Finish Strong!!

As I write this, only 10 days left in the #BIGYEAR2014. After a slow down in November, and a crazy snow storm, a breakout month of December would be all that's left. Temperatures have been warmer the first two weeks of December, but now cold weather is expected. This should help get some winter migrants down to the Lake Erie Shores.

• Short Eared Owl--On Monday December 1st, I headed over to Teal Trail/Battelle Darby to see the owls that have been reported. I've seen them there before, but this year was not as good as past. It was very cold and windy, but just at dusk, 5:22pm, 2 birds flew up to me and passed by. I was standing on the mound hill just at the parking lot. Making a couple of passes, a third SEOW came into view. No pictures, it was too dark, and these owls are fast fliers.

SEO  public picture

• CBC Jefferson Township--On Sunday December 13th, I attended the annual Gambill family Christmas Bird count, covering south Gahanna; Taylor Rd to the north, Broad St. to the south, 270 to the west and Rey./N.A. Rd. to the east.  Team #TSB was back together again. We did most birding by car, because of all the commercial space we have. New species this year for #TSB was Golden-crowned Kinglet and Ring-Billed Gull. The total for CBC Jefferson Twp was 40 species and 3822 total birds

• Purple Finch--Believe it or not, I had missed this winter finch in the early season of 2014, and didn't know how or where I could see it before the end of year. Most people would tell me stories of chance, a group in a tree, one bird clear out in a field, etc.  But, I got a reliable tip from a birder friend, there is a female PUFI at the window feeder at HighBanks MP in north Columbus. So I made the trip there on Saturday, and after a 40 minute wait . . . BAMM!!

Purple Finch

notched tail

Purple Finches are large and chunky. Their powerful, conical beaks are larger than any sparrow’s. The tail seems short and is clearly notched at the tip . Female Purple Finches have no red. They are coarsely streaked below, with strong facial markings including a whitish eyestripe and a dark line down the side of the throat.

Yaahh!!

This puts my #BIGYEAR2014 number at #354 for the year!!

#353  Short Eared Owl--12/1
#354  Purple Finch--12/20

Next up:  One last trip to the Lake for Snowy Owl and Gulls

Need list: no particular order

1. Cackling Goose--maybe 12/28 trip, some seen up north
2. Northern Saw-whet Owl
3. Snowy Owl--hoping 12/28 Lake Erie run
4. Short eared Owl--12/1
5. Lesser Black-backed Gull--hoping 12/28 Lake run, or ClearFork Reservoir
6. Thayers Gull--would be a lifer
7. Iceland Gull--would be a lifer
8. Glauscous Gull--hoping a return to Alum Creek Beach 12/28-31 like last year
9. Purple Finch--12/20
10. Northern Shrike--floating around KillDeer Plains, trying again 12/24
11. Long earred Owl--missed the 12/12 showing at CMH airport, damn
12. Vesper Sparrow