Ohio

Here we are again, it’s Friday night and we are on our way to the Tampa Airport to catch a flight for the Biggest Week in American Birding in northeast Ohio. While on the plane to Detroit, I can’t help but think how lucky we are to have found such a great hobby and how much fun this really is.

On Saturday morning we arrived at Magee Marsh to find close to 100 vehicles already in the parking area and people with binoculars, scopes, and cameras everywhere. Big Year birder Greg Miller likes to call Magee Marsh the Disneyland of birding and as we step onto the boardwalk it’s easy to see why. You move along with the crowd looking left when someone points out a Bay-breasted Warbler and quickly to the right for two Magnolia Warblers and what seems to be a handful of American Redstarts. Wow, is that really an Eastern Screech Owl sitting on a branch within feet of the railing. And so it goes for the next two hours. Warblers, Vireos, Tanagers, and Orioles, are all right here in front of us seemingly close enough to touch. Exiting the boardwalk is kind of like getting off the ride at Space Mountain for the first time. You just want to run back to the beginning and do it all again.

Next, we drove to the Maumee Bay Lodge, the festival headquarters, to register and sign in for our Leaders Choice van tour. The slow rain didn’t bother the birds at our first stop, Meinke Marina where we viewed through bins and scopes, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, Dunlin, and a pair of Horned Larks among other species. Our next stop was Metzger Marsh with five Trumpeter Swans, a variety of ducks, Common and Caspian Terns, more Warblers, and an incredible eight Bald Eagles. Piling into the van our Leader, Jacob Rolaef takes us to the Pearson Metropark, one of the many beautiful Metroparks in the Toledo area. At the visitor center feeders, we saw American Goldfinch, White-crowned Sparrows, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush picking through the leaf litter. Outside in the park were several Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-tailed Hawk, Barn Swallows, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

On the way back to the Lodge Jacob tells us there has been a sighting of the rare Connecticut Warbler at the Magee Marsh Beach West area. Guess where we are going next? On the way, we made a quick stop to check out the farm fields on Stange Road and were rewarded with a life bird Upland Sandpiper. This really is turning out to be the Biggest Week in birding for us. There was a throng of birders trying to find the Connecticut when we arrived at the marsh and unfortunately no one saw it again that day. However, we did find a Swainson’s Thrush, Veery, and nine Warbler species, including a Mourning Warbler seen by Sharon. Yes, Mike is still looking for a Mourning Warbler to put on his life list. Perhaps 2016 will be the year.

Day two starts early at the farm fields near the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Nothing spectacular but did see 50 Cliff Swallows daubing mud for their nests. We decided to stop by Pearson Metropark again after hearing reports of a Black-billed Cuckoo in that area. We searched the picnic area and came up empty, so we decided to use the bird app recording to see if the Cuckoo would respond. We very rarely play calls and know this subject is hotly debated. A couple of minutes later, we noticed a group of birders on the Big Day tour checking out something in the trees by the parking lot. Wouldn’t you know, the leader tells us that they have just seen a magnificent Black-billed Cuckoo that flew off seconds before we got walked up. If you were part of that tour we just want to say – you’re welcome and hope you can return the favor someday.

Our final destination for this trip is the Oak Openings Metropark, a spacious preserve with an amazing variety of habitat for birds. We picked up sandwiches to eat at the park and while having lunch, in came a Field Sparrow along with a few Cedar Waxwings. We get the feeling that we are going to like this place. Walking to the trail at Mallard Lake we meet a father and son, who are nice enough to show us to an Eastern Whip-poor-will the young guy had spotted earlier. This is another life bird for us!  Heard lots of vireos in the trees including Red-eyed, Blue-headed, and Warbling.

Our final stop at the Openings is the corner of Reed and Girdham roads where Lark Sparrows are standing in the middle of the intersection. In the wooded area nearby we were able to locate several Red-headed Woodpeckers and a Broad-winged Hawk. Other notable birds this afternoon were a Pileated Woodpecker, eight Baltimore Orioles, and eight Brown-headed Cowbirds. To celebrate an amazing weekend of birding we stop at Chitter Chatter Ice Cream in Holland to enjoy a couple of Chocolate swirl cones on a gorgeous afternoon. We did not have time to check out many of the things the Biggest Week in Birding has to offer, so it seems we will just have to get back here sometime, maybe sooner than we think.

Next up: West Coast Florida Specialties

Trip : Total Species:  101  Year Birds:  25  Life Birds: 4

2015 : Year Birds: 331   Life Birds: 25

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List