An office fact:
* "Oh sorry I was on mute" = "Actually I was multi-tasking and wasn't listening to a word of that"
Another office fact:
* All meetings end with the same decision; Let's have another meeting.
A thing I enjoyed:
* A new metaphor: "that could really blow up a can of worms". I had visions of a splattering of bloody wriggling worm parts all over the office for the rest of the day.
A thing I did not enjoy
* Getting in a lift at 4.30pm with somebody who was clearly leaving for the day. I work on the 6th floor and needed to get the ground floor for a meeting. They got on at the 5th, and got out again on the 1st to buy a snack.
Friday 25 April 2014
Monday 21 April 2014
Dum de dum de dum
A propos of nothing at all, I bring news of 35,000 steps logged this weekend. 24km. This is apparently three times the national average. Why then am I three times the national average weight? Do you know what I had for dinner tonight? 230g of purple-sprouting broccoli. This, in addition to walking around Minsmere twice, should guarantee a few pounds off surely? Except I had a Double-decker for breakfast. Oh, who cares anyway, I had a lovely lovely day in the sun, papped a few birds, and to finish off with went to stroke the plastic Baikal Teal in Cambs. It has now hooked up with a Ruddy Shelduck, which enhances its credentials to the point of almost instant acceptance. Ahem. Glad to see it's still there! And glad I went to Lancashire or wherever that other (real) one was.
Of note, my year list today passed 150, just about a full month later than it might normally. Such is life. The bird wot done it was either Cuckoo or Yellow Wagtail. I suspect that I'll now lag again. Part of me is embarrassed I've been so slack and uncommitted, this is not the Jono of old. Another part of me cares not one iota, and provided that I can still get out now and again (abroad...) I will remain more or less content as long as the shutter keeps on advancing. Oh, and that Blyth's Pipit is probably a Richard's. Good news!
Of note, my year list today passed 150, just about a full month later than it might normally. Such is life. The bird wot done it was either Cuckoo or Yellow Wagtail. I suspect that I'll now lag again. Part of me is embarrassed I've been so slack and uncommitted, this is not the Jono of old. Another part of me cares not one iota, and provided that I can still get out now and again (abroad...) I will remain more or less content as long as the shutter keeps on advancing. Oh, and that Blyth's Pipit is probably a Richard's. Good news!
Sunday 20 April 2014
A bit of a sitter...
Yesterday was another chance for Nick to dip Two-barred Crossbill, so I took him up to Lynford Arboretum early morning to that effect. Remarkably we did not dip the Crossbill, which I think was a surprise to all of us, but when it had the Bradders seal of approval we knew it was the real deal. I'd had a quick glance at it, high up in a tree, and decided that my time would be far better wasted chasing Nuthatches around, of which there were many, some exceedingly friendly. Whilst the boys pondered tertials or something, I went and found a nice perch, and set it up next to one of the big trees that a particular bird seemed to be quite enjoying.
Happiness, there is no other word for it. It didn't just go and perch on my perch, which I had placed right next to a trunk it had been frequenting, it only went and gave a little head turn as it bounced across to the next tree!! Rare Crossbills, whatever. Nuthatches on mossy sticks however..... I could have stayed there all morning, and indeed I may go back another day with a tripod and a different lens, as I found myself with the 800mm and a monopod, and it was a tad too dark for all the images to come out nicely. I walked around with a large smile on my face for the rest of the morning. And took the perch home for future use....
An excellent morning out, Lynford is heaving with birds, and with a number of decent sites in the Brecks handily close by, it's an easy and rewarding trip that doesn't require hours and hours in the car. Unlike Easington, which I have today chosen to utterly ignore, despite the promise of a probable Blyth's Pipit.
Happiness, there is no other word for it. It didn't just go and perch on my perch, which I had placed right next to a trunk it had been frequenting, it only went and gave a little head turn as it bounced across to the next tree!! Rare Crossbills, whatever. Nuthatches on mossy sticks however..... I could have stayed there all morning, and indeed I may go back another day with a tripod and a different lens, as I found myself with the 800mm and a monopod, and it was a tad too dark for all the images to come out nicely. I walked around with a large smile on my face for the rest of the morning. And took the perch home for future use....
An excellent morning out, Lynford is heaving with birds, and with a number of decent sites in the Brecks handily close by, it's an easy and rewarding trip that doesn't require hours and hours in the car. Unlike Easington, which I have today chosen to utterly ignore, despite the promise of a probable Blyth's Pipit.
Friday 18 April 2014
In which I went to eat a burger and ended up buying a pedometer
Eating burgers and buying pedometers don't sit comfortably together, but last week the former ended up leading to the latter. I met a couple of ex-colleagues from back in the old days somewhere near Waterloo. I ended up consuming somewhere in the region of 8,000 calories in the form of a truly excellent burger, and then Linda showed me her Fitbit. Not a euphemism, but a kind of fancy pedometer that connects to an android phone. Whilst she too ate (most of) a burger, her little dongle (not a euphemism either) showed she had walked 7,500 steps, climbed 50 sets of stairs, and burned a trillion calories. She doesn't look like me.
Whilst in reality it is little more than a pedometer, it is pretty nifty to be able to have it go straight to your phone and see how far you have traveled. For an ardent patch-worker like myself, ahem, it could being quite motivating. To cut a long story short, there is one of these things now attached to my belt, and since I unpackaged it about two hours ago, I've walked 341 steps and burned 232 calories. I've also eaten nearly an entire large packet of crisps and a large sandwich, so I'm probably still behind, but let's just see how many steps I can take over this easter weekend.
I went on the patch this morning despite all my moaning, but sadly before this little gizmo arrived. So I'm actually pretty keen to get out there again and see how far I travel. It was pretty dead, but a Common Whitethroat kept me occupied for a little while. How many calories does chasing a Whitethroat around carrying a large camera burn I wonder? I looked it up, but the internet is unfortunately none the wiser. Loads I expect, as it is a fast little bugger and the ground is pretty uneven, so at times I actually leaped, gazelle-like, over tussocks that were at least 15cm high. Naturally I feel a lot better for it, which is why I ate the crisps.
Whilst in reality it is little more than a pedometer, it is pretty nifty to be able to have it go straight to your phone and see how far you have traveled. For an ardent patch-worker like myself, ahem, it could being quite motivating. To cut a long story short, there is one of these things now attached to my belt, and since I unpackaged it about two hours ago, I've walked 341 steps and burned 232 calories. I've also eaten nearly an entire large packet of crisps and a large sandwich, so I'm probably still behind, but let's just see how many steps I can take over this easter weekend.
I went on the patch this morning despite all my moaning, but sadly before this little gizmo arrived. So I'm actually pretty keen to get out there again and see how far I travel. It was pretty dead, but a Common Whitethroat kept me occupied for a little while. How many calories does chasing a Whitethroat around carrying a large camera burn I wonder? I looked it up, but the internet is unfortunately none the wiser. Loads I expect, as it is a fast little bugger and the ground is pretty uneven, so at times I actually leaped, gazelle-like, over tussocks that were at least 15cm high. Naturally I feel a lot better for it, which is why I ate the crisps.
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Osprey exacerbates patch woes
I have just about recovered from missing a patch Osprey. It is not the missing of it, I've seen one, but the manner of missing it. As I have no doubt recounted once or twice (or perhaps approaching 20 times...) I am unable to bird the patch beyond about 8am. Other birders are able to bird the patch until well past lunchtime. Other birders therefore escort me off the patch towards varying methods of public transport, chuckling gently, for they know that as soon as I am gone the real action can begin. I could probably cope if a good bird was subsequently found mid-morning, say 10:30. I'd be well into my mornings work, and there would not be a lot I could do about it. What does my head is in is quite how frequently this occurs almost instantaneously, as generally I am on the station platform. This time they didn't even wait that long.
It is a running joke, of course. As I left, a cheery wave, and so I reciprocated with a text almost as soon I was off-patch. "Do your worst" I think I said. By return, news of the Osprey. I assumed this was a joke, indeed a very poor one, as Osprey is basically the only patch blocker I have. Half a minute later and it was all over the web. FFS. I had missed it by perhaps five minutes, maybe even less than that. As I say, by an hour or so, whatever, but the consistency with which this tends to occur within minutes is unbelievable, and my tolerance for it is wearing more than a little thin.
I always knew that this year wouldn't be a big year on the patch - I have other priorities, not least a very busy period at work, but I have grown a little tired of the same old same old of it. I'm also sick of seeing dogs running wild over the habitat despite the signage, and getting unwarranted verbal abuse from their owners if I dare to politely explain what the issue is. I'm fed-up of the continual degradation of the habitat from the absurdly misguided slash-and-burn management techniques of the Corporation, who rather than police the area properly, prefer to simply cut down the invertebrate-rich understory that might otherwise conceal illicit activities. And I'm frustrated at the selfish behaviour that means the patch is covered in litter and used prophylactics. Oh, and not forgetting morally deficient pikeys. It's just one thing after another, and this latest near-miss isn't going to help get me back into it. Indeed, I didn't bother even going birding for over a week afterwards. What's the point? I'm just going to be disappointed that I can't do it justice - better that I pour my energies into something else. Why bother trudging round for a couple hours seeing not a lot, then to be immediately gripped off by all the stuff I missed that suddenly comes out as soon as I'm gone. And it does suddenly come out, it's not like I walk past with my eyes closed - I think the time I have to leave is precisely the time that it warms up sufficiently for small birds to come out and start feeding, especially at this most interesting time of the year.
So, I have mostly hit the big "sod it" button, and am concentrating on other things. Mainly getting the hell out of this shitty and over-crowded country to places which are remote enough that I can go about my birding without getting disturbed, hassled, abused, threatened or gripped. Funnily enough I find it a lot more enjoyable that way. London and the South-east have to be some of the worst places to bird I can think of. Too many people is the bottom line, and wildlife and the enjoyment (and protection) of it comes a distant last. And I for one am approaching the point where my enthusiasm can no longer overcome all of negative aspects that unfortunately come with the territory.
It is a running joke, of course. As I left, a cheery wave, and so I reciprocated with a text almost as soon I was off-patch. "Do your worst" I think I said. By return, news of the Osprey. I assumed this was a joke, indeed a very poor one, as Osprey is basically the only patch blocker I have. Half a minute later and it was all over the web. FFS. I had missed it by perhaps five minutes, maybe even less than that. As I say, by an hour or so, whatever, but the consistency with which this tends to occur within minutes is unbelievable, and my tolerance for it is wearing more than a little thin.
I always knew that this year wouldn't be a big year on the patch - I have other priorities, not least a very busy period at work, but I have grown a little tired of the same old same old of it. I'm also sick of seeing dogs running wild over the habitat despite the signage, and getting unwarranted verbal abuse from their owners if I dare to politely explain what the issue is. I'm fed-up of the continual degradation of the habitat from the absurdly misguided slash-and-burn management techniques of the Corporation, who rather than police the area properly, prefer to simply cut down the invertebrate-rich understory that might otherwise conceal illicit activities. And I'm frustrated at the selfish behaviour that means the patch is covered in litter and used prophylactics. Oh, and not forgetting morally deficient pikeys. It's just one thing after another, and this latest near-miss isn't going to help get me back into it. Indeed, I didn't bother even going birding for over a week afterwards. What's the point? I'm just going to be disappointed that I can't do it justice - better that I pour my energies into something else. Why bother trudging round for a couple hours seeing not a lot, then to be immediately gripped off by all the stuff I missed that suddenly comes out as soon as I'm gone. And it does suddenly come out, it's not like I walk past with my eyes closed - I think the time I have to leave is precisely the time that it warms up sufficiently for small birds to come out and start feeding, especially at this most interesting time of the year.
So, I have mostly hit the big "sod it" button, and am concentrating on other things. Mainly getting the hell out of this shitty and over-crowded country to places which are remote enough that I can go about my birding without getting disturbed, hassled, abused, threatened or gripped. Funnily enough I find it a lot more enjoyable that way. London and the South-east have to be some of the worst places to bird I can think of. Too many people is the bottom line, and wildlife and the enjoyment (and protection) of it comes a distant last. And I for one am approaching the point where my enthusiasm can no longer overcome all of negative aspects that unfortunately come with the territory.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
Bastard Birding Gods
My track record in East Yorkshire on the way from Scotland continues, like me, to head south. Whilst I could have got up at midnight, or rather not gone to sleep at all, I instead opted for the much more civilized start time of 3.30am. I wasn't actually expecting the Crag Martin to be there, and so plan A was to spend as much of the day photographing Gannets at Bempton. In the event the bird was there, irritatingly briefly, and I missed it by perhaps an hour, and then of course wasted - in so far as wandering round on sunny bird-filled cliff tops is ever wasted - a portion of the day waiting it for to turn up again. Which, needless to say, it didn't.
It's actually a fairly long diversion from the standard route south on the A1, probably adding something like three hours to the overall journey. The last time I did this I dipped a Roller, which in fact was still present but just hiding from me, no doubt instructed to do so by the Birding Gods, though what has caused their displeasure I have no idea. At least the family wasn't with me this time, and I could spend the whole day dawdling in a very pleasant area, rather than a brief stop in the pouring rain, no bird and a largely silent drive home. In fact the only similarity, other than dipping, was arriving home in London gone 11pm and being totally shattered the following day.
After scoring the Tawny Pipit on the cliffs, I decided I'd had enough of standing around with scores of identically dressed dejected-looking people, and proceeded with plan A, which was Bempton. Actually I think it was plan B, as plan A had been to go the Farnes and spend hours and hours photographing Puffins. This plan was abandoned soon after inception due to all boats at this time of year seemingly topping out at 1 hour max on Inner Farne, and in order to get even that, having to face up to another dose of Grace Darling and running commentary as to what a Shag looks like. Bempton therefore seemed a viable seabird extravaganza alternative, and indeed was a brilliant day out, the lack of very rare vagrants notwithstanding.
In many ways the weather was too nice to be photographing large white seabirds, but whilst I waited for friendly clouds I just breathed it all in - in particular the sound is incredible. Kittiwakes dominate, but all the Auks are there, and the Gannets are magnificent. When was the last time you were four feet from a Gannet that had absolutely no interesting in flying away from you? If you can bear the eight hours in a car that it will take you to get there and back from London, it will be brilliant for the next three months or more. Perhaps do a weekend, Farnes on Saturday, Bempton on the way back on Sunday?
I stuck around the area 'til the bitter end, hoping it might reappear to roost in the same area as the previous day, but there was no further sighting after about 8am. Somewhat of a shame. Apart from that, all is well. Well, almost. Did I mention the Osprey?
It's actually a fairly long diversion from the standard route south on the A1, probably adding something like three hours to the overall journey. The last time I did this I dipped a Roller, which in fact was still present but just hiding from me, no doubt instructed to do so by the Birding Gods, though what has caused their displeasure I have no idea. At least the family wasn't with me this time, and I could spend the whole day dawdling in a very pleasant area, rather than a brief stop in the pouring rain, no bird and a largely silent drive home. In fact the only similarity, other than dipping, was arriving home in London gone 11pm and being totally shattered the following day.
After scoring the Tawny Pipit on the cliffs, I decided I'd had enough of standing around with scores of identically dressed dejected-looking people, and proceeded with plan A, which was Bempton. Actually I think it was plan B, as plan A had been to go the Farnes and spend hours and hours photographing Puffins. This plan was abandoned soon after inception due to all boats at this time of year seemingly topping out at 1 hour max on Inner Farne, and in order to get even that, having to face up to another dose of Grace Darling and running commentary as to what a Shag looks like. Bempton therefore seemed a viable seabird extravaganza alternative, and indeed was a brilliant day out, the lack of very rare vagrants notwithstanding.
In many ways the weather was too nice to be photographing large white seabirds, but whilst I waited for friendly clouds I just breathed it all in - in particular the sound is incredible. Kittiwakes dominate, but all the Auks are there, and the Gannets are magnificent. When was the last time you were four feet from a Gannet that had absolutely no interesting in flying away from you? If you can bear the eight hours in a car that it will take you to get there and back from London, it will be brilliant for the next three months or more. Perhaps do a weekend, Farnes on Saturday, Bempton on the way back on Sunday?
I stuck around the area 'til the bitter end, hoping it might reappear to roost in the same area as the previous day, but there was no further sighting after about 8am. Somewhat of a shame. Apart from that, all is well. Well, almost. Did I mention the Osprey?
Sunday 6 April 2014
Wheatears
According to the literature I'm at 50%, having now seen 11 of 22 Oenanthe species. This isn't enough. For the record, here they are, and where I've seen them.
Black Wheatear - Morocco and Spain
Black-eared Wheatear - Spain, Southern France and Cyprus
Cyprus Wheatear - can't remember. Malta?
Desert Wheatear - Morocco and various UK vagrants
Hooded Wheatear - Cyprus (briefly!)
Isabelline Wheatear - Bulgaria and Cyprus
Mourning Wheatear - Morocco
Northern Wheatear - Wanstead!!
Pied Wheatear - Bulgaria
Red-rumped Wheatear - Morocco
White-crowned Black Wheatear - Morocco
This leaves the following species, including Hooded which clearly I need photos of, and where to see them. You will see that some of these locations could be slightly problematic. Whilst I would dearly love to see all of these, I'd rather not be chained up in a hole sending videos home to the UK government every now and again.
Arabian Wheatear - Arabian peninsula.
Capped Wheatear - Kenya to South Africa.
Finsch's Wheatear - Turkey to Afghanistan, winters in Egypt with small numbers in Cyprus.
Heuglin's Wheatear - transitional area in sub-Saharan Africa, from Mauritania in the west to Sudan in the east.
Hooded Wheatear - eastern Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.
Hume's Wheatear - eastern Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan.
Kurdish Wheatear - Turkey, Middle East, winters in Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Sudan etc.
Mountain Wheatear - Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
Red-breasted Wheatear - Eritrea and Ethiopia, western Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Red-tailed Wheatear - Turkey through to Afghanistan, winters Arabian Peninsula and Iran/Iraq.
Somali Wheatear - Ethiopia and Somalia.
Variable Wheatear - Egypt, Israel, India, and lots of places ending in stan.
So what is the next target, and when? Cyprus was the very obvious place to go, but with that done (and if I want to avoid conflict zones and scary places), Turkey (3) and Egypt (4) seem to feature quite heavily. Five could perhaps be seen in the UAE, and intriguingly, there are two in South Africa. If I am serious about this then I am clearly going to need to do some research re timings and locations. It seems quite a fun thing to pursue though, and I have made a pretty good start. Now is when it starts getting difficult though.
Lorain County and the Magee Marsh Boardwalk 30th April – 5th May 2008
This is another old trip report that I am putting up as the old version seems to have been corrupted by Google. Once again from the pre-OCD phase of my bird photography. If I knew then what I knew now.... all part of the learning process!
At the end of April 2008 I traveled solo toAmerica
to visit relatives. I had vaguely known that there were great migration routes
in the US , just as in Europe , but at the time of booking my flights I had not
done any real research. So imagine my delight when at Slimbridge WWT earlier in
the year I picked up a book called “Fifty places to go Birding before you die”,
and found one of those locations to be the southern shore of Lake Erie between
Toledo and Cleveland, during the first week in May. I could not believe that my
Grandparents lived a mere 30 miles from this birding hotspot, and had done for
decades! I quickly started looking on the web for more information. Whenever I
go birding abroad, I try to get in contact with those who know the area and its
birds the best, and I have always found local birders to be incredibly friendly
and generous with their time. The Black River Audubon Society members were no
different, and I was soon flooded with offers to take me out birding,
essentially guided tours of the best spots. I was only too happy to accept. And
as luck would have it, BRAS had a scheduled to trip to Magee Marsh Boardwalk on
Saturday 3rd May. Funnily enough, the book at Slimbridge had
mentioned this as being the spot on
that shoreline. Would I like to join the trip? Would I ever!
At the end of April 2008 I traveled solo to
Thursday
1st May
Birding was not the primary reason for my visit, and
the Magee Marsh trip on Saturday was the only dedicated birding that I had
planned, but not having seen many American birds, no matter where I was, it was
going to be good. I arrived on Wednesday evening just past midnight, and the
following morning I immediately started seeing new birds. I was staying with my
Grandparents in the small college town of Oberlin ,
about 30 miles south-west of Cleveland .
They were perhaps slightly surprised that after only one sip of tea I left the
breakfast table and returned with binoculars, but it could not be helped, and
anyway, they are very tolerant people. As is normal with birding on a different
continent, the most confusing thing was the sound tapestry – very different on
the whole, though you can relate certain birds to species back home. The first
bird I saw was of course an American
Robin – these are omnipresent, seemingly by far the most populous species.
The second bird I saw from the breakfast table, and the bird which caused me to
fall off my chair and go get the bins, was a White-crowned Sparrow. For me, this bird will always be remembered
as a gross rarity, one for which I arose at 5am one cold early January 2008
morning and traveled to Cley, one for which I spent 4 hours close to death from
hypothermia, one which I got 3.5 seconds view of before being unceremoniously
manhandled out the way like a sack of potatoes by a great surge of humanity and
ill manners, and one which put me off mega-twitching almost before I had
started. And here it was, joined by a second bird, hopping about on a flowerbed
as I had a morning cup of tea. It immediately put me off listing (though I have
recovered now…), showing it be a futile and wholly unnecessary undertaking
where you don’t actually get to appreciate birds for what they are, somehow
satisfied with fleeting glimpses of a lost bird, no time to study, to
[figuratively] digest, to ponder. And here I was, seeing the bird, not lost,
happily doing what it does best, and actually getting to appreciate it on a
fine spring morning, surrounded by people I love. I watched these sparrows a
lot over the coming days, though they are quite shy and wary, never straying
far from the boundary hedge to feed. So, a mega after 5 minutes. Awesome.
The breakfast table, front garden, and nearby
field continued to be productive all morning, producing mega after mega. Who
needs the Scillies! I just pottered about, taking in my Grandparent’s new
house. The front lawn held a few Chipping
Sparrows, and a House Wren was
flitting about. The hedge had Common
Grackles, a vocal Northern Cardinal,
and Mourning Doves (no mad dash to
North Uist for me!), whilst Barn
Swallows, American Crows and Turkey Vultures
flew overhead. Opposite the house, I found an Eastern Bluebird perched briefly on a post, a flyby Northern Mockingbird, American Goldfinches, House Finches, House Sparrows, Brown-headed
Cowbirds, and a great many Red-winged
Blackbirds in the boggier areas.
Via email, I had been in touch with Marty Ackermann and Harry Spencer, local BRAS members. Amazingly enough Marty actually knew my Grandparents, and had known them for years – potentially for longer than I had! He lived just round the corner as well. Everyone lives just around the corner in Oberlin. My Grandparents could almost tell me who lived in most houses in town, and my Aunt could point to houses where her friends had lived when she was a child. This reinforced in my mind the uniqueness of small town
I went for a walk with my Grandparents
in the afternoon up at the Schoepfle Garden , a Lorain
County Metro
Park , near the Vermillion River .
I was not birding really, though the area looked really good. More Cardinals, American Robins and White-throated
Sparrows were present, along with a family party of Canada Geese on the
river, and in the woods I found an Eastern
Wood Pewee, a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher,
and a raptor that I never did manage to identify. My Grandma was a very good
bird-spotter, very drawn to movement, and I did the ID-ing, to the extent that
I could. On the drive back I saw the one and only Eastern Meadowlark of the trip by the roadside. That evening I
watched the White-crowned sparrows
have dinner.
I had arranged to go with Marty and Harry to Caley
Reservation, a few miles outside of Oberlin. This area has a few ponds, and had
potential for some good birds, including a nesting Trumpeter Swan. The area is
one of
The next pond was very productive. Just
before we got there we found another Baltimore
Oriole, a bird I could never tire of, and I also saw a Cooper’s Hawk – not that I knew what it was, but in describing it
to Harry and Marty, they determined it could only be that. As we reached the
pond we were expecting a grebe, but the elusive waterfowl that we at a distance
we could not make out turned out to be a female Hooded Merganser – reasonably unexpected. We also got good views
here of an obliging Green Heron who
flew from the reeds and perched in a tree, as well as a Great Blue Heron. A flash out of my right eye screamed “Kingfisher”
at me, and sure enough a Belted
Kingfisher landed opposite us, along with yet more Tree Swallows, whose aquamarine sheen initially had me thinking
about our own species of Kingfisher.
On the way back from this pond to the
car I caught sight of a large bird flying past, very flappy flight action,
white in the wing with distinct fingers. The only likely candidate was Pileated Woodpecker, and Harry knew
that they were present in this area, and even had a particular dead tree staked
out. We didn’t connect with this bird again despite checking the tree, which is
a shame as I could have got a decent photo in very atmospheric light.
That afternoon at my Grandparents
house, as well as the resident birds, I saw a Northern Flicker fly across the field, and a Killdeer flew over the house, making its distinctive call.
The Big Day had arrived! Marty picked
me up at around 6.30am, and we headed off towards Toledo , there to meet the wider BRAS group at
Magee Marsh Boardwalk. The site is just east of Toledo , and is well sign-posted from the main
highway. Unfortunately the weather looked really grim, though in the context of
searching for traveling migrants, this is not necessarily a bad thing. What
makes Magee special is that it is an area of thick cover right on the lake
shore that birds dive into to feed up in before making the crossing into Canada
and beyond, a real spring migrant trap. Point Pelee in Canada is the
same type of spot, where migrants crash, exhausted, after the crossing. Both
are excellent for the great songbird migration. We saw a few birds en route,
such as Great White Egret, Turkey
Vulture, Ring-billed Gulls and American
Kestrel, but this was a mere appetizer.
We arrived bang on 8, and I started seeing birds straight away. One point to note is that in wet weather, the boardwalk is very slippery, and shoes with a firm grip are essential. Even in walking boots I nearly went over a couple of times. The park authorities really need to overlay it with chicken wire. Back to the birds, I had hardly finished getting introduced to the group members when I spotted a Bald Eagle cruising the lake shore right over our heads, and then whilst the group were catching up, not having seen each other for some time, I got onto a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which sadly not every one else saw, and it turned out to be the only one all day. Not surprisingly, people are so excited to be seeing birds, that they all congregate at the start of the boardwalk trail. This many eyes makes for great birding, and pretty soon I had seen the ubiquitous Yellow-rumped Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, and there was a very bold Veery right next to the path, but I did not have my camera at that point. I also saw one side of a Woodthrush, for about 2 seconds. The temptation to linger at this first spot, where incidentally there is also a raised canopy-level viewing platform, was soon overcome by shouts of “Waterthrush” from a little further down the path. We trooped off and were soon looking at a
Next up was Yellow-breasted Chat, a giant amongst warblers. I had heard some
people further up the trail talking about it but had not expected to actually
see it, from what I had read it was uncommon and skulking, but I somehow picked
it up way at the back. I guess I was on super-alert mode due to the excitement
of seeing so many amazing birds – the American Wood Warblers in summer plumage
cannot fail to get one excited. I managed to describe the location to a few
other people. The following will be familiar to many birders: “There, on that
branch!” “Which branch?” “That one at
the back, coming out from the tree near the other branch!” “You mean near the green leaves?” “No, by the brown trunk….” and
so-on. Eventually we got there, but there is not a lot to facilitate accurate
descriptions at Magee, it’s a big tangle of wood, and the birds move quickly,
feeding, so prepare to be frustrated. As Marty said even before we got there,
the consolidated day-list that gets reported will sound very impressive, but no
single person will see everything, and that proved to be exactly right. Anyhow,
a good number of us managed to see the Chat, apparently not a bird that people
see year in year out. For me of course it was a new bird, but just one of many,
so I consider myself fortunate. We also managed to see some Ovenbirds, Swainson's Thrush and Hermit
Thrush, a superb and very close Black-Throated
Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green
Warbler, and an Eastern Towhee
at around this mark. I think that at about this point it started to rain, and
many people headed back to their cars, including Harry who went back to Oberlin
for lunch. Marty (mainly for the benefit of the birding tourist I suspect) and
I stuck it out for a while, but after half an hour admitted defeat (as did my
supposedly waterproof jacket) and retreated to the car, there to be treated to
Ackermann Brownies, very good. We looked up the weather front on my handheld
internet thing, and surmised that there was a gap not too far away, and sure
enough after an hour, it eased up and we decided to have another crack. I think
it was at this point that Marty saw a passing raptor, which turned out to be an
Osprey.
So, back on the boardwalk we tried to add to our list. Almost everyone we spoke to had seen some warblers that we had not. We soon added a
We could easily have lingered, gone
round again even, egged on by reports of Cape May Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler
(which I really wanted to see, and also had a great deal of trouble saying!),
an Orange-crowned Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and others, but we decided that
we would head back towards Oberlin and try and take in a different type of
habitat near Sandusky. One thing is for sure, I will be back, perhaps a little
later to capture a new group of species that were still on their way in early
May. Marty had plans to do exactly that the following week, but by that time I
would be back in my office in London .
On the way out we saw another Trumpeter
Swan, and several Great Blue Herons.
We stopped at the eastern end of Sandusky Bay , at a place called Pipe Creek, very
near to the amusement parks at Cedar Point. Here you have the attraction of the
reasonably sheltered confines of Sandusky
Bay itself, as well as
number of shallowish pools. These had
very good potential, but probably would have been much better earlier in the
year. In the event though, we managed to flush a Sora, and saw Mute Swan,
Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, and a lot of Killdeer
and Spotted Sandpiper – a bird I
very nearly saw (ie dipped) in Scotland earlier this year. There were also a
couple of Green-winged Teal, a bird
which I had seen at Slimbridge that same day I picked up the book I mentioned.
On the way back to the car I think I saw a Cliff
Swallow. It could have been over-excitement or tiredness, but I was pretty
sure of the colouring.
Sunday
4th May
I didn’t do much birding today really, but I managed a
short walk at Carlisle Reservation, another Metro Park a couple of miles east
of Oberlin. It’s a much more visitor-aware place than Caley, with a large
visitor centre and a Raptor display area. I took a path that headed back
towards Oberlin, first of all through some woods, and then into an area of
small ponds, and finally through an area of wooded swamp. In the wooded area I
picked up a couple of new species for the trip – a very vocal Carolina Wren, and a Downy Woodpecker. Carrying on to the
ponds produced loads of Red-winged
Blackbirds
and Tree Swallows, and the fields
there were so flooded they had small fish flapping about in them. Walking a
path south of these ponds produced Black-capped
Chickadees in the trees, many Yellowthroats,
and best of all, a skulking Mourning
Warbler that I got really quite good views of, before it vanished into a
tangle of brambles, not to reappear. I didn’t see another person the whole
walk, even though the weather was fantastic. Perhaps this solitude and
stillness helped with the birds, as I got great views of Song Sparrow feeding on the path, and numerous other species really
close.
A quick check of Oberlin Reservoir on
the way back into town turned up around fifty Ruddy Duck, a couple of Bufflehead,
and a Red-breasted Merganser, and an
Eastern Bluebird was seen in fields
near the bridge over the highway.
This was my last full day in Ohio before I headed
home. In addition to doing a lot of gardening with Grandma, I also found time
to go to Sandy Ridge Reservation, about 25 minutes north-east of Oberlin. It’s
a wetland area with mature woods as well. I drove both Marty and Harry over
there and we started seeing birds from the car park – Canada Geese overhead, and plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds – I never tire of these birds, with their brilliant
yellow and red wing patches, and engaging calls. This metro park was a lot
busier, and for the only time since Magee, we actually saw other birders,
something of a rarity (unless of course they were all at Magee). The walk to
the ponds starts at the car park, and wends it way through the forest. We were
aware of birds from the outset, warbler neck started to kick in after ten
minutes. We saw Yellow-rumped Warbler,
Palm Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler on this
walk, as well as White-breasted Nuthatch,
Red-bellied Woodpecker, and another Baltimore Oriole. Towards the end of
the wooded area we found some Tufted
Titmice, the first of the trip for me.
The path opened up into a wide area
with water on each side of the path, with an amazing number of dead trees
submerged, fully upright. This was woodpecker central, and was teeming with Northern Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a single Red-headed Woodpecker, which was a new species for me in America .
Chimney Swifts and Tree Swallows were everywhere, but we
could not find any Purple Martins sadly. The main reason for the visit was the
possibility of waterfowl, and after a short stroll via a Green Heron we came to a viewing platform on the right hand side.
From here we found some Spotted
Sandpiper, and a group of feeding Lesser
Yellowlegs. These latter almost went undetected, so well camouflaged were
they against the reedy, muddy backdrop. It wasn’t long before we found some Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal and American
Wigeon. I had been keen to see many of these ducks up close, as they can
turn up as vagrants here, and this would give me a better chance of recognizing
them, should they ever turn up on one of my patches. We also found Gadwall, Mallard and American Coot,
none in great numbers though. There were plenty of Great Blue Heron and Great
Egrets here as well, all lined up in a row
As we progressed around the perimeter of the lakes, we
began to see smaller birds. Marty got a good view of an Orchard Oriole that I just managed to see fly away – enough to get
an impression of size, shape and colour, and we got good views of some Swamp Sparrows in a marshy field. The
experienced birders’ ears kicked in, and they heard a number of species that
remained hidden, such as Red-eyed Vireo. A sudden burst to our right didn’t
give us much time to form an opinion, but the small size, dangly legs and
colouration all shouted Virginia Rail
to us – the habitat was spot on and after consultation with our
various field guides, that is what it went down as. As we approached the start
of the forest track having completed our loop of the lakes, we had a magical
fifteen minutes where Marty found an Eastern
Kingbird, we got tremendous views of a Warbling
Vireo, I found a pair of Wood Duck
(hurrah! – this had been a main trip target), and finally a Great-crested Flycatcher landed just
above our heads, rather than way up in the canopy as would normally be
expected. A super bird, we were very fortunate.
That afternoon I went for a short walk
with Grandma to Carlisle again, as the weather
continued to be nice, and she would not normally be able to get over there.
Once again she proved an able bird spotter, and we saw a good selection of
woodland species, and we found a White-breasted
Nuthatch nest hole close to the path. Other highlights were some very vocal
Song Sparrows, and a very close Baltimore Oriole.
Final
Thoughts
That was basically it for birding for
the holiday. After Sandy Ridge, I added only two more new birds for the trip, a
Red-tailed Hawk from the back garden
in Oberlin, and two fine Bobolink at
Carlisle on my drive back to Cleveland Airport – I got the gen from Harry, and
they were right where he said they would be.
I’d like to reiterate my thanks to the
Black River Audubon Society for making me so welcome, and in particular to
Marty Ackermann and Harry Spencer (and their wives!), for all the time they
devoted to showing me the birds and the wonderful spots so close to Oberlin.
And also to Marly Merrill who lent me a great video on the Warblers of North
America which I watched the night before I went to Magee. It was there waiting
for me when I walked in at midnight that first evening. If any of them come to England ,
I’d happily take them round my local patches.
Throughout my trip, I used the
excellent Sibley’s Birds of the Western United States ,
one volume of a two book set of a just-about-pocket-sized version of his
monumental larger work covering the entire country. To my mind it’s the
equivalent of the Collins Guide here. The illustrations are excellent, if not
as good as the Collins.
The
Birds – 107 species recorded
Species Location
/ Counts
Canada Goose
Mute Swan Pipe
Creek
Trumpeter Swan 2 Caley, 1
Magee Marsh
Wood Duck pr Sandy Ridge
Gadwall Sandy Ridge
American Wigeon 3 Sandy Ridge
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal 2 Sandy Ridge
Green-winged Teal Pipe Creek, Sandy Ridge
Ring-necked Duck Pipe Creek
Scaup Lake Erie at Magee Marsh
Bufflehead 3 Pipe Creek, 1 Oberlin Reservoir
Hooded Merganser female at Caley
Red-breasted
Merganser 2 Oberlin
Reservoir
Ruddy Duck
Double-crested
Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great [White] Egret a few at Magee,
10+ at Sandy Ridge
Green Heron Caley
Turkey Vulture
Osprey 1
Magee Marsh
Bald Eagle 1
Magee Marsh
Cooper’s Hawk 1 Caley
Red-tailed Hawk 1 Oberlin
American Kestrel
Sora 1
Pipe Creek
American Coot
Killdeer Oberlin,
2 Pipe Creek
Spotted Sandpiper Pipe Creek, Sandy Ridge
Lesser Yellowlegs 6 Sandy Ridge
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Mourning
Dove
Chimney Swift
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated
Hummingbird 1 at Magee
Marsh boardwalk
Belted Kingfisher 1 at Caley
ponds
Red-headed Woodpecker 1 at Sandy Ridge
Red-bellied
Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker Carlisle
Reservation
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker Caley
Eastern Wood-pewee Shoepfle Gardens
Eastern Phoebe
Great-crested
Flycatcher Sandy
Ridge
Eastern Kingbird Sandy Ridge
White-eyed Vireo Magee Marsh
boardwalk
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow 1 at
Pipe Creek
Barn Swallow
Black-capped
Chickadee Carlisle
Reservation
Tufted Titmouse 2 Sandy Ridge
White-breasted
Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Western Bluebird
Veery Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
Swainson’s Thrush Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
Hermit Thrush Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
Wood Thrush Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird Oberlin
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided
Warbler 1 at
Magee Marsh Boardwalk
Magnolia Warbler Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
Black-throated Blue
Warbler Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green
Warbler Oberlin Arb, Magee
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white
Warbler 3 at Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
American Redstart 4 at Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
Ovenbird 2
at Magee Marsh Boardwalk
Mourning Warbler 1 at Carlisle Reservation
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler 1 at Magee
Marsh Boardwalk
Yellow-breasted Chat 1 at Magee Marsh
Boardwalk
Scarlet Tanager Oberlin Arb
also Magee Marsh
Eastern Towhee Caley
Reservation and Magee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow 3+ Sandy Ridge
White-throated
Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow 2 Oberlin, 1+ Magee
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted
Grosbeak Magee, Sandy Ridge
Bobolink 2
Carlisle Reservation Equestrian centre
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark nr Oberlin
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole Sandy Ridge
Baltimore Oriole Caley, Sandy Ridge
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Eurasian House
Sparrow
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