April 24th dawned a cool, foggy morning along the mighty Ohio River. Eighteen members of the Avid Birders met along the river’s bank, full of anticipation and questions. Migration seemed to be well underway, but this trip was a full six days earlier than last years. Would we still be able to find all the warblers that nest in the area? Had the ice storms of last year affected the number of neotropical migrants returning to the area? We would soon find out.
The trip started along Odell Creek Road, where many birds were singing. American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Ovenbird were all quickly ticked. We heard a Kentucky Warbler, and some persistent pishing lured it into view. Along the ridge a Broad-winged Hawk flew over to examine the group. Six Ospreys were migrating north with a group of Turkey Vultures. All along the forest roads the resident warblers and vireos were defending their territories with song. It seemed all the expected species were back in expected numbers. Two warblers were more abundant than normal in the forest: Prairie Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat. Everyone hypothesized that this was due to the opening of the canopy by the ice storms. This allowed the understory to become much more dense, creating ideal habitat for these species.
We then drove to Picnic Point where, appropriately enough, we had lunch. While we were eating, an early Black-billed Cuckoo flew in to join us. After lunch we went to search Moore’s Lane, the shorebirding Mecca of southern Ohio. There were a few shorebirds around, but the highlight was several calling Soras. Let’s just hope the farmer doesn’t plow this productive little wetland under! At this point the group parted ways, some of the group birding their way back to Columbus, the others going to Adams County for an evening of birding.
Adams County is always a neat place to bird after dark and this trip was no exception. We easily found Barred Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, and Whip-poor-will, but Chuck-will’s-widows avoided us. Perhaps it was just a week or two early. The trip list of 109 species follows:
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ring-necked Pheasant
Sora
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Barred Owl
Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Easter Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson’s Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
American Pipit
European Starling
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savanna Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow