At various times in the week preceding our trip, the weather forecast for Saturday called for sunny skies, torrential rains, thunder and lightning, light drizzle, and everything in between. As we neared the weekend, though, the trend became clear: rain, likely accompanied by thunder and lightning, was certain. Extraordinary temperatures also were in the offing, with a predicted high of over 85°.
Sure enough, our departure from Columbus and much of the drive to our traditional late April destination, Shawnee State Forest, was accompanied by rain. However, by the time we arrived at our rendezvous at the Shawnee marina on the Ohio River, the precipitation had disappeared. Well, the storms would be here soon, so on to birding we went as quickly as possible.
We entered the forest proper from the west side of route 125, where our road ran alongside one of the many creeks that course through the forest toward the Ohio River’s floodplain. Although thick gray clouds dimmed the light and washed out colors, we started to locate our target birds almost immediately. Spring migrants, especially Southern Ohio specialties, were singing lustily. The rising trill of Prairie Warbler song was everywhere, although individual birds were fiendishly difficult to find. Who knew that bright yellow birds could hide so well? Hooded Warblers sang their insistent songs frequently, interrupted occasionally by the “up and fall over” songs of Northern Parulas. A Yellow-throated Warbler popped into view. A Broad-winged Hawk, a bird that we often miss on this trip even though we always are in prime habitat, provided a change of pace as it sailed over the treetops.
We gradually moved upward in the hills, stopping here and there to listen and look. The light was still poor, but a Cerulean Warbler’s trill-buzz gave it away: we finally spotted the bird high in a sycamore tree. As we drove along, we heard – and stopped for – Worm-eating Warblers, but only a few of our group managed to get decent looks. We also found Kentucky Warblers; again, though, only some of our group had decent looks at these lovely birds.
Along with the birds, butterflies were present in abundance. Tiger Swallowtails and Red-spotted Purples were the most common, along with several Zebra Swallowtails and one or two Silver-spotted Skippers. It would be hard to overestimate the number of butterflies that we saw during the day; the total easily was in the hundreds.
By 10:00 or so, we had reached Picnic Point at the crest of one of the higher hills. It was too early for a real picnic lunch, but not too early to find some excellent birds, such as Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, and a Yellow-Breasted Chat. Several of us walked a few hundred feet down a side trail in pursuit of the still-elusive Worm-eating Warbler. Those who stayed at the crest had the better end of that deal, as a mixed flock that included Blackpoll, Blackburnian, and Cape May Warblers dropped in. By the time that our splinter group returned, having once again missed the Worm-eater, the flock was gone. There must be a moral in here somewhere!
By this time, several of our group were receiving text messages warning of impending storms. We looked over the trees and saw a menacing-looking line of clouds approaching, so headed for the cars. As if on schedule, the rain did start and a few drops hit the windshields. And then…and then…that was it. The clouds slid by and the sky began very gradually to lighten. It took the better part of an hour, but eventually we had sunny skies.
The birds didn’t go away. As we passed the edges of ugly clear-cut areas, we saw a few unexpected species, including a Red-headed Woodpecker and an Eastern Kingbird.
Back down in the flatter part of the forest, we parked in graveled area that featured dozens of puddling butterflies. (Did I mention butterflies?) While we were looking for the next good bird, a field trip group from the Ohio Ornithological Society’s annual meeting showed up. The OOS has taken to holding its yearly conference at the Shawnee State Park Lodge on the same weekend as our traditional Shawnee excursion, but we’re happy to share the forest! In this case, we shared some information as well, telling the OOS leaders about what we had seen and learning about “can’t miss” locations for Kentucky and Worm-eating Warblers. Some of us still were missing these very species, so we piled into the cars and headed onward.
That Kentucky Warbler thing worked out very well: we located the bird exactly where it was expected and, with some work, everyone got killer looks. We didn’t fare as well with the Worm-eating Warbler: we never did find the spot where it was supposed to be. As we proceeded downhill, the sharp-eared – or the perhaps just the most awake – listeners in the last car in our caravan heard two of the rattling calls, but the other cars were already far ahead.
As we drove back to the marina where we had assembled the carpool, those in that last car were sorely tempted. The passengers in that car all were returning to the same location in Columbus, and we had the container of Mary Heck’s homemade muffins in the trunk. We could skip the marina and head straight for Columbus, pigging out on muffins along the way. Dreams of three muffins each crossed our minds. Why share? Who would ever know? Our better instincts overcame temptation, though, so we all went back to the marina, said our goodbyes, and passed around the celebratory muffins.
But the trip was not over quite yet. On the way back to Columbus, several of our cars stopped in the town of Waverly to look for recently-reported Eurasian Collared Doves. This non-native species has been slowly spreading across North America, and has now reached several areas in Ohio. The occupants of at least one vehicle were rewarded in their search, not only by spotting the dove, but also by finding ice cream at the local Witt’s Custard place. In addition, at least one other vehicle scouted the Route 23 bridge over the Scioto River north of Waverly where Cliff Swallows have been nesting faithfully for years. We spotted the mud nests on bridge supports and seconds later caught glimpses of the swallows as we sped over the bridge. Mission accomplished!
Despite the fearful forecasts, the day turned out to be quite beautiful. Ironically, Columbus was hard hit during the day with torrential rains. Clearly, we made the right choice: sometimes avidity is rewarded!
We ended up with a total of 83 species, listed below.
Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Rock Dove (feral pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow