the BenAnnaquits team with my husband, Ben Warner the first year we moved to Columbus together. I asked my mom, Julie Wittmer to join us and she has every year. We often try to include anyone else who is interested in joing us. This year, we were joined by my friend and newest coworker, Sarah Brown! Sarah has only been birding for a few months and was a great team member during our day! She added 56 lifers!

Me, Julie, and Ben

Sarah

Our Bird List

1. Canada Goose
2. Trumpeter Swan
3. Blue-winged Teal
4. Northern Shoveler
5. Gadwall
6. American Wigeon
7. Mallard
8. Lesser Scaup
9. Hooded Merganser
10. Ruddy Duck
11. Ring-necked Pheasant
12. Wild Turkey
13. Pied-billed Grebe
14. Double-crested Cormorant
15. Great Blue Heron
16. Great Egret
17. Snowy Egret
18. Green Heron
19. Turkey Vulture
20. Osprey
21. Cooper's Hawk
22. Bald Eagle
23. Red-tailed Hawk
24. Rough-legged Hawk
25. Virginia Rail
26. Sora
27. Common Gallinule
28. American Coot
29. Sandhill Crane
30. Black-necked Stilt
31. Killdeer
32. Upland Sandpiper
33. Dunlin
34. Short-billed Dowitcher
35. American Woodcock
36. Wilson's Phalarope
37. Spotted Sandpiper
38. Solitary Sandpiper
39. Greater Yellowlegs
40. Lesser Yellowlegs
41. Bonaparte's Gull
42. Ring-billed Gull
43. Herring Gull
44. Caspian Tern
45. Common Tern
46. Rock Pigeon
47. Mourning Dove
48. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
49. Barn Owl
50. Eastern Screech-Owl
51. Barred Owl
52. Chuck-will's-widow
53. Eastern Whip-poor-will
54. Chimney Swift
55. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
56. Belted Kingfisher
57. Red-bellied Woodpecker
58. Northern Flicker
59. Pileated Woodpecker
60. American Kestrel
61. Olive-sided Flycatcher
62. Eastern Wood-Pewee
63. Acadian Flycatcher
64. Willow Flycatcher
65. Least Flycatcher
66. Eastern Phoebe
67. Great Crested Flycatcher
68. Eastern Kingbird
69. White-eyed Vireo
70. Yellow-throated Vireo
71. Blue-headed Vireo
72. Philadelphia Vireo
73. Warbling Vireo
74. Red-eyed Vireo
75. Blue Jay
76. American Crow
77. Horned Lark
78. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
79. Purple Martin
80. Tree Swallow
81. Barn Swallow
82. Cliff Swallow
83. Carolina Chickadee
84. Black-capped Chickadee
85. Tufted Titmouse
86. White-breasted Nuthatch
87. House Wren
88. Sedge Wren
89. Marsh Wren
90. Carolina Wren
91. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
92. Eastern Bluebird
93. Veery
94. Gray-cheeked Thrush
95. Swainson's Thrush
96. Wood Thrush
97. American Robin
98. Gray Catbird
99. Brown Thrasher
100. Northern Mockingbird
101. European Starling
102. American Pipit
103. Cedar Waxwing
104. Ovenbird
105. Worm-eating Warbler
106. Louisiana Waterthrush
107. Northern Waterthrush
108. Blue-winged Warbler
109. Black-and-white Warbler
110. Prothonotary Warbler
111. Tennessee Warbler
112. Nashville Warbler
113. Kentucky Warbler
114. Common Yellowthroat
115. Hooded Warbler
116. American Redstart
117. Cape May Warbler
118. Cerulean Warbler
119. Northern Parula
120. Magnolia Warbler
121. Bay-breasted Warbler
122. Blackburnian Warbler
123. Yellow Warbler
124. Chestnut-sided Warbler
125. Blackpoll Warbler
126. Black-throated Blue Warbler
127. Palm Warbler
128. Yellow-rumped Warbler
129. Yellow-throated Warbler
130. Black-throated Gray Warbler
131. Black-throated Green Warbler
132. Canada Warbler 
133. Wilson's Warbler
134. Grasshopper Sparrow
135. Henslow's Sparrow
136. Chipping Sparrow
137. Field Sparrow
138. Lark Sparrow
139. White-crowned Sparrow
140. Vesper Sparrow
141. Savannah Sparrow
142. Song Sparrow
143. Lincoln's Sparrow
144. Swamp Sparrow
145. Eastern Towhee
146. Yellow-breasted Chat
147. Scarlet Tanager
148. Northern Cardinal
149. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
150. Indigo Bunting
151. Eastern Meadowlark
152. Baltimore Oriole
153. Red-winged Blackbird
154. Brown-headed Cowbird
155. Common Grackle
156. House Finch
157. American Goldfinch
158. House Sparrow

Our Herp List

1. Cope's Gray Tree Frog
2. Gray Tree Frog
3. Leopard Frog
4. Blanchard's Cricket Frog
5. Green Frog
6. Bull Frog
7. Spring Peeper
8. Western Chorus Frog
9. Fowler's Toad
10. American Toad
11. Red Eft (Red-spotted Newt)
12. Milk Snake
13. Box Turtle
14. Midland Painted Turtle
15. Blanding's Turtle
16. Map Turtle

Our Mammal List

1. Virginia OPossum
2. Eastern Cottontail
3. Eastern White-tailed Deer
4. Raccoon
5. Gray Squirrel
6. Fox Squirrel
7. Red Squirrel
8. Eastern Chipmunk
9. Muskrat

Birds of Mohican State Park

Last Monday, I led the Birds of Mohican field trip for Columbus Audubon. The 5,635 acres of Mohican State Park and Mohican State Forest are the nesting grounds for nearly 20 species of warblers, and several other more northern nesters like Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, and Blue-headed Vireo.

We arrived at Mohican's Covered Bridge around 8 AM and immediately started hearing several of our target birds: Cerulean Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush! It was a beautiful cool spring morning as we started off along the river. It wasn't long before we heard a Canada Warbler. We waited around and got a few brief glimpses, but he wasn't very cooperative. We decided to move on as we heard several Cerulean Warblers and Veerys singing all around us! Before long, we spotted a Louisana Waterthrush along the river bank. As we watched it bobbing its tail and fee ding, we heard a Hooded Warbler. We looked up to see him perched right out in the open about 15 feet above the trail! We all had incredible looks at this gorgeous male warbler as he sang and sang to attract a mate and let others know that the territory was occupied. It wasn't long into our walk when road construction drowned out the bird songs and literally blocked our path so we turned around and opted to hike the trail to Lyons Falls.

Scanning the river for birds, trout, and softshell turtles

The trail to Lyons Falls is stunning, ascending along the bank of the river and winding into the forest. As if the hike alone isn't worth it, the birds really treated us well. Throughout the hike we had great comparison views of Acadian Flycatchers, Eastern Wood-Pewees, and Eastern Phoebes. We watched the interactions between a pair of Cerulean Warblers, and spotted a beautiful Yellow-throated Warbler high in an American Sycamore tree.

The trail to Lyons Falls

As we moved along the stream running from the falls, a Louisiana Waterthrush sang as we flipped some rocks to discover a variety of beautiful salamanders including an adult and two juvenile Northern Spring Salamanders, several Two-lined Salamanders, and several Dusky Salamanders, including a couple in their larval state!

Northern Two-lined Salamander 

Northern Spring Salamander

Lyons Falls

After admiring Lyons Falls and the sandstone structure, we hiked back down the trail and had even more spectacular bird encounters. At one point, we spotted a Veery and a Gray-cheeked Thrush in the trail ahead. As everyone tried to get on the birds, they flew off. As we approached slowly, the Veery was sitting just off trail. We watched it at eye-level just 10 feet off the trail as it softly whispered its song and did its "veer" call. I had spent a while enjoying the Veery when something caught my eye on the opposite side of the trail. Right in front of us was a gorgeous Blue-headed Vireo. Just as close and low to the ground as the Veery! We lucked out with more up-close looks at an incredible bird.

A view of the Sandstone cliffs at Mohican State Park

As we finished our hike back at the covered bridge, a few of us decided to hit the restrooms before we headed out for our picnic lunch. On the way, we spotted a Yellow-billed Cuckoo just off the path... a life bird for some and great views for all! We decided to have lunch at the Discovery Forest to get away from the road construction noise at the covered bridge. It was nice that we did because we were able to add Ovenbird and Blackburnian Warbler to our trip list. We also got to share the lunch space with three baby Eastern Phoebes whose nest was built in the picnic shelter!

Eastern Phoebe nestlings

In all, it was a wonderful trip! I hope you'll have an opportunity to visit this incredible Ohio park.

View our species checklist, by clicking here.

Exploring the stream
Photo by Sheila M. Fagan.