This trip report could have been titled Avids Aim for Quality over Quantity, although we always like quality!
We decided to concentrate on finding shorebirds and exploring new places today. None of us had ever been to LaDue Reservoir or Berlin Mudflats, so today was the day. Leaving Worthington at 5:30 am as usual, we traveled to the official breakfast stop of the Avids. Nourishment and caffeine in hand, we continued our travels to LaDue Reservoir, arriving at 8:30. The reported Red-necked Phalarope was relocated, but the lighting was undesirable on Valley Road for identifying some of the distant shorebirds. A fellow birder recommended another nearby location with better light, so off to Auburn Road we went. Unfortunately, although the habitat looked great to us, the shorebirds apparently saw things differently, and were largely MIA (Missing in Action).
Our next stop was the Berlin Mudflats. Our driver faced several challenging situations on the way. First, a car sped around us on the right shoulder of the road, then cut in front of us. (It obviously was not driven by a birder, who would have known better.) Then a mile or so later, the same car abruptly stopped in front of us and made a U turn! Apparently there was some dysfunction, as no signals were employed. Next we passed a sheriff’s car and a yellow checkered flag, only to find a stretch of road featuring bicycle riders passing each other in front of approaching cars and cars crossing the double yellow line to go around the bicycles despite oncoming traffic. Cars and bikes on both sides of the single lane road going in both directions seemed an unsafe combination to us, but we passed through without mishap. We continued on our quest for unusual birds.
After crossing the Rt. 225 bridge we found another kind man who let us park on his property and walk across it to the mudflats. We found the Black-bellied Plover as well as Pectoral, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and lots of Double-crested Cormorants and Great Blue Herons. Lots of habitat, but just a few birds were present.
Our smartphones came in handy today as we received a report that the Swanson’s Hawk was spending its third day nearby in hot pursuit of grasshoppers. The weather radar also showed a storm coming towards us, so we decided to go for the hawk and hope to outrun the approaching rain. We found the dark morph immature Swanson’s Hawk on location, posing for photographs and snacking on grasshoppers. Nothing like a mega-rarity for Ohio to bulk up our trip list!
The last stop of the day was at Wilderness Road, which has had some of the best shorebird habitat in the state in the past few years. This is a peat mining operation; the Amish owner controls the water levels to provide mudflats for shorebirds and encourages birders to enjoy his land and the birds that feed there. We observed the best concentration of shorebirds all day with dozens of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Killdeer. We also spotted a couple of Wilson’s Snipe, a few Stilt Sandpipers, Baird’s Sandpipers, and Semipalmated Plovers and Sandpipers. A Peregrine Falcon came in low over the water, causing every bird except the Snipe to fly off in alarm. The falcon’s hunt was unsuccessful and the birds returned. Rain was starting to fall so we headed for home, but not before finding ten Sandhill Cranes, resting in a field.
It was a great day: Forty-two species found. Great weather. Great company. Great Birds.
Here’s the list:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Wood Duck
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Swainson’s Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Stilt Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
Red-necked Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Catbird
Peregrine Falcon
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Cardinal
Black capped chickadee
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Savannah Sparrow
European Starling
House Sparrow