From Donna Kuhn:
We had great weather for our June trip, temperatures in the 60s to low 70s and mostly sunny with a light breeze. We ran into a light fog as we left Columbus.
Clear Creek Metro Park is a great place to look for breeding warblers. It is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and has many beautiful rock formations. Â As we pulled over for our first stop, we spotted an American Woodcock on the trail to the river. We watched it use its long bill to probe the mud for insects. Â Red-eyed Vireos, American Restarts and Northern Flickers were seen in the trees above us. We took a short walk down the Hemlock trail where we were able to see and hear a couple of Worm-eating Warblers. The mud and the bugs made it easier to move on. The fog was lifting by the time we reached the Barnaby Picnic Area. Three Brown Thrashers were calling from trees in the parking lot. An Olive-sided Flycatcher was perched in a dead tree nearby.
We took a short walk on the Prairie Warbler Trail where we heard Kentucky, Hooded and Cerulean Warblers. We caught brief looks at Wood Thrush.
Next up: Crown City Wildlife area, after a stop at McDonalds in Gallipolis, of course. In addition to the requisite House Sparrows, we saw a Northern Mockingbird on a roof from the parking lot.
Crown City is a reclaimed strip mining area known for grassland birds. Prairie Warblers were one of our most common birds. We also saw a number of Chats. We saw a Henslow’s Sparrow perched and singing on an Olive Bush. Northern Bobwhite were calling persistently in the late afternoon. They would stop calling whenever we got close and several times we heard alarm calls, leading us to suspect nests with young, so we left them alone. A Grasshopper Sparrow watched us from the brush. It had a bug in its mouth that it did not consume, perhaps intending it for a mate or young.
After returning to Columbus, a few of the more avid Avids headed to Heritage Preserve. A Great Egret and Great Blue Heron were near the water. We finished the day with a Blue Grosbeak as the light was fading. Total of 82 species for the day:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Northern Bobwhite
Wild Turkey
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Woodcock
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Grasshopper Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow