Maintaining our tradition, we met at the Shoppes at Worthington at 5:30 am. As we headed up to Headlands State Park, it seemed that first light would never arrive, but the darkness finally gave way to a mostly overcast day. Temperatures hovered in the upper 30s to low 40s with a brisk wind.
At Headlands, we walked along the tree line where we had close looks at both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a flock of several hundred American Goldfinches. A single male Canvasback and some American Coots were seen along the breakwall. Snow Buntings were on the stone wall. Since Snow Buntings were a life bird for a couple people, we decided to skip the Cleveland Lakefront and head to Lorain where these birds had been closer.
Arriving at the Lorain harbor, we scanned the gulls at the marina, spotting all the usual small, medium, and large types (Bonaparte’s, Ring-billed, and Herring). Common Terns were hanging on late in the season, fishing in the lake and sitting on the docks. We then headed over to the fishing pier, where we had good looks at Snow Buntings on the ground in front of us. Back at the impoundments, we found lots of waterfowl including American Wigeon, Gadwall, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Bufflehead. A few Dunlin flew onto a sand spit, and a Common Loon was floating in the choppy waters close to the pier.
Since the Calliope Hummingbird was still being seen in Delaware County, and the Brant in Wayne county, we split the group and those who had seen the hummingbird went to see the Brant.
Those who went for the hummingbird were delighted, as it was very active during our entire visit. We were also amused by a chipmunk stuffing himself with sunflower seeds. Meanwhile, the Brant continued in the waters at Killbuck, along with some Blue-winged Teal; Marsh Wrens were still in the cattails.
Altogether, three different birds provided a life bird for each participant. Our total of sixty species (listed below) provided for a great day — and we even got home before dark.
Brant
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Dunlin
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Calliope Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Snow Bunting
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow