Northeast winds were a chilling effect at Headlands Beach State Park this afternoon and we didn't see much. Both kinglets were joined by Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets were vocal and displaying. We also saw Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows and two Caspian Terns. A female Northern Flicker was excavating in a snag. We could not find any of the previously reported Black-crowned Night-Herons at Shipman Pond, or much of anything else there.

Yesterday, April 26, we saw our first Chimney Swifts this spring, a few along M.L. King Jr. Blvd. in Cleveland and more in Kirtland. Also in Kirtland we saw a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows and had singing Chipping Sparrows. A Sharp-shinned Hawk surprised us when it nailed a starling just off the side of Rte 306.

April 25 Dick spotted his first Common Green Darner of the year in our yard. The first reports for Ohio were on April 15. So the odonata (dragonfly/damselfly) season is back.

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Dick found many spring arrivals at the lower Shaker Lake and the nature center. A singing male Pine Warbler was in the stand of pines west of those near the "canoe club." Eastern Phoebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Ruby-crowned Kinglet were all present. There was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Fox Sparrow and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Water birds included 15 Pied-billed Grebes, Wood Duck and one male Blue-winged Teal.

A check for the White-winged Crossbills that were reported in Cleveland Heights came up negative, but they were a super sighting for the area.

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Many migrants were reported around Ohio during March and this afternoon at Headlands Beach State Park in Lake County we caught up with a few of them. At least 5 Eastern Phoebes were feeding and calling around the dunes area and among 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets, one male was displaying the red center of his crown. A lone Pectoral Sandpiper called as it flew west along the shore. Cormorant numbers were reported building at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River this week by Paula Lozano and we saw around 30 Double-crested Cormorants on the walls at Headlands. There were Song Sparrows and one Dark-eyed Junco for our only sparrows. We didn't see many gulls and some of the Bonaparte's Gulls were heading west out over the lake.

Back in Cleveland we saw a Brown Creeper at the Gordon boat basin where there were perhaps 200 Bonaparte's Gulls but none of their "fellow travelers." Some Turkey Vultures and a few Red-tailed Hawks were visible along the highway early in the afternoon. Yesterday at times we could see a few vultures from home in Cleveland Heights.

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An adult Black-headed Gull was first reported at Conneaut harbor last Saturday (March 18) by a group of birders led by Ed Schlabach. Also present were 2 Little Gulls and a Glaucous Gull. Larger numbers of Little Gulls have been reported (up to 21) along with Thayer's, Iceland and Lesser Black-backed during the week.

This afternoon from about 1:30 to 2:30 we were able to watch the Black-headed Gull along with at least 6 Little Gulls, a few hundred Bonaparte's, but not very many large gulls. The black-headed was very active, bathing, picking up debris, interacting with the other gulls, making short flights, and in such good light generally being very satisfactory.

In the bright sunlight the brown tone to the nearly complete hood was visible as was the dark red color of the bill and legs. While we know the mantle color is paler than that of Bonaparte's Gull, it wasn't really noticeable, but the larger size and greater contrast to the black primaries on the bird at rest did help us pick it out on the water or shore. In flight the dusky undersides of the primaries were evident, but not nearly so striking as most of the Little Gulls. One of them had paler underwings and a few black spots on the upper wing surface.

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For the umpteenth time we were skunked again looking for Sandhill Cranes around LaDue. We did pick up a little "hawk" movement going south along and near the lake: 10 Turkey Vultures, 1 Northern Harrier and 6 Red-tailed Hawks. We may also have located a Red-shouldered Hawk nest. Waterfowl numbers were low, but there were at least 12 Horned Grebe and 18 Green-winged Teal among a variety of species.

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It was really warm, even on the lake today. In Lorain we had hoped to see some hawk flight, but didn't. There were strong westerly winds with a slight northerly component, perhaps keeping birds inland. In the impoundment we found at least 14 Common Redpolls, birds that have been reported for a while. They were highly visible and vocal. The only question about Song Sparrows there would be how many hundred are present if they are as densely distributed throughout the impoundment as in the northwest corner we covered. American Tree Sparrows were also numerous and we saw one White-throated Sparrow and 3 immature White-crowned Sparrows.

There was a flock of bay ducks: about 120 Lesser Scaup, 4 Ring-necked Ducks and one Redhead. Ring-billed Gulls numbered a few hundred with just a few Herring Gulls mixed in. We saw no Great Black-backed Gulls. Also no Bonaparte's Gulls were there.

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Expecting a good flow of air from the southwest today, we were disappointed to find cold NE wind off Lake Erie when we went to Headlands Beach State Park. We didn't see any movement and the number of birds was smaller than last week. We also checked Shipman Pond, Mentor Lagoons and Veterans Park where we saw some waterfowl, two Pied-billed Grebes and five Killdeer.

Back in Cleveland we checked the lake at Gordon Park and E. 55th St., but the only birds of interest were a Great Black-backed Gull on the breakwall and a Mute Swan at E. 55th which was more unusual than the one we had seen at Veterans Park. In Lake View Cemetery we did catch up with one of the Northern Mockingbirds and several Red-bellied Woodpeckers and found robins all around the area.

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

Archived: Sep 8, 2000