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| Prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea, ushers us into our 2020 spring bird survey. |
May 11 into 12, 2020 was the 24 hour period picked for our annual spring bird survey. Early May is the perfect time to try to find the highest number of species found in or around the Edge of Appalachia Preserve. This time of year you can find straggling winter birds that have not gone north yet, breeding birds that just returned from the south and migrants that are passing through. Just the right time for a wide variety of birds.
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| Rose-breasted grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus |
The biggest observation of this year is the large numbers of certain birds like rose-breasted grosbeaks, scarlet tanagers and Baltimore orioles. If anyone has been feeding birds using sunflower seed, they undoubtedly saw many grosbeaks this spring. I have never seen so many of these birds in my 22 years birding...by far. It was not uncommon for any of the preserve staff to see 30 grosbeaks at a time at our feeders! And if you had oranges or jelly out for orioles, their numbers have been just as impressive.
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| Rose-breasted grosbeaks crowding the feeders. |
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| Scarlet tanager, Piranga olivacea, feeding at ground level. |
We started the afternoon in a grassland habitat. This was the coldest day recorded for our spring bird survey. The high temperature on Monday, the 11th was 48F. The birds felt this cold day too. In the afternoon, the birds seemed to stay low to the ground, and the insect were probably hanging low as well. This year was the first time I've witnessed days of numerous scarlet tanagers perched and hunting low to the ground. And the kingbirds, bobolinks and dickcissels of the fields were low to the ground, still and approachable. Below are some of the species found in and around old fields and grasslands.
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| Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus |
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| Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus |
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| Dickcissel, Spiza americana |
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| orchard oriole, Icterus spurius |
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| Indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea |
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| Savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis |
After scanning the field habitats for particular species, we headed to lakes, ponds and marshy fields to see what kind of water birds we could find. Adams County has only a few large bodies of water, and is not known for its large numbers of water birds. But we did luck out finding a blue-winged teal, our annual least sandpiper on a dam spillway and for the second time ever finding Virginia rails in a marshy pond near the Ohio River. Rails are unusual birds for us to find here, and there was a pair of them....which I believe were breeding! This same pond has shocked us with the sounds of a sora (Porzana carolina) this year as well.
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| Blue-winged teal, Patula discors |
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| Least sandpiper, Calidris minutilla |
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| Virginia rail, Rallus limicola |
I shouldn't forget the year-round birds that most of us see in our yards. They count on the survey too, even though we spend most of the survey searching out the unusual or rarely seen species. Yards around the preserve create an "edge" affect between the forests and openings. Many birds prefer this kind of habitat.
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| Eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis |
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| Gray catbird, Dumetella carolinensis |
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| Brown thrasher, Toxostoma rufum |
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| Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia |
The biggest "hunt" in the 24 hour period has to be catching a glimpse of the hard to find and harder to photograph warblers of the forest. We found 27 warbler species in total. These tiny and generally colorful birds seem neurotic as they constantly move about the tree branches. Eventually, I get lucky to catch some semi-clear shots of these fidgeting beauties. Below are some of the highlights.
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| Prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea |
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| Magnolia warbler, Setophaga magnolia |
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| Yellow warbler, Setophaga petechia |
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| American redstart, Setophaga ruticilla |
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| Chestnut-sided warbler, Setophaga pensylvanica |
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| Palm warbler, Setophaga palmarum |
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| Yellow-throated warbler, Setophaga dominica |
124 species were seen or heard on or around the Edge. This annual survey produces many of the same birds every year, documenting the movements of birds through this part of Ohio. The preserve protects 20,000 acres of land crucial to the breeding, overwintering and migration stopovers for these bird species. The diversity of birds found in one day correlates with the diversity of habitats protected. If you would like to see different kinds of birds, visit different kinds of habitats and listen! Interesting sounds can lead you to interesting sights.
Posted by: Mark Zloba
