Tag Archives: Ohio

2013 Biggest Week in American Birding – part 4

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Throngs of birders came to Northwest Ohio to catch a glimpse of the magical spectacle of birds on their epic journey from as far away as South America on their way to their breeding grounds in Canada. Birders here are on the famed boardwalk at Magee Marsh near Oak Harbor, Ohio.

The last day of Biggest Week was chilly with winds out if the North–not prime migration conditions. But, the cold wind kept the insect-eating warblers low and conditions for photography were excellent. This Cape May Warbler looks like it could have used an extra layer of clothing. Continue reading →

Peak Week of Species of Birds in Ohio in 9 Regions

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Prothonotary Warbler Magee Marsh 2011-05-09

Prothonotary Warbler Magee Marsh 2011-05-09

I am arbitrarily interrupting my posts from my trip to South Texas to present the results of more of my amateur research from the data at eBird.  If you are not logging your sightings into eBird, 2013 would be a great time to start.  It is easy to do and is fun.  For me, it was this tinkering around with data that got me hooked on eBird.  It opened my eyes to a whole new world of data on a very wide scale.  Besides, if you think about it for very long, you should come to the conclusion that if you care about birds, you should be reporting your sightings to science.  This is our Citizen Science project. (and here you thought your Science Fair project in high school would be your last). Continue reading →

DIY Personal Ohio Big Year

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Scarlet Tanager with food - Biggest Week 2012 - Magee Marsh OH - 2012-05-07

Scarlet Tanager with food – Biggest Week 2012 – Magee Marsh OH – 2012-05-07     photo by: Greg Miller

A Do-It-Yourself Personal Ohio Big Year? Ok. You’ve thought about it and then shoved it to the back of your mind. Too much responsibility and not enough time, you tell yourself. Or maybe you’re a birding novice and just need a place to start but you don’t have any idea how to go about this. Or maybe you’d like to do a personal big year but don’t have any inclination to make it competitive at the extreme level. Whatever your thinking, I am hoping to give you at least one or two angles on strategies for making your goals a reality.

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Whirlwind Schedule

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Aaack!  I’m not keeping up with this very well.  Sorry for the long delay in posting.  My recent trips to Chicago for Birding America and the Big Year events in Grand Island, Nebraska went really well!  These trips were super enjoyable to me.  I only hope everyone else had as much of a good time as I did.

Now I’m trying to cram in my regular day job work as a computer consultant (haha, did you expect something different?) before I run away and do more birding/speaking/guiding again.

Did someone say running off?  Yes.  Yes, they did.  Where will I be in late April and May?  Oooh.  Good question.  How about this?

April 24-27 – Florida Keys & Dry Tortugas with Wes Biggs and Florida Nature Tours (check out the $200 discount posted on Wes Biggs facebook page!)

May 4-6 – Southern Ohio for Flora-Quest (botany, butterflies, and birds) with Cheryl Harner

May 7-13 – NW Ohio for Biggest Week in American Birding with Kenn & Kim Kaufman

May 17-21 – Farmington, Utah for the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival

I am totally thrilled and so looking forward to being a part of all of this!!!

Gotta run off now to my day job (which I don’t hate like the movie, The Big Year, says).

Get Ready for Warbler Mayhem

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It’s gonna start soon.  It happens every year.  Spring!  Warblers will be everywhere again decorating the trees like Christmas ornaments and filling the area with a cacophony of glorious song!  I can’t wait.  It’s my favorite time of year!  Ohio is home to an extraordinary warbler experience.  Some of the best opportunities to be amazed by the event we call migration can be found right here in Ohio.

People from around the world will come to visit Ohio.  The best time to come?  May.  If you only have a short time to visit, why not base your visit around the events of Biggest Week in American Birding?  Yes, there will be lots of people.  And for good reason–they are here for the birds.  My favorite family of birds, the wood warblers, will be here in full force.  How many species of warblers can you see?  Well, technically 36 species occur regularly in Northwest Ohio at places including Magee Marsh, Crane Creek, Ottawa NWR, Maumee Bay State Park, and Oak Openings.  I usually count a good week as about 28 species of warblers.  Some of the southern species are harder to find here.  But, this year I am leading a road trip to Southern Ohio in Scioto and Adams Counties.  We’ll have a chance to see 9 species of warblers that are easier to find on their nesting grounds in the forests near the Ohio River than as rare over-shots in Northwestern Ohio.  Some of you may come away with nearly all the wood warblers found in Eastern North America.

I’ve included some charts here on my website of relative distribution for 37 species of warblers.  Check out the tab under Ohio Warblers in Spring.

Time to learn some songs, brush up on plumages, and read up on warbler habits.  Warbler Mayhem will soon be upon us!

In Honor of Ohio’s Barn Owl Pioneer

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Young Barn Owl - Tuscarawas County, OH photo: Greg Miller

Last night, Paul Boyd of Holmes County, Ohio passed away after a long bout with sickness.  Paul Boyd is maybe Ohio best ambassador for Barn Owls.  His contribution to Ohio’s birding community is very special.  Many of you visited his farm and got to see your first-ever Barn Owl perched in a barn.  Paul designed and built many nest boxes.  He was instrumental in passing along his knowledge of nesting Barn Owls to many Amish farmers.  Ohio birders still enjoy coming to Amish Country to visit local farms hosting these intriguing creatures.

I can remember one Spring when his son installed an infrared camera inside the Barn Owl nest box.  For me, getting to view the owls so close and personal–well, it was especially fascinating.  I recall being totally surprised to see one of the baby Barn Owls swallow an entire rat…WHOLE!  The rodent was as large as the owlet!  How amazing!

Paul lived less than a mile from where I grew up.  He was my father’s friend and classmate in high school.  And he was also my very first employer.  Paul was a farmer and I baled hay for him for six summers between school years.  And no, we handled square bales with twine–not the large rolls of hay you see on farms today.  Those were long, hot summer days with lots of physical labor.  But I have fond memories of finishing and the feeling of great accomplishment.

I remember taking Paul out to Killdeer Plains and we found a Northern Saw-whet Owl.  Paul was elated to see this teeny owl.  It was a joy to show it to him.  Paul Boyd loved owls and gave much of his time and lots of effort in the nest box program and working the with State in banding and tracking the owls.

I don’t have many flowery words of prose to describe how blessed I was to know Paul.  But I am sure the Barn Owls will miss him.

A Little Introspection

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rhododendron with Boyd School House 2011-05-29

This is a rhododendron at mom’s house in Ohio.  It is where I grew up.  The building in the background is the old Boyd School House.  It’s a one-room schoolhouse that is no longer in operation.  My grandfather taught here for many years.  The woods behind it is my “home woods”.  It’s where I spent a lot of time birding as a boy.

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Got Garganey?

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Haha!  No.  This is not the name of a new disease.  Well.  If you haven’t seen this bird yet you might start feeling sick.  How long will it stay?  No one knows.  Ohhhh the agony of having to wait for an opportunity to chase a rare bird!  I heard about this bird on Friday.  I watched reports on the Internet all day Saturday and through Sunday morning.  By the time some of us finished up our obligations at Flora-Quest in Scioto County it was already mid-afternoon.  Finally, all 5 of us (Greg & Leslie Cornett, Cheryl Harner, Jason Larson, and myself piled into the Cornett’s Honda Pilot and set the GPS for Fernald Preserve northwest of Cincinnati–nearly 2.5 hours away.  Traveling this distance to see a bird from Eurasia always seems to go in slow motion.

Two hours into our trip we got a call from another birder, Janet Creamer, saying that she was currently watching the bird from the platform at the first pond on the right side of the entrance road into the preserve.  And then…

Garganey - Fernald Preserve, Harrison, OH photo: Greg Miller

What a striking bird, don’t you think?  It’s about the same size as the Blue-winged Teals with which it associates.

Garganey & Blue-winged Teal - Fernald Preserve, Harrison, OH photo: Greg Miller

Ahhh.  Sweet success!

Wild and Wonderful Shawnee State Park

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Down in the far southern part of Ohio near the Ohio River is Shawnee State Park.  It is a beautiful place to visit and quite fascinating especially this time of year.  I rode down today with Greg and Leslie Cornett to attend Flora Quest. (shhhhh!  Don’t tell anyone that I find plants and butterflies interesting, too.  It might hurt my reputation. haha) We arrived late morning and made a leisurely journey up to Picnic Point and back today.

Indigo Bunting - Shawnee St Park photo: Greg Miller

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