2013 Birdathon Summary
The Early Birders recorded 127 species during our 2013 Birdathon day, completely blowing away our original goal of 116 species and roaring past last year’s 115 species mark!
Narrative
It was 9:00 in the morning and we were driving into Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. Right away we saw two things: birds and people. Even as we drove in we saw egrets and orioles. Then we saw three giant parking lots filled up with cars. The license plates told us that the birders had come from far and wide to see the “warbler capital of the world.”
I found my advisors and fellow OYBC members, and then we headed onto the boardwalk. We had some excellent guides to help us, including Chris Wood, Jessie Berry, Victor Emanuel, Rob Ripma, Ryan Steiner, and Wyatt Miller.
Right away, we were adding check marks to our bird list. I got great views of a Nashville Warbler, a Black-and-white Warbler, an Ovenbird, and a Northern Waterthrush. Warbling Vireos were all around us. I learned the song of a Black-throated Blue Warbler. We had to thread our way though the hundreds and hundreds of people. If a crowd gathered in one place, then someone had probably spotted an uncommon bird like a Mourning Warbler. Finally we got to the other side of the boardwalk. This was the best part of the trip, in my opinion. At any one moment in time, our group could see four different species of warblers. In a tree beside the parking lot we saw a Common Nighthawk.
Then we ate lunch on the beach, which turned out to be a very aromatic experience. The smell of rotten fish was, in a word, disgusting. I had fun skipping rocks into the lake.
After lunch, when I was walking across a parking lot, I saw a taped-off stretch of grass. Someone near me said there was an American Woodcock nest. Where was the nest? I looked and looked again, but I saw nothing. Then I saw the blink of an eye! The female woodcock was sitting perfectly still on top of the nest. She was basically invisible in the tall grass.
We decided to walk the same trail where we saw a Kirtland’s Warbler last year, in hopes of the same good luck. We didn’t see a Kirtland’s, but I saw a Cape May Warbler and a Canada Warbler. We also saw Common Terns, Bonaparte’s Gulls, and a Scarlet Tanager. On our way back, someone spotted a small raptor flying past. It was so small that it looked like a pigeon to me. We recognized it as a Sharp-shinned Hawk, because its tail was squared at the end.
It was nearing the end of the day. OYBC had already beaten last year’s bird count. We drove by Ottawa Wildlife Refuge and Metzger Marsh to spot a few more birds. We saw Lesser Scaup and learned that these birds have squarer heads than their Greater Scaup relatives.
Our bird count was 127! Our fundraising efforts were going to pay off. The money that we collected for the Birdathon would benefit Columbus Audubon. Some of this money would be used to fund more great OYBC trips! I said goodbye to my friends, and I looked forward to the next trip to Magee.
Aaron Tayal — Aaron is a member of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Young Birders Club. Check out the collection of photos from the trip.
Photo Slide Show
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{besps_c}0|YoungBirders.jpg|Central Ohio Chapter Young Birders|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole4.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|AmericanRedstart.jpg|American Redstart|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|TrumpeterSwan.jpg|Trumpeter Swan|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole6.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|YellowWarbler.jpg|Yellow Warbler|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole3.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|YoungBirdersBoardwalk.jpg|Central Ohio Chapter Young Birders on the Boardwalk|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|TreeSwallow.jpg|Tree Swallow|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|AmericanWoodcock.jpg|American Woodcock|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|RedwingedBalckbird.jpg|Red-winged Blackbird|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole2.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|YoungBirdersBoardwalk2.jpg|Central Ohio Chapter Young Birders scouting the boardwalk at Magee|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|Leaves.jpg|Leaves|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BlackburnianWarbler.jpg|Blackburnian Warbler|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|Jacob.jpg|Jacob|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|RedbelliedWoodpecker.jpg|Red-bellied Woodpecker|{/besps_c}
{besps_c}0|BaltimoreOriole5.jpg|Baltimore Oriole|{/besps_c}
Species List
The following complete species list:, including a few non-avian “species” at the end, was compiled by Joey Tomei, also a member of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Young Birders Club.
Merlin
Marsh Wren
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Lesser Scaup
Snowy Egret
American Kestrel
House Sparrow
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Hooded Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
American Woodcock
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Forster’s Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great-Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Non-avian flying sightings included:
One helicopter near Magee Marsh (make/company is probably Bell)
Several Cessna 172s
One Douglas Cargo Plane