Twenty-four Avids swam against the tide of April’s migration once more, heading south at various times and via various routes to meet along the Ohio River the morning of the 26th to spend a morning in the Shawnee forest together. Participants came not only from the Columbus area, but also from Circleville, Athens, and Dayton. A reprise of last April’s trip, with a date only two days earlier, this one returned comparable results. Last year we found 103 birds, more than this year’s 94, with the difference involving 9 shorebird species rather than one, and four extra raptors last time. Our warbler list of 20 was identical, except for last year’s lucky find of a golden-winged.
The trees, undamaged this year by any late frost, were healthier-looking, though few leaves were large enough yet to be confused with treetop birds. Wildflowers, more retarded than in 2007, showed plenty of blooms but fewer flowering species. We came not a day too early; birds had apparently recently arrived in multitudes, vigorously seizing and defending territories, courting, etc. Only a couple of indisputable migrants were found—yellow-rumped and Blackburnian warblers-and most of the rest acted as if they planned going no further. Numbers were excellent, and we had at least several examples of each passerine species. Birds were widespread, and while no doubt our expert leader Brad was carefully choosing spots for stops, it seemed birds were so abundant and in such good voice that we could have spent our time most anywhere.
After a second stop at the marina to regroup and eat and talk, the group again dissolved into its component parts, with the larger portion heading east into Adams County to sample some different habitats, as well as chances of birds harder to find in Scioto County, like prothonotary warbler, Henslow’s sparrow, and summer tanager. As it happened, our peregrinations produced only some pretty shabby looks at a pair of the sparrows (though there Brad found, and Ben captured, a black racer which was admired and gently released, miffed and covered with blood [Ben’s] to the wild in due time). The iffy weather turned into a dry sunny day, however, and we had lots of good looks at other new arrivals in some charming spots, and by late afternoon Brad and I were the last participants heading north to Columbus.
All in all, a familiar but much-beloved journey produced the following species, with some memorable encounters but nothing in the way of the unusual. A list follows:
Canada goose
Mute swan
Wood duck
Mallard
Blue-winged teal
Green-winged teal
Great blue heron
Green heron
Black vulture
Turkey vulture
Cooper’s hawk
Red-shouldered hawk
Broad-winged hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Killdeer
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
Mourning dove
Chimney swift
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Belted kingfisher
Red-headed woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Northern flicker
Pileated woodpecker
Eastern phoebe
Great crested flycatcher
Eastern kingbird
White-eyed vireo
Yellow-throated vireo
Warbling vireo
Red-eyed vireo
Blue jay
American crow
Horned lark,
Purple martin
Tree swallow
N. rough-winged swallow
Cliff swallow
Barn swallow
Carolina chickadee
Tufted titmouse
Red-breasted nuthatch
White-breasted nuthatch
Carolina wren
House wren
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Eastern bluebird
Wood thrush
American robin
Gray catbird
Northern mockingbird
Brown thrasher
European starling
Blue-winged warbler
Northern parula
Yellow warbler
Chestnut-sided warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Black-throated green warbler
Blackburnian warbler
Yellow-throated warbler
Pine warbler
Prairie 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
Eastern towhee
Chipping sparrow
Field sparrow
Henslow’s sparrow
Song sparrow
White-throated sparrow
Northern cardinal
Rose-breasted grosbeak
Indigo bunting
Red-winged blackbird
Eastern meadowlark
Common grackle
Brown-headed cowbird
Orchard oriole
Baltimore oriole
American goldfinch
House sparrow