Avids Hit The Targets: 7 October 2017

For the past few months, the Avid Birders have had great luck in finding their special “target birds” on every trip. Today was no exception.

This month, we returned to our traditional early morning meeting place: Worthington Mall, now known as the Shoppes at Worthington Place.  In further keeping with tradition, we stopped at McDonald’s on the way north.

Our first stop was Lorain Harbor, where a bounty of sparrows had been reported. Overcast skies with temperatures in the 60s promised a comfortable day for birders. Indeed, several of us commented that it’s usually freezing when we’re at this location! The birding started right away: while walking across the parking lot, we watched a Merlin with its long, pointed wings and rapid, powerful wingbeats circling the marina.

We proceeded to search for sparrows, quickly finding Song, Swamp, and Lincoln’s Sparrows.  A nice assortment of waterfowl floated on and flew low over the water, including Wood Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, and Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal.  A juvenile Peregrine Falcon with its dark streaked underparts flew past, perhaps hindering our search as other birds ducked for cover. A few shorebirds, including Dunlin and a Lesser Yellowlegs, seemed unconcerned, though, as they fed on a spit of mud.

Another birder notified us that she had just seen our primary target bird, the Nelson’s Sparrow, so we quickly caught up with her. But the bird proved elusive! Palm Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat appeared, as did more sparrows – but no Nelson’s yet. But while waiting, we had an unusual treat: Jacob Raber spotted a Short-eared Owl flying up from the impoundment, its flight very much like the flight of the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. Careful observation showed the dark wrist mark on the underwings and larger head. The Owl flew directly overhead, then banked, showing off the large buff wing patches and distinctive facial disk.

After that excitement, we walked a short distance along the embankment. James Muller suddenly grabbed his binoculars from his side, his movement almost like pulling a gun from a holster, turned quickly, crouched, aimed the binoculars and shouted, “Nelson’s!” Everyone in the group was delighted to see this bird as it flew a short distance, popped up several times, and eventually disappeared. It was a life bird for three participants. James said afterwards that he does sometimes feel the motions he uses to lift his binoculars to his eyes are like pulling a gun. Fortunately he is armed with a camera and bins only.

Several participants saw an Orange-crowned Warbler while the rest of us were observing a Red Fox with mange. (Mange is caused by a parasite and can be transmitted to humans as scabies. It can be fatal to the fox if its skin develops an infection.)

As we were preparing to leave Lorain, a report came in that a Selasphorus hummingbird had returned to a feeder in Danville, so we decided to head there. (The genus Selasphorus includes both Rufous and Allen’s Hummingbirds. Both have been recorded in Ohio in fall and winter, with Rufous being the more common. However, it can be difficult to separate the two species at this time of year.) A quick stop for lunch and restrooms at McDonalds along the way broke with the Avids tradition of brown bagging lunch. Meanwhile, some of us saw our third falcon of the day, an American Kestrel, on the road to the hummer spot.

Upon our arrival, Junior Nisely, the property owner, welcomed us to his farm. He brought out chairs for all of us to sit on, while waiting for the Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird. He said he is the only one in the area who keeps his feeders up until December, and this is his first Selasphorus hummingbird at this farm. He previously owned a farm about four miles away and had the birds twice, but that was over ten years ago.

Our wait was short, as the bird appeared briefly at the feeder before flying off again. We speculated about which species this bird might be, but we still don’t know: the only way to positively differentiate female hummingbirds in this genus is to measure tail feathers – and that wasn’t happening this day. In any case, we enjoyed watching Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler on the utility wire while waiting for the hummingbird to reappear for photos. After seeing the bird at the feeder three times, we decided to head for home.

Great birds, great people, and great weather made this a very enjoyable trip. Our total of eleven hours yielded 61 species. And if anyone is able to ID that hummingbird, we’ll hear all about it!

Note added 15 October: The hummingbird seen in Danville was banded and determined to be a 2nd year female Rufous Hummingbird.

Here’s our list of species seen: