We again had brilliant blue skies and cool temperatures, in the 40s, but lighter winds for an afternoon in Geauga Co. LaDue Reservoir was again disappointing in the numbers of birds but did yield an alternate plumage Common Loon, an immature Bald Eagle, a Red-breasted Nuthatch and about 50 Ruddy Ducks. Tree Swallows were moving by and at Eldon Russell Park 2 were probably checking out the bird houses. Other hawks were Cooper's, Red-shouldered, Red-tailed and America Kestrel and there were many Turkey Vultures.

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This afternoon we visited Horseshoe and Lower Shaker Lakes and found things rather quiet. There was some variety of ducks and a sprinkling of migrant passerines. Most notable was a singing Pine Warbler near the former canoe club parking area at Lower Lake. Also nice were a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. On April 3, Dick had many of the same birds at Lower Lake plus more sparrows and a Brown Thrasher.

Nesting activities today included a Canada Goose on a nest at Lower Lake, a pair of circling Red-tailed Hawks at Horseshoe where a pair of House Finch were probably nest building as the male was escorting the female and singing while she gathered materials.

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Medusa Marsh (Erie Co.) was a little disappointing because of high water but there were some ducks and we saw the first Tree Swallows of the day. All along the highway and here as well there were a lot of Turkey Vultures in the air. On the bay the Canvasbacks are gone but hundreds of Lesser Scaup are present.

When we arrived at the Ottawa NWR/Magee Marsh area a little after 10:00 there were already a lot of hawks moving and we wanted to watch them from our favorite spot in the Ottawa parking lot, but at that hour the light was horrid and we decided to do the bird trail first. By the time we returned about 1:00, the flight was greatly dispersed, so we didn't do so well on hawks but added to yesterday's 4 Red-shouldered Hawks and Bald Eagle. In the area were more Lesser Scaup and all the regular puddle ducks.

The Magee Marsh bird trail had nice numbers of Fox Sparrow and Winter Wren plus Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Yellow-rumped Warbler. The surprise here was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. (See the Statewide Link above for more details.) At Metzger Marsh (Lucas Co.) the vegetation at the end of the road seemed to be a collecting point for migrant passerines and many of the same birds were there along with single Hermit Thrush, Field Sparrow and, the biggest surprise, a brght male Pine Warbler which is very early along Lake Erie.

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Yesterday we found fewer birds on the Cleveland lakefront, but signs of movement included 3 Horned Grebes, one in breeding plumage, a Fox Sparrow at Gordon Park and at home a singing Red-winged Blackbird that was new for the yard! Hawks and Sandhill Cranes were reported from the tower at Magee Marsh and new arrivals on the bird trail.

Today with temperatures in the 70s and strong SW wind we hoped to see some hawks. Gulls and ducks were very sparse, though there was a male Hooded Merganser with some Red-breasted. At Burke Lakefront airport a meadowlark crouched down searching the sky and when we looked up an American Kestrel and a male Northern Harrier were going by. As we drove across the harbor we saw 3 Turkey Vultures sailing along and as we watched from Perkins Beach (in the parking lot above Edgewater Park) from 1:40 to 3:00 we saw: 50 Turkey Vultures, 1 Northern Harrier (adult male), 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 6 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin (adult male) and 40+ American Crows.

Eastern Phoebes were also present today. At home a Song Sparrow sang all day, the Red-winged Blackbird was still around and more Turkey Vultures came over in the afternoon. Tomorrow promises to be interesting with more of the same weather.

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As on 3/16 & 17, the gulls were mostly on the water or the docks and few in the air most of the time. When the Bonaparte's at E. 55th came up briefly we did see one adult Little Gull. Still not a lot of change in the water birds there, but now lots of robins, grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds along the lake and some in Lake View. Five American Kestrels at Gordon Park, E. 55th and Burke could have pointed to some migration.

A Fox Sparrow at home today was not common for the yard, on the early side, and a sign that their migration is really here after being reported in numerous places recently. (Anything that makes it to the yard has really arrived!)

Elsewhere more exciting things were reported. The Mew Gull remained at Fairport Harbor today though we've seen no report of the jaegers lately. And from Trumbull Co. Judy Hochadel wrote that an American White Pelican was reported, independently, by at least three observers from Mosquito Wildlife Area (DeLorme p.43). It was seen at Mallard Pond, on the corner of Mahan-Denman Rd. and Hoagland-Blackstub Rd., until approx. 4:00 PM when it flew away.

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At Fairport Harbor the Mew Gull was in its usual place at the east end of the marina at the end of East Street at 3:00 PM and reported at many other times today by others. [Check Vic Fazio's page of Mew Gull Photos.] We scanned the harbor from 3:15 for an hour and had one brief look at the immature jaeger and saw an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach with Ring-billed Gulls until they were chased by a dog. We did not see the King Eider reported yesterday, nor did others.

In Geauga County we found all shallow water frozen, but still not many ducks on the large open expanse at LaDue Reservoir, mostly 75+ Ring-necked Ducks. We did see an immature Bald Eagle there. We checked the spot east of LaDue at SR 700 and Patch Road where Sandhill Cranes were reported, but could not find them.

Yesterday, March 12, we found the birds mostly the same on the Cleveland lakefront with more Red-breasted Mergansers in the lee of the old MUNY landfill. We only saw one adult Little Gull at the E. 55th St. Marina.

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We returned to Fairport Harbor in the rain and found everything changed with the wind driving waves over the breakwalls and scattering the big gulls. We searched for the Mew Gull and were surprised after about 30 minutes to have it arrive in the marina. It only stayed briefly, but we had excellent views. Also seen were both Pomarine Jaegers and we just missed the flyby of the Glaucous Gull.

The Mew Gull looks rather dark compared to Ring-bills and its head is small and round, bill diminutive and eye large and dark and so it does stand out. It is most striking in flight when the rather dark tail is seen: black tail band with upper tail and rump so heavily barred as to look all dark at a distance. Its buffy brown collar is also noticable.

At the E. 55th Marina in Cleveland this morning we found 4 Little Gulls which we saw flying and on the water, mostly in the NE corner of the basin. Especially of interest were their plumages: 2 adult, one 1st winter and one 2nd winter. The last has dark underwings, though much paler than the adults and also some black in the primaries which gives the wing in flight a look we have called "tooth marked" and which today we learned creates stripes on the primaries of the folded wing. Dick saw all but the 1st winter bird there yesterday. They were calling, a small sound slightly like Red-winged Blackbird and nothing like Bonaparte's.

At Fairport Harbor we again hunted in vain for the unusual gulls [reported Mew, Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous], but we did have good views of both of the Pomarine Jaegers [see comments on Mar 5] for about half an hour around noon. Also heard here were Killdeer, Red-headed Woodpecker and Common Grackle.

We continued east along Lake Erie checking in at Arcola Creek Estuary, Geneva State Park, Ashtabula and Conneaut. The birds of most interest were 2 Tundra Swans at Arcola Creek and 1 at Conneaut. On the south side of Conneaut we saw 10 Turkey Vultures. While it was a nice sunny day, we had a cold north wind.

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Today we arrived at Fairport Harbor just after noon to once again look for the jaegers. We searched for 30-45 minutes without success and think during that time they were resting on the water outside the harbor as when we finally saw them the adult and then the 2nd year bird came flying in from the mouth of the harbor past the lighthouse.

Ring-billed Gulls were feeding along the mouth of the river and the jaegers began to harass them. We were able to follow the younger bird in the scope watching its acrobatic flight and evasion of harassment by Herring gulls and also when it was resting on the water. The adult went outside the breakwalls before coming down on the water.We watched them for about 30 minutes, found a Double-crested Cormorant, but still didn't see any of the unusual gulls. Pomarine Jaegers on Lake Erie in the spring is so amazing, especially 2 years in a row, but the plumages of these older birds is also unexpected.

At Gordon Park an adult Little Gull was flying over the boat ramps as reported yesterday. It flew behind the barge and sat on the water there.

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A quick check of the Cleveland lakefront found 2-3,000 Bonaparte's Gulls from Gordon to E. 55th where we also saw an adult Little Gull feeding. A drake Wood Duck flew into the marina while we were there but didn't stay long. Bonaparte's were everywhere else today too: off Euclid, Eastlake and Headlands.

With high hopes for Headlands Beach State Park, we were disappointed with low diversity in foggy conditions. Possibly the census this morning did better. Still we had a nicely marked adult Cooper's Hawk perched near Shipman Pond. We felt we did better at Sims Park in Euclid where we found the wintering Red-headed Woodpecker plus Brown Creeper and a male Eastern Towhee. Back at Gordon Park we checked the headquarters area and found nothing in the little pines but were surprised by 6 White-crowned Sparrows, one an adult. There were some Cedar Waxwings on the next property.

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Send mail to: Dick & Jean Hoffman (djhoff@ix.netcom.com)

Archived: May 13, 1998