On April 25, 2026, the Avids set out bright and early on their traditional trip to Shawnee State Forest, seeking a variety of nesting woodland birds, with an emphasis on warblers. We started our journey on Shawnee Trail, where a pair of rare Swainson’s Warblers have returned for a third year. For over three hours, we heard at least one bird singing at various locations within the forest on both sides of the road, but it remained elusive until some of us ventured into the forest and finally managed to locate two birds! Many other birds also played hard to get, but we did see or hear 40 species, including 13 other species of warblers.
Around noon we headed to the Shawnee State Park Marina, and then continued to Picnic Point, Pond Lick Road and finally to the Shawnee State Park cabin area, to check (in vain) whether the Mississippi Kites had returned.
On the way back to Columbus, some of us stopped at the Burger King in Waverly, where we were treated to an easy sighting of a local Eurasian Collared-Dove. We then went to the Pickaway County Airport and River Drive for some grassland and wetland birds, the best of which were at least ten Wilson’s Snipe!
We ended the long day with an impressive list of 83 birds seen and heard, including 17 warblers. See below for the complete list.
Here’s a list of species seen on the trip:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Wild Turkey
Rock Dove
Ring-necked Pheasant
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Killdeer
Wilson’s Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Turkey Vulture
Copper’s Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Finch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Swainson’s Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula
Northern Yellow Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak