24 Hrs of Birding

We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!! A little friendly competition we started here last year.  You see, for the last couple of years, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has had a team that does a BIG DAY every year. In the name of conversation, a team of 5 members have raced around a 400-500 mile triangle in south eastern Texas to try and see as many species in 24 hours. Sun up to sun set. They have set some great records and seen some really neat birds during spring migration. In fact, they got 264 in 2011 and 294 total species in 2013--an all time best record. So it got me to thinking.

What if we had a team, that drove around like crazy, walked miles through parks and paths, and birded all day. And the idea was born.

#TSB 2014

24 hours of birding!! Last year, me and my friends Sam and JK went up to Magee Marsh during http://biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/ in May, and got 94 total species. We where known as Team Dickcissel in 2013. This year, new name, new locations and new birds for Team Snow Blunting(TSB)!! We even had custom T-shirts made.
   Since we live in Columbus, we decided to start our 24 hour clock on Monday May12th at 2pm, at Big Island Wildlife area, then north to Killdeer plains. We extended our range this year to cover more areas during the birding timeframe. We added great new birds this year at Big Island like Common Gallinule, Sora rail, Bald Eagle, Bobolink and Ring-Necked Pheasant. At Killdeer we got Dunlin, Short-Billed Dowichter, Trumpeter Swans, and Brown Thrasher. We ended up with 61 total species for the first day, and headed to Freemont Travelodge to spend the night.

Male Ring-Necked Pheasant

Dunlin(black belly) & Long-Billed Dowichter

Sunrise on Lake Erie

We left Freemont at 6am for traditional breakfast at McDonald's and headed up SR19 north to SR2. Once you see the sun come up and the nuclear cooling tower on the right, make a left on SR 2, and a couple miles done on your right is entrance to Magee Marsh. We always try to start at 7am in the west parking lot/entrance to the boardwalk. That is where the team picture was taken above. You just walk and take your time as you make your way across the boardwalk. It is truly a magical moment and deserves to be experienced at least once in your life. Magee Marsh is one of the best places to witness migration. The birds are so close to you, 10-30 feet away at most.

Magee Boardwalk

Because of technology, it makes it even better and funner to attend the Biggest Week. On Twitter, just follow @biggestweek and @ONWRA and fellow birders tweet what bird they just saw, and what number on the boardwalk they saw it. So you can be at the beginning of the boardwalk at #1 and get a tweet that an Olive-Sided Flycatcher is at #7 on the boardwalk. So you briskly walk down to #7, then there up in a tree . . .

Olive-Sided Flycatcher Lifer #539

This was the last easy ABA code 1, of eastern flycatchers that I had never seen before. I think it's because in the last 20 years, their range has increased more commonly in to Ohio during migration. Wow, what a bird and what a great day to bird.
TSB actually had a flycatcher sweep that day of Acadian, Alder, Willow, Least, Yellow-Belly, E. Wood Pewee, E Phoebe, Great Crested, E. Kingbird and the Olive-Sided. First time ever!! I think that's because we visited a week later this year. So more birds had shown up.

Eastern Screech Owl(gray morph)

Sleeping Common Nighthawk

We didn't get a lot of warbler pictures because the birds move so fast, and are too close at times. The team ended up with 21 warbler species including good ones like Ovenbird, N. Waterthrush, Mourning, Hooded, Cape May, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue female, Canada and Wilson's Warblers.

Male Bay-Breasted Warbler

Male Chestnut-Sided Warbler

   

We spotted other first of year(FOYs) birds at Magee, Ottawa NWR auto tour, Metzger Marsh and the Boss Unit. Those birds included Yellow & Black-Billed Cuckoos(lifer for Sam&JK), Osprey, American Woodcock, Black Necked Stilts, Henslow's--Swamp--& Lincoln Sparrows.

Male Henslow's Sparrow

Brad w/ Jay Lehman

At the end of 2pm on Tues, back at the Magee boarwalk, we where winding down, and looking for a reported female Golden-Winged Warbler, when we spotted the rare birder, the great Jay Lehman, retiree from Cincinnati, that just completed a big year in 2013. Just like the movie, The Big Year(2011), Jay drove, flew, boated and walked around the entire ABA area all year, and finished at the 4th place of all time Big Years with 733 + 2 provisional species. WOW!! Holy cow. Jay in one of only 14 birders that have ever seen over 700 species in a calendar year.  Check out his blog at http://jaysbigyear2013.blogspot.com/.  Jay has been birding a long time, and has meet/birded with my grandparent Red&Louise in south Texas, and my father Buddy the artist. So yet again, another reason for me to do this blog, to connect the past with the present and to fulfill the Gambill journey.

Jay Lehman actually inspired TSB from his big year. Our team decided to go to Colorado in middle May 2014 to "Retrace the Steps" that Jay did last year. From his blog, we created a great itinerary to bird as hard and fast as we could in 60 hours in Colorado. More about our Colorado trip next blog.

Team Snow Blunting ended the 24 hours of Birding with 120 total species seen/heard by at least 2 members, from 2pm Monday to 2pm Tues. I got 1 lifer and Sam/JK got 2 lifers on this trip. Now at the end of the day, we where exhuasted.

Next up:  Colorado or Bust!! Lifer, lifers, lifers . . .

Spring Migration is here

Well, it's about that time. After mid April, the early spring migration starts here in Columbus. It is a great chance to get out and see the flowers blooming and many different species of warblers start coming back from down south. 

Common Blue Bell

There are several great spots to visit on the north east side of Columbus.  Woodside Green Park in Gahanna is great. It is located along the Big Walnut Creek, which feeds into the Scioto River. It also connects Academy Park on the east side of the creek. You can park and walk right onto the path, cross the creek and back in less than 30 minutes. 

Hyacinthoides non-scripta is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.

Some of the birds you can get at Woodside Creek include the Northern Parula, Yellow-Throated Warbler, Blue-Headed & Yellow-Throated Vireos.  But what about this guy??  Your local Barred Owl family.  Both male and female live in the woods, and can be seen off the path. Just listen for the hoots, or if the crows are around, they will be harassing the family often.

Barred Owl

This is a picture of the female Barred Owl. It has a pale face with dark rings around the eyes, a yellow beak and brown eyes. It is the only typical owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes; all others have yellow eyes. The upper parts are mottled gray-brown. The underparts are light with markings; the chest is barred horizontally while the belly is streaked vertically. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons.^[3] The head is round and lacks ear tufts, a distinction from the slightly smaller Short-eared Owl, which favors more open, marginal habitats.

 Another great place to visit in late April is North Hoover Reservoir Boardwalk and Area N.  Last year, Columbus Audubon did a bird walk there, so on the same weekend in 2014, I decided to visit to see if I could see the same birds. Sure enough, like clockwork, the early migrants where there.  Since the boardwalk was closed for repairs, Area N next to it is best. It is just like swamp thing, a low marshy area with standing water and large trees. This location is best know for the Prothonotary Warbler nesting sites/boxes. Fellow CA member Charlie Bombaci leads the annaul project of putting up over 200 nesting boxes for this species, and the results in over 185 pairs of Prothonotary Warbles both in boxes and natural nesting sites.

 

Male Prothonotary Warbler

 The Prothonotary Warbler has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern, white at the base and dark at the tip. It breeds in hardwood swamps in extreme southeastern Ontario and eastern United States. It winters in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America.  It is the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities, sometimes using old Downy Woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete, unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest. It lays 3–7 eggs. The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the Prothonotary Warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for insects and snails. The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet.
Other good birds to see at Area N are the Warbling Vireo, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Northern Parula and Yellow-Throated Warbler.  So stop by north Hoover/Galena boardwalk next time. Just watch out for the local fishermen.

Next up:  24 Hours of Birding!!