Shorebird Habitat in Ohio is scarce this year!
Saturday dawned cool and comfortable as we set off for Decoy Marsh at 5:30 AM. Decoy Marsh is a small park near Fremont that is rarely open to the public. None of us had been there before, so we were looking forward to exploring a new place and searching for the King Rail that had been seen in the vicinity a few weeks before. We checked the road, then parked in the parking area and walked the mowed trail. We were greeted by a pair of Baltimore Orioles as we rounded the corner. A family of Red Headed Woodpeckers entertained us with their antics. Although the area had some shorebird habitat, we saw only Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs. The King Rail eluded us, as well as four other birders.
We continued to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and were surprised to find appropriate habitat behind the Visitors Center, as well as a group of birders. We watched Least Sandpipers, with “mudlegs”, and a Short-billed Dowitcher. The locally notorious Red-winged Blackbird that dive bombs unsuspecting birders either has reformed his ways or flown south.
As we walked the dikes, we watched a number of shorebirds, including Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Stilt Sandpipers, Baird’s Sandpipers, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. We watched beautiful Snowy Egrets fly into the mudflat, followed shortly thereafter by an immature Little Blue Heron, posing long enough (with the Great and Snowy Egrets) for us to closely observe the grayish bill and greenish yellow legs, before flying into the high grasses where we were unable to see it again. We were able to get close looks at Wilson’s Snipe and a single Long-billed Dowitcher foraging with the Short-billed Dowitchers. This allowed us to observe the subtle differences in the species.
While we were there, another birder told us he had just seen a Black-bellied Plover on the Magee Causeway, so we headed over there and found the bird in full breeding plumage.
Wilderness Road is once again displaying some of the best shorebird habitat in the state, so we headed for Funk, Ohio. It did not disappoint. We saw the oft-reported Buff-breasted Sandpipers, as well as Baird’s, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. A Bald Eagle flew over, causing the birds to lift and resettle. A popup thunderstorm failed to dampen our enjoyment, as we waited in a car full of a friendly birders while the storm passed through.
Total species for the day, 62. Fourteen hours with others who share a passion for learning about birds by direct observation. Great company, great birds!
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red Tail Hawk
Cooper Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Baird’s Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Wood Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
flycatcher sp. (Empidonax)
Blue Jay
Northern Cardinal
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Warbling Vireo
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow