BIrd Surveys 2022

 

Barred owl photo by Rich McCarty.

Now that May is coming to an end, its time to share some bird observances from this years return of breeders that left last fall, and migraters passing through.

Ovenbird sneakily searches the forest floor for food.

Many of the breeding warblers like ovenbird, worm-eating and hooded warblers arrived to their breeding grounds right on time. 

Worm-eating warbler returns early to its breeding ground.

Hooded warbler also breeds on the preserve.

Early breeding birds like blue-gray gnatcatcher's, black and white warblers and Northern parula's produce welcoming songs which let us know that winter is over and spring is beginning.  

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Northern parula

Black and white warbler photo by Rich McCarty

Weekly surveys allow us to know which birds have returned and the dates.  Many birds arrivals are predictable, as they are similar every year within a few days.  

Baltimore oriole photo by Rich McCarty.

Some bird species stick around throughout the winter, but their numbers may increase as relatives from the north need to move south to areas like ours where water doesn't freeze solid.  Wood ducks may seem more abundant during migration, but the residents remain and breed near our rivers, creeks and lakes.

Wood duck photo by Rich McCarty.

Male and female wood ducks hiding along the waterway.

All habitats are searched to survey possible species.  Forests, grassy fields, croplands, old fields, neighborhoods and any body of water should be visited as many species are specific to where they live.  An Eastern kingbird will be found along wires and fences in the farmlands, where shorebirds like the solitary sandpiper needs any place with shallow water to forage.

Eastern kingbird photo by Rich McCarty.

Solitary sandpiper photo by Rich McCarty.

The real fun for anyone doing bird surveys is the possibility of finding rarer migrants passing through.  Non-breeding migrants that are moving north start singing their songs as they travel.  This gives bird surveyors a chance to hear something unusual, and possibly catch a glimpse of the rarities. 

This year produced a few unusual birds we rarely get to see or hear, like this Canada warbler.  At least 4 Canada warblers were found together one morning. 

Canada warbler found along Ohio Brush Creek.

Other rarities are found and heard every year during migration, but their striking plumage never gets old.

Blackburnian warbler

Black-throated blue warbler

A couple of very hard to find birds were photographed this year.  Philadelphia vireos were verified this year.  Its the first time in at least 25 years this bird was seen.  This is one of 3 separate Philadelphia vireos photographed this year.

First Philadelphia vireo we have seen on the preserve.

Second Philadelphia vireo found.  Photo by Rich McCarty

Also this spring, a singing mourning warbler was found along Ohio Brush Creek.  A very difficult bird to see, let alone photograph, this bird stays low in shrubs, barely giving glimpses for identification.

Mourning warbler characteristically hides in bushes not letting us get clear looks.

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All the breeding birds have returned, and the passing migrants have made their way north.  The yearly trek made by these birds is an amazing feat, and the opportunity to observe this event never disappoints.  The large and diverse landscape of the preserve supports such a wide variety of birds, its no wonder why so many people visit us to look for our feathered friends.  

2021 Christmas Bird Count

 

American kestrel

The 2021 Christmas Bird Count was very productive this year.  Closing in on the counties record of 84 species found in one day, the 20 plus participants counted every bird within a 24 hour period the weekend before Christmas and observed 81 species and 15,954 individual birds.

A hermit thrush sneakily hiding deep in the brush

This count gives the Audubon Society long term data of bird populations in the winter for many of the counties in the United States.  Adams County, Ohio has been counting bird species around this same time of year for the Audubon's Christmas Bird Count since 1974.

Red-breasted nuthatch photo by Rich McCarty

Many birds encountered are very common and birds that live in the area year round.  Others are winter visitors like red-breasted nuthatch, hermit thrush, winter wren, fox sparrow, purple finch, most ducks and many more.  But some are rare visitors that only get recorded once every several years like Merlins, ruby-crowned kinglets and rusty blackbirds, all of which were found this winters count.

Eastern screech owl gives away its roosting spot by calling back to our imitating whistles

Below are the 81 species found on this years Christmas Bird Count.  The number represents how many individuals.

Red-winged blackbird  613

Rusty blackbird   1

Eastern bluebird  116

Bufflehead   1

Northern cardinal  186

Gray catbird   1

Carolina chickadee   166

American coot   6

Brown-headed cowbird   1

Brown creeper   4

American crow   236

Mourning dove   555

Rock dove   132

Ring-neck duck   100

American black duck   6

Ruddy duck   1

Wood duck   6

Bald eagle   6

House finch   32
Purple finch  57

Northern flicker  32

American goldfinch 177

Canada goose  387

Common grackle 538

Northern harrier  5  

Cooper's hawk  6

Sharp-shinned hawk  2

Red-shouldered hawk  38

Red-tailed hawk  27

Great blue heron  9

Blue jay  226

Dark-eyed junco  80

American kestrel  41

Killdeer  6

Belted kingfisher  13

Gold-crowned kinglet  31

Ruby-crowned kinglet  1 

Common loon  1

Mallard  63   

(Continues)

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are the only winter woodpeckers that do not breed here
 photo by Rich McCarty

(continued)

Eastern meadowlark  45

Hooded merganser  18

Merlin  2

Northern mockingbird  15

Red-breasted nuthatch  3

White-breasted nuthatch  70

Barred owl  3

Eastern screech owl  6

Great horned owl  2

Ring-necked pheasant  2

Eastern phoebe  1

American Robin  4046

Yellow-bellied sapsucker  8

Lesser scaup  70

Wilson's snipe 1

Field sparrow  30

Fox sparrow  9

House sparrow  51

Song sparrow  119

Swamp sparrow  20

American tree sparrow  6

White-crowned sparrow  10

White-throated sparrow  234

European starling  5804

Green-winged teal  19

Brown thrasher  1

Hermit thrush  11

Tufted titmouse  74

Eastern towhee  19

Wild turkey  5

Black vulture  218

Turkey vulture  71

Yellow-rumped warbler  159

Cedar waxwing  311

American woodcock  4

Downy woodpecker  52

Hairy woodpecker  18

Pileated woodpecker  17

Red-bellied woodpecker  86

Red-headed woodpecker  2

Carolina wren  40

Winter wren  3

Cedar waxwings hang around in groups but are usually found by hearing their high pitch whistles
photo by Rich McCarty

It varies year to year, mostly depending on the weather of the day, on how many birds are found.  Adams Counties CBC has been lucky to have a dedicated group of returning volunteers that count the same territories each year, which helps gather a more accurate census of which birds are within the count circle.

Some common birds like Mourning doves can have high numbers during the count

Fox sparrows seem to like the ragweed fields along the floodplain of Ohio Brush Creek

Thanks to all that participate in the Adams County Christmas Bird Count, and for spending an entire day close to Christmas immersing themselves in an intense count!

Common grackle bullies other birds at a feeder during the count

Posted by Mark Zloba