The plan was for the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Young Birders Club to bird and swim and hike and eat and hang out together, but Mother Nature made it challenging. We dodged rain and thunder and lightning throughout the day, but still managed to have plenty of fun and discoveries!
On August 5th, the Ohio Young Birders went to John and Gerry’s lake house at Seneca Lake in Noble County, Ohio.
The first thing we did was to go on a nature walk. And we didn’t just notice the birds. Trevor and Jacob identified several species of swallowtail butterflies: Spicebush, Tiger and Black. They also spotted a Common Buckeye butterfly.
The first things I saw were butterflies perched on a giant milkweed. The butterflies were called Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. The kind of milkweed was different than any other kind I had seen before. The flower alone was as big as both my hands. Its leaves were long, about 5 to 6 inches, yet thin. Trevor also identified several trees during our walk, including sassafras, pin oak, sugar maple, white pine, ash, red oak and white oak.
Then we went back to Gerry’s for lunch and to bird watch from their balcony. Next we split up and half went swimming and the rest of us went on a boat ride. Can you guess which one I did? Some of us swam, some of us skied, some of us tubed — but just about everyone got wet!
After we all got off the boat and out of the water, it started to rain. In all unlikeliness, that didn’t stop our fun! We went inside for food and games. Gerry, Susan and other moms made cookies, pasta, hamburgers, and hotdogs. We played a game where one player plays a bird sound and the others guess what bird it is. Also we played Dutch Blitz and did puzzles.
Most of all, it was nice just to relax and spend time with friends. Between hamburgers and swimming, it was absolutely peaceful. Between games and birding, it was absolutely fun.
List of bird species seen:
Ring-billed Gull
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Chipping Sparrow
American Robin
Eastern Wood Peewee
House Wren
Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Bluebird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
American Goldfinch
Osprey
Yellow Warblere
Eastern Kingbird
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Belted Kingfisher
Purple Martin
Gray Catbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Sarah Seeley is a member of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Young Birders Club. You can see two photo albums from this trip: album 1, album 2.