The 62nd Cincinnati Christmas Bird Count

Good day of bird counting. Had a good time, nice weather, nice birds and met a new birder. Held Dec. 28th '08

Here are the photos of 1 of the 2 Chipping Sparrows that our party had seen on the count. While not publishing quality, (I am no good at taking pictures!) good enough for documentation. The birds were at the edge of a future subdivision off of ST RT 131 in Milford.

Cincy Birders in the Enquirer!

We "bird nerds" have made today's Cincinnati Enquirer:

Happy to be bird nerds

Another Life Gull!

Many thanks to Bill Stanley for finding another great gull at East Fork State Park. The Glaucous Gull is a life bird. Even though the temp was in the teens, the bird would be a colder bird to be seen up on the lake ;-) I got to study the bird at flight and behavior.

Also got to meet another local nature blogger, Nina from Nature Remains. I always enjoy meeting new people who need nature for their souls.

Got some pictures, and a short movie of the gull in flight.






Short video:

1st Pine Siskin of the season

Apparently, from reports from farther north, it is going to be a good bumper crop year for Pine Siskins. Below is one of many to come. Only 1 so far...

Under feeders in backyard.

Update: as of Saturday, the 25th of Oct., 11 Pine Siskins are the high. Interesting to keep track of them by checking Ethan Kistler's map of Pine Siskin movement in Ohio.

Sparrow banding Sunday at Miami Whitewater

Last Sunday, Jaime and I went to the annual sparrow banding event put on by the Avian Research and Education Institute at Miami Whitewater Park. Good birds were seen, however no "good" (i.e. LeConte's, Henslow's, or Nelson's Sharptails) sparrows were caught except for Lincoln's.

Sister Marty Dermody was also conducting a Big Sit at the wetlands. There were some good birds on the list when I left.

Susan will love this post ;-)

Lincoln's Sparrow (above as well)

And, a quiz bird:

Answer at bottom of post.

And, here is a bad photo of a Nelson's Sharptailed Sparrow I found on my comp from years past at MW (my old crappy camera). Look at the pointy tail for which it is named.




And, just for a break from sparrows, here is a female Hairy Woodpecker that was caught out in the fields (?) Love the nictitating membrane!



There were also good butterflies flying around. Here is a Common Buckeye, they were everywhere!




Answer to quiz bird: Alternate form Savannah Sparrow

Saw-whet Owl banding started

Visited Mr. Tolford's newly opened Saw-whet Owl banding station in Liberty, IN last night. This is kind of early for this far south, but Project Owlnet requires the project to start on this date. Didn't catch any owls while I was there. I am hoping to be able to go back later in the season when there are some owls, but ol' greedy Dillon still wants his money!!! (I might's well face it, he's the one really getting ahead from my relentless slaving)

Saw-whet from last year at Chillicothe, OH.

A day of damselflies

Last Saturday, I took a walk behind my sister's house on Eight Mile Creek in Anderson Twp., Hamilton Co. Went looking for Odes.


First, I saw many of these, but didn't know what they were

Until I saw it in a wheel

Ebony Jewelwings making love.

I love the males

Neon Green, then

Neon Blue

Also seen was this Powdered Dancer

Other Odes seen were Variable Dancer and Blue-fronted Dancers. I would not have bee able to ID the damsels on here if it weren't for Bill Hull's help and his wonderful site at http://www.mangoverde.com/ It is definitely worth checking out, as it has audio of birds and pics of birds, odes and lepids from around the world.

A Po' boys cruise & Birds of Prey Day

On June 28th, I took my mother, girlfriend and nephew on an Ohio River cruise aboard BB Riverboat's Mark Twain. My mother always said she wanted to go on a cruise, and this is as close as I can afford, a poor man's cruise if you will. We boarded at the Chilo Lock #34 Park in Chilo.

We all had a good time. At the start of the cruise before boarding, Jaime dropped mother's disposable camera in the river - it was hilarious.

This is the first time that I have ever been in a lock. Pigeons and Barn Swallows were nesting in the cavities of the walls. Plants were growing on the ledges of the lock doors, creating a sort of micro habitat that moves. Below is a picture of a tiger lilly growing on the lock door.



The ride only lasted about an hour and a half, most of which was spent in the locks. It was interesting to see how they work.

After the boat ride, the Clermont Co. Park District's Raptor Day was starting to get going. Susan with Raptor Inc. was 1st up. I always enjoy her enthusiasm. There needs to be more people like her around.

Susan with Sylvester. (Click on her blog link above for better and more pics)

Next up was the Cincinnati Zoo's Wings of Wonder Bird Show. Below is a new bird for me, (too bad can't add it to my lifelist) the Spectacled Owl of Central and South America.

Mother thought it looked like a monkey. It had real silky feathers.

Next, was a Laughing Kookaburra from Australia. The audience was able to get it going.

And next, a Hyacinth Macaw from South America. The largest of the macaws and the largest flying parrot species.

And last but certainly not least, Sam the Bald Eagle. Sam is a local celebrity that works for the Cincinnati Reds and even has his own baseball card. Sam is flown before games at Great American Ballpark.


And, just in time for the 4th of July, this nice shot





In between presentations, Jaime and I took a walk in the nearby Crooked Run NP. The insects were better than the birds.

Male Blue-fronted Dancer

Banded Hairstreak

Hard Times

Due to the rising price of groceries and my stagnant paycheck, I have decided to make the best of the cicadas. Although, they are rather bland!

1st Annual Queen City Bird Festival

Saturday, May 3rd, Jaime and I attended the 1st Annual Queen City Bird Festival held at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Delhi, OH. The event was put together by Dr. Jill Russell (prof. at MTSTJ), executive director of The Avian Research and Education Institute (AREI).

The day started out with heavy rain and 25mph winds. It was decided to move the vendors/exhibitors into the small Earth House on the campus. Many local environmental organizations and businesses participated, including Dr. Jon Seymour from Oxbow, Inc, and Susan with raptors from Raptor, Inc. It was too crowded for me to spend much time in the Earth House. It seemed as if the weather would not break, but by noon, the sun came out and the day was nice. This allowed for mist nets to be set up behind the Earth House. Some of the birds below were caught at the new Clifford Bird Observatory which is located in the cemetery behind the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse. Here are a few pictures of birds from that day.

1st Bird of the day, Tufted Titmouse.

Female Eastern Towhee

Probably the best bird of the day, a breeding plumage male Orchard Oriole.

A very fat (ready to go) White-throated Sparrow (tan stripe) (fat: 5!)

Visitors watching a male Northern Cardinal get banded.




And the cardinal protesting.

Even with all the rain, they had 86 participants! Nice number considering the weather. Again, the Russells are to be commended for taking the lead in educating our youth.

Queen City Bird Festival

News of the upcoming 1st Annual Queen City Bird Festival on Saturday, May 3rd has made it to the Cincinnati Enquirer - Inaugural festival will celebrate the return of migratory birds.

I will be attending. This is what Cincy needs. The Russells are taking the lead to educate our youth about nature.

Love this bird!

After a morning in the 30's, this was nice to wake up to this afternoon. Just breathing it in...

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at backyard feeder.

Spring has Sprung

It is nice to finally see some nice weather. It is amazing how mother nature can lift ones' soul from the gutters. If only more people would look to nature instead of ...

This Great Egret was on the flooded Ohio River banks in New Richmond, OH. Many breeding plumaged Bonaparte's Gulls were flying down the river as well.

At Home, Red-shouldered Hawks were flying and screaming above me -

and the Spring Beauties are blooming in the backyard.

Grebes at East Fork

Spent a cold winter, I mean spring day looking for birds in the flooded surroundings of East Fork State Park. Saw some OK birds.

1 Eastern Phoebe

~10 Red-breasted Mergansers

2 Common Mergansers

~4 Common Loons calling and in breeding plumage

~10 Ruddy Ducks

~20 Horned Grebes

1 EARED GREBE

~10 Pied-billed Grebes

2 GB Herons

Mallards

Ring-necked Ducks

Lesser Scaup

TONS of Buffleheads

1 Northern Shoveler male sleeping

Canada Geese

The Grebes and Buffleheads were swimming in the flooded parking lots at the beach.

Horned Grebe in Winter Plumage

Eared Grebe - this bird was different in profile than the nearby Horned Grebe. It got close enough to me that I could see in my scope the yellow plumes by the eye, but my camera's batteries died. This bird was molting. It had the high peek above eye and dark tip to bill. (the pic looks better on my camera than here for some reason)

Never seen an Eared Grebe before, so this would be a lifebird.

5th Annual Adams County Amish Bird Symposium

Jaime and I attended the Adams County Amish Bird Symposium Saturday, March 1st after missing it last year. We had a good time overall. Wonderful speakers and good food.

Chris Bedel from the Cincinnati Museum Center's Edge of Appalachia gave the introduction. Robert Schlabach, a member of the Holmes Co. Amish Community, was the first speaker. It is always interesting listening to the stories of the Amish birders. The one thing from his speech that stuck out in my mind was his comment that "If you stay out long enough, all the birds will come to you" or something like that. I got to thinking about that statement. We, as in most birders, aren't as connected to nature as we would like to be. With the Internet, fancy birding gadgets, etc., our birding time is usually minimal. When we do go out, we usually hit all of the proven spots looking for good birds. Makes me wonder what good birds are going unnoticed right under our noses?

Other speakers included:

Dr. Geoffrey E. Hill, Scharnagel Professor of Biology at Auburn University of Alabama. His presentation was based on his book Ivorybill Hunters - The Search for Proof in a Flooded Wilderness, which recounts a recent POSSIBLE encounter with an Ivory-billed in the panhandle of Florida while doing other ornithological work in the area. Dr. Hill showed video that while not 100% conclusive, was none the less intriguing. I am of one that still believes .

Hummingbird enthusiast/researcher and author of Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America - (Peterson Field Guide Series) Sheri L. Williamson from the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory. Always nice to see the diversity of hummer species.

Ohio Bird Photographer Brian Zwiebel , whose work is outstanding and who also shined an interesting light on some little known shorebird behaviors.

Last and certainly not least, Jenifer Brumfield - Young Ohio Artist/illustrator, Author, Naturalist, Bird Tour Guide, Educator, etc., etc. I remember seeing her posts on the Ohio-birds listserv when I started birding. I was surprised at the time to learn that there were other "kids" involved in birding. Nice to know there are more people around my age that thinks exactly like I do. She is doing great things with the inner city youth of Cleveland.

Rusty Blackbirds

Photos of some of 8 Rusty Blackbirds in the backyard on Feb. 25th.

Love those eyes!