I had the pleasure of helping lead a Columbus Audubon Birding by Kayak event with Bill Heck this Saturday at the The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition (TAASC) facility, Twin Lakes in Powell, Ohio.
The trip started out with high expectations of viewings of young Prothonotary Warblers and Orchard Orioles on land. Though many were unable to find these two species until most had left for home, the trip was far from lackluster. As we meandered through Twin Lakes, families of various species made themselves known such as Green Herons, Great Egrets, and to my excitement, Kingfishers. Though we did not find anything rare, everyone enjoyed a terrific day on the lake with the birds and their families.
About TAASC: For those of you not familiar with TAASC, it is a nonprofit organization that offers various adventure related activities. What is great about the organization is that it allows you to give back to the community in some shape or form. The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition offers events that cater to both disabled and non disabled people like today’s Birding by Kayak adventure. You can learn more about TAASC and their activities at the TAASC Web site.
Here’s a list of the bird species that we saw:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Prothonotary Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow