The central chapter of the OYBC went birding by kayak on June 1st. This has been an annual event for the Central Ohio chapter. Our advisor, Darlene Sillick, coordinates the event with Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition at Twin Lakes. I personally look forward to this event every year. It is one of my favorites, and it was the first Ohio Young Birders outing I attended five years ago.
To begin the day, we socialized, signed in, and picked out our kayaking equipment. The OYBC, volunteers, and our special guest, Steve Landes, hit the water. As we were waiting, Steve pointed out a Yellow-throated Vireo calling in the distance. Moving along, Steve continued to point out singing/calling birds like Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Yellow-throated Warbler. We stumbled upon Prothonotary Warblers at their box. They gave us wonderful views and sang for us as well. We continued back into inlets and then came back to the main part of the water. We headed back as the temperature began to rise. We got back to land and enjoyed our lunches. We then checked the Tree Swallow boxes and Purple Martin rigs. The Tree Swallow boxes had young that aged 2-8 days old. The majority of the Purple Martin gourds had 2-6 eggs adding up to 42 total. We then spent the last hour together walking around campus. We ended with 50 species for the day. Highlights including: Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, and Pileated Woodpecker.
I had an amazing time and I am sure the other young birders did as well. A big thanks to our advisors for putting this event together, Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition, and Steve Landes for joining us. The Coalition volunteers were helpful and kind. They told us that we inspired many of them and that they learned so much just from being with them for a few hours. They will take the knowledge they gained and share it with future groups. Steve has an amazing ear for birds and can point them out just like that. I have birded with Steve in the field a few times and it was great to see him sharing with a whole group. I am excited for the outings to come and encourage young birders to get involved.
Adriana records Purple Martin nesting data for Cornell Nestwatch After kayaking, Katelyn and Dani show nesting Tree Swallows to the group by Katelyn
Adriana Losey is a Youth Advisory Board member of the Central Ohio Young Birders Club.
For an eBird list of birds for the day compiled by Adriana Losey, see https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57016509