We got on to the water at about 9:00 am. We stayed in one spot to wait for other people. As we were waiting Trevor, Anna, and I heard a Prothonotary Warbler singing. We paddled over to the tree line and sure enough there was one sitting up in the tree singing. Once everyone was ready to go, we headed out. As we paddled our way to the bridge we saw Cedar Waxwings, a Green Heron, and Turkey Vultures. We also heard Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Warbling Vireos.
Once we reached the bridge there were quite a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows, which were awesome to see.
After the bridge the group split up a little and kayaked in the open a few of us went along the tree line and saw another Prothonotary Warbler, an Acadian Flycatcher, and a White-tailed Deer with at least 6 points!
Next we headed down a narrow path to look for a Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest. We found it when the female was on it! On our way out we had a Prothonotary Warbler right over our heads!
We decided to go see if there was a Green Heron nest this year. We saw the pair of Green Herons sitting in the tree; when one flew off, the other one flew into the nest! After we saw the
Green Heron, Tyler had a Northern Parula singing on the tree line. I paddled over to him with Cristiana, Kate, Delaney, and Anna. As we were sitting the listening to it along with a Prothonotary Warbler and Indigo Bunting, Anna found a Bullfrog tadpole! It had small legs and still had it’s tail.
We headed back to The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition where we ate lunch and helped band a few Tree Swallow nestlings. After lunch we headed over to the Ohio Wildlife Center for sketching and photography. I decided to try sketching. We went downstairs to see Barnaby, a Barn Owl who is 28 years old. He was rescued from a tree that was cut down after his wing was injured. We sketched him for a while. Then we went outside and sketched and took pictures of a American Kestrel and a gray-morph Eastern Screech-Owl.
I know I had a ton of fun and learned a lot.
Adriana Losey is a member of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Young Birders Club.