For our June trip, we headed off to the Proctorville area near the Ohio River, where Swainson’s Warblers had been reported in three different locations in the past month. This warbler is known to nest in West Virginia, but is rarely seen in Ohio.
We started in the location where it was most recently seen and spent about 2 hours looking and listening. Everyone got to hear it well, but only about half of us saw it on the hillside as it remained deep in the vegetation. Fortunately, the roadside had other singing birds to enjoy, including Yellow-throated Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula and American Redstart. A White-eyed Vireo was particularly cooperative posing in the open for photos. There was a fair amount of traffic on the road and many people stopped to ask what we were looking for. Everyone was pleasant!
In traditional Avids fashion, we got lost looking for the Crown City Wildlife area, but eventually regained our bearings. We had actually driven though it at 40 mph while traveling to it! Here we heard many more birds than we saw, but we did see Yellow, Prairie and Blue-winged Warblers, more Redstarts, Common Yellowthroat, and Chats. We also heard several Bobwhites, but never saw any. A Henslow’s Sparrow perched up nicely for us, calling repeatedly, and we found a Grasshopper Sparrow relatively close to the road. We also saw Wild Turkeys, a Purple Martin, and a Pileated Woodpecker.
One group headed back around 3:00 pm, while the remaining three of us headed over to Shawnee State Park. We saw some birds in Kentucky en route, including an immature Bald Eagle. Once in the park, we spotted the Mississippi Kite at the campground as we drove up to Cabin 15; it was perched in a leafless tree affording us good looks. We walked around the area, adding Cerulean Warbler to our warbler list. We also saw a Red-eyed Vireo and Chipping Sparrows.
On the way home we stopped at River Road where we heard more Henslow’s Sparrows and a Ring-necked Pheasant. Horned Lark and Savannah Sparrows were new for the day. The weather for the day was pleasant: overcast with temperatures in the 60s and low 70s and just a slight breeze. We suspect that our next trip, which will be in August, will be a lot different.
Thanks to Lisa Phelps for the photo of the White-eyed Vireo at the top of the page.
Avid’s Trip List for June 8, 2024
- Mallard
- Northern Bobwhite
- Wild Turkey
- Ring-necked Pheasant
- Rock Pigeon
- Mourning Dove
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Chimney Swift
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Killdeer
- Ring-billed Gull
- Great Blue Heron
- Turkey Vulture
- Mississippi Kite
- Bald Eagle
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Downy Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- American Kestrel
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- Acadian Flycatcher
- Willow Flycatcher
- Eastern Phoebe
- Eastern Kingbird
- White-eyed Vireo
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Carolina Chickadee
- Tufted Titmouse
- Horned Lark
- Tree Swallow
- Purple Martin
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Carolina Wren
- European Starling
- Gray Catbird
- Brown Thrasher
- Northern Mockingbird
- Eastern Bluebird
- Wood Thrush
- American Robin
- Cedar Waxwing
- House Sparrow
- American Goldfinch
- Grasshopper Sparrow
- Chipping Sparrow
- Field Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Henslow’s Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Eastern Towhee
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Baltimore Oriole
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Common Grackle
- Ovenbird
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Blue-winged Warbler
- Swainson’s Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- American Redstart
- Cerulean Warbler
- Northern Parula
- Yellow Warbler
- Yellow-throated Warbler
- Prairie Warbler
- Summer Tanager
- Scarlet Tanager
- Northern Cardinal
- Indigo Bunting