Each year I take an extended birding trip to some part of the country to work on my local statelists. This year I thought I would make it a trip to the Midwest to include my first ever stops at spring migrant hotspots of Magee Marsh in Ohio and Point Pelee in Ontario. Plus I would add a trip to upper Michigan to see Kirtland’s Warbler which is only on my lifelist based on a supposed heard bird more than 40 years ago. And of course I needed to work on my statelists and ON province list. Although I am ABA reportable in OH and IN, my totals were only 3 over the threshold in OH and 8 over the IN threshold. I like to be at least 15 over the threshold, so I needed at least 12 new statebirds in OH and 7 more in IN. I was already 16 over the MI threshold, but there were still a number of statebird possibilities for me there too. And finally, my ON list was only 147, including only 5 species of warblers, so the potential new birds in ON were significant. As always I spent many hours in planning and research, using e-bird, a MI birdfinding guide, various on-line site guides, and input from very knowledgeable birders in ON, OH, and IN. I would come up with an itinerary that would get me to locations with a lot of statebirding potential, albeit requiring quite a number of miles on the rental car.
This is the first of four parts of my blog for my Midwest statebirding trip – the Ohio portion. The next three parts will summarize the Ontario, Michigan, and Indiana portions of my trip.
Day 1 – Magee Marsh and Nearby Northwest OH
Weather – Highs in the 90s, humid, strong southerly winds, scattered strong thunderstorms
I started Day 1 pre-dawn in hopes of finding some nocturnal species along the causeway to Magee Marsh. As I started down the road I rolled down the windows and was overwhelmed with song – principally Yellow Warblers, even though it was still 30 minutes before dawn. But one “peent” from a nearby Woodcock gave me my first OH statebird. Out on the causeway the marshes were extensive both to the east and west, and full of geese and mallards, along with marsh wren calls. One distant “quonk” of a Black-Crowned Night Heron was my only observation of this species, but good enough for OH statebird #2. I now have this species in each Lower 48 state except lightly-birded Montana.
By now numerous Willow Flycatchers were calling from the brush, and Yellow Warblers were abundant. Then a couple Trumpeter Swans flew around the marsh as if in courtship (#3), and even flew less than 20 ft right over my head. I would later see a flock of 6 more. I had hoped for Virginia Rails and Common Gallinules along the causeway, but had no rails and only a couple calling Coots. So although birding was good on the causeway, I was anxious to get to the boardwalk area of Magee Marsh, and start looking for passerines.
As I turned the last bend into the parking lot I noticed a flock of birds sitting in the road – 5 Swainson’s Thrushes and 3 White-Crowned Sparrows were oblivious to me. That was a good start. I parked close to the western end of the boardwalk and the trees were full of Blackpoll song, with a few others sprinkled in. So it all seemed promising – I was hopeful that the strong southerly winds the night before could have resulted in a nice fallout. I spent the next 6 hours slowly walking along the boardwalk, mostly letting the birds come to me as they passed through the trees. I ended up with 18 species of warblers with highest numbers being Blackpolls and Yellows, and all the eastern Empids. One local I talked to said it was “slow” and another said it was “dead” – imagine what it would have been on a good day. I picked up 7 new statebirds –
· #4 – Wilson’s Warbler – several including a number in song
· #5 – Alder Flycatcher – quite a number of birds calling
· #6 – Northern Waterthrush – 1 late bird skulking in a wet area
· #7 – Screech Owl – other birders pointed out a perched bird sleeping on a high branch actually quite out in the open
· #8 – Bay-Breasted Warbler – several males and females, some in song
· #9 – Philadelphia Vireo – 1 noted in a Tweet which I was able to refind (yes the Magee birders post tweets when they find good birds)
· #10 – Black-billed Cuckoo – 1 calling bird
A couple of my statebird maps are inserted below. Alder Flycatcher which I’ve now seen in most of its breeding states but only a few in migration.
And Bay-breasted Warbler where I’ve got good coverage in the northeastern US but still need it many states as a migrant.
One target I hoped for was Connecticut Warbler which I missed by no more than 10 minutes, despite 45 minutes of time staring into a thicket hoping it might return. I left at 12:30 and was very happy with my tally of 83 species though it was already in the upper 80s and humidity was climbing.
Next stops were along the causeway and at ponds at Black Swamp and the Migratory Bird Center trying for marshbirds. But the highlight was this amazingly life-like sculpture of a pair of Bald Eagles on their nest.
I next headed to Ottawa NWR to check out the possibilities. Much of the refuge is accessible by auto tour which is only open a couple days a month – and not while I was there. Some impoundments are accessible by foot, but it was already above 90 and humid, and I decided to pass on a long walk in the sun with limited potential. Next I headed to Metzger Marsh but again struck out on my targets. Next stop was a Sedge Wren/Henslow’s Sparrow spot reported in e-bird just south of Magee Marsh. When I got to the spot identified in e-bird there were no fields with suitable habitats. Did the birder put in the wrong spot on the map? That was frustrating.
After a quick dinner I headed to Oak Openings where I had earmarked a number of possible statebirds. First stop was a field for Henslow’s Sparrows. Unfortunately I had heard that the field had been cut last year, but I still hoped one might have returned this year. But when I arrived the field was grassy and well-suited for the grasshopper and field sparrows and meadowlarks that I found, and had no real shrubby habitat for Henslow’s. I then spent quite a bit of time trying for Hooded Warbler which is supposed to be quite common in the park – but with no success. And attempts for a recently reported Clay-colored Sparrow and a Worm-eating Warbler were negative. Though a very late Blue-headed Vireo was still present. At dusk I heard a Whip-poor-will (#11) which at least gave me one statebird for the park. My map of Whip-poor-will sightings is really spotty – mostly a function of limited nighttime birding in most states.
I ended the day with 112 species and 11 statebirds – a good start to the trip.
Day 2 – Magee Marsh
Weather – Highs in the 90s, humid, strong southerly winds, scattered strong thunderstorms
This day was forecasted to be just as hot as yesterday, with strong southerly winds. So again I hoped for a nice fallout, though wasn’t looking forward to another day of heat and humidity. I started at dawn at an advertised site for sedge wren including 2 on e-bird the week before – the Stange Prairie on the southwest corner of Ottawa NWR. The site was very dry – too dry for Sedge Wren in my mind. I did have a number of yellowthroats giving their calls that are a bit reminiscent of Sedge Wren – a tick followed by a buzzy trill. Wonder if they were the source of the recent e-bird sighting.
Then off to the Magee Marsh boardwalk. There was some bird song when I arrived but a lot less than yesterday. I only spent 2 hours in the woods, and didn’t see anything new for my list, though did get a few species I didn’t have the day before. As I came out of the woods to get ready to leave I noticed a number of birders with binocs trained to the sky. I asked what they were looking at and they said White Pelicans – I got on the flock of 5 just before they wheeled out of sight. My map of states with White Pelican tells two stories – out west I’ve seen this common bird in virtually every state. And thrughout the east it’s a regular vagrant, and I’ve seen them in quite a number of states.
The pelicans were statebird #12, and a good one for OH – so I met my OH objective. Though I had hoped for more. A post to the local listserve that morning mentioned nearby Henslow’s, so as I was heading out of Magee I contacted the birder, got the location, and arrived at a very nice prairie managed for songbirds. But it was midday, really hot, and the wind was blowing at 15-25 mph. If I had only known about this spot earlier I would have been there at dawn. I got Grasshopper and Field Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Meadowlarks, but no Henslow’s.
I ended the OH part of my trip with 118 species and 12 new statebirds in a day and a half. Pretty good given the hot weather and lack of a good migrant fallout.
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