Eleven people showed up at 6:00 am despite a fresh coating of snow and temperatures in the mid 20s. After all, it’s January and Avids tradition has us heading to the lake Erie shore in Cleveland for ducks and gulls.
We arrived at the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (CNLP) where four additional people were already observing a Northern Saw-whet Owl. This bird is only 8 inches tall, weighs about 75 grams (2.6 ounces), and is of the scale on the cuteness factor. Like most owls, Saw-whets hunt at night, feeding mostly on mice. They roost during the day, usually staying in the same tree for weeks.
After this great start, we walked the perimeter of CLNP and found an overwintering Hermit Thrush. Most thrushes, including Hermit Thrushes, move south for the winter, but this one was hanging in there, its feathers puffed up protecting it from the cold. Two jet-black Common Ravens flew overhead, uttering their distinctive croaking call, each looking like a bill with a bird attached! We saw White-throated and White -crowned Sparrows, and hundreds of Red-breasted Mergansers flew past and lounged on the lake. We used our ears as well as our eyes: Black-capped Chickadees were singing in the forest, and the ice covered snow crackled as we walked.
Soon, a second Northern Saw-whet Owl was reported, so naturally we had to go look at it. These common but rarely seen owls are so adorable, with soft brown streaks on a white breast and no ear tufts, that it’s hard not to admire them. But we had other places to go and birds to see, so it was time to move on.
We next stopped at Wendy Park. Blowing snow was creating “whiteout” conditions, so we ate lunch in our vehicles while waiting 30 minutes for the storm to pass through. Once things had cleared up, we got out our scopes and scanned the hundreds of gulls on the water, finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull and several Great Black-backed Gulls among the hordes of Ring-billed Gulls.
Since the snow had stopped falling, we decided to walk out to the Coast Guard station, one of the prime gull viewing areas along the Lake Erie shore in winter (when the lake is not frozen). We quickly saw an immature Iceland Gull (subspecies Kumlein’s), an uncommon visitor to Ohio. This one was almost completely white, lacking any black on the wings or tail. Although several other Iceland Gulls were farther out on the lake, this one was easy to view in the river. Our local guide also spotted a Glaucous Gull, another bird uncommon in Ohio. This is a mostly white gull, much larger than the common American Herring Gulls. It kept coming closer until it was easy to see without binoculars, then flew over the river, allowing close views and photographs.
There are so many spots to bird along the lake it often is difficult to chose. But a Harlequin Duck had been seen at Columbia Park the day before, so we decided to go there. Not only did we see the showy Harlequin, but we also found Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads and Greater Scaup. To top it off, a Bald Eagle flew past, stirring up the birds on the water.
Our last stop was at Cleveland Hopkins airport where a Snowy Owl had been seen for the past week. Most of us left too early, but a couple who stayed got very distant scope views of the perched owl. We’ll look for a closer one the next time!
.The sun was setting as the last of our cars drove drove back to Columbus. It was long but productive day: we had 38 species, a very respectable total for mid-winter.
Click on the Trip Report button below for a full eBird list of the species that we found on the trip. When viewing this report, feel free to explore the options to see detailed information on where each species was seen, along with numbers of individuals and photos of selected species.