Having planned to check some spots in Geauga County today, it was easy to add a stop at Holden Arboretum to check on a reported Red-throated Loon. While there were a lot of blackbirds around, singing bluebirds and a Killdeer heard, there was not a single migrant bird on Corning Lake. It looks like all the birds from the 26th have gone.

At LaDue Reservoir and Punderson State Park there were a few ducks (Ring-necked, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common and Red-breasted Merganser and one Ruddy each) but no grebes or coots and we didn't even see an eagle. All the same there is a large amount of bird song for February and Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and American Robins are numerous.

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In Lake View Cemetery we were pleased to find the uncommon winter birds almost all present: Red-headed Woodpecker (3), Brown Creeper, Golden-crownrd Kinglet and Northern Mockingbird along with a Cooper's Hawk. We found last year's Red-tailed Hawk nest empty so don't know where the owls are. The larger spruce grove has a number of trees down, some fallen, some cut, and many more painted with green slashes which along with the orange Xs on deciduous trees is even more saddening.

We checked the Cleveland lakefront which still had gulls but almost no ducks or coots. At Lorain there were no Bonaparte's Gulls, but we did see 4 Dunlin and the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Oberlin Reservoir produced 1 Horned Grebe that we didn't expect and 2 Great Blue Herons, Lesser Scaup and 6 Ruddy Ducks. In contrast the Wellington upground Reservoir had a lot mixed in with maybe 500 American Coots: 6 Pied-billed Grebe, 4 Horned Grebe, 2 Canada Goose, 20 Redhead, 10 Ring-necked Duck, 22 Lesser Scaup, 4 Hooded Merganser and 47 Ruddy Ducks. A final stop was the campground at Findley State Park where there were numerous Red-breasted Nuthatches and we got to see a Red-bellied and a Hairy Woodpecker feeding on poison ivy berries in the same spot. 3 Turkey Vultures were attempting to roost there.

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We began at Medusa Marsh (Erie Co.) where not much had changed in a week though there are now many Red-winged Blackbirds on territory. We didn't see the eagles, so they may have been the two we saw flying east over SR 2 near Huron. We also stopped at Castalia despite knowing the mild weather would not have created a waterfowl haven. There were about 100 American Wigeon and a few other ducks. Quite intriguing was an exotic-looking drake with almost a normal Gadwall body but an iridescent red on the top of the head and a buffy face, paler over the long, black bill. We wonder what others have made of it.

There were numerous birders at Killdeer Plains WA (Wyandot Co.) this pleasant Sunday afternoon and owls seemed easy to find. We saw 3 Long-eared Owls in one tree and were told there were 2 more roosting singly. We found a Northern Saw-whet Owl high in a pine, but not where others had observed one. There was also a Great Horned Owl on a nest visible from the road. By 4:20 near the Sportsmans' Center 3 Short-eared Owls were perched in trees with another in flight. We left soon after as we weren't needed to census them.

We saw 1 Turkey Vulture and hawks were pretty good including a light phase Rough-legged Hawk, but only 1 Bald Eagle and not the reported Red-shouldered Hawk. Waterfowl were less plentiful than we expected but had good highlights: a male Oldsquaw on the upground reservoir and 7 Snow Geese (2 blue) on the large impoundment. A few Eastern Meadowlarks were singing as well as 2 Eastern Bluebirds.

Feb. 21: many Bonaparte's Gulls were in Cleveland with 130+ Great Black-backed and a fair sampling of ducks. At Eastlake there was still an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds are becoming widespread.

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We finally drove out to the Toledo area and visited the Swan Creek Cemetery in Monclova (about 2 miles west of Maumee on 20A) where the large evergreens create a small haven and the hemlocks among them are hosting about 20 White-winged Crossbills this winter. Many were feeding on the ground and calling when we arrived. The only other non-resident we saw was a Red-breasted Nuthatch. It is amazing how long they have been at this location.

At the Lake Erie marshes in Lucas, Ottawa and Erie Counties and on Sandusky Bay there were numerous Bald Eagles (adults), Red-tailed Hawks, 2 Great Horned Owls (one seen on a nest along Rte 2 near Huron), Canvasbacks (many hundreds massed along the bay bridge), Redheads and Common Mergansers. Possible spring arrivals were a Killdeer and blackbirds; Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird. Drawing a lot of attention were about 70 Tundra Swans at Magee Marsh. We didn't see any of the introduced Trumpeters, but a Mute Swan was at Medusa Marsh.

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We were in Texas last week when we learned of the Lark Bunting, but were very lucky to see it this morning with many other birders. It is with a variety of sparrows, etc. in weedy fields and multiflora brambles. It has black around the large, long bill and onto the breast and a white eye ring on a gray-brown head. The white in the wing is usually obscured. Once it sat atop the brambles showing pink legs. The Lark Sparrow was seen today, but though we may have glimpsed it, we could not find it again. Other birds of interest were a Northern Mockingbird, adult light phase Rough-legged Hawk and Turkey Vultures. A local birder told us there is a winter roost of vultures nearby which is unexpected.

Care must be taken not to abuse the hospitality of the local community. "No Trespassing" signs are springing up and pine seedlings in a weedy field are being overlooked. For directions and updates follow the statewide RBA link above.

A sign of the times today was the many pairs of Red-tailed Hawks seen perched or circling together.

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In hopes of finding some sign of the spring-like movement Vic Fazio reported yesterday we stopped in Lake View Cemetery this afternoon, another sunny, rather warm day. Two Red-headed Woodpeckers were calling and a Red-bellied Woodpecker was also heard nearby. The usual large gathering of American Crows was quite vociferous, but didn't seem to have any object of their attentions.

We didn't expect much on the Cleveland lakefront and there were very few ducks and a paltry number of Great Black-backed Gulls though there was a modest showing of Bonaparte's Gulls, especially interesting as they were diving such that they were totally submerged. Whenever we see this behavior we always hope there is a kittiwake around teaching them that trick, . But we are curious about the origin of two Red-tailed Hawks that flew west past Gordon Park out over the water a few minutes apart. And while looking for Killdeer at Burke Lakefront Airport we instead found 5 Horned Lark.

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This afternoon at Eastlake it was sunny and nearly calm and though we had to walk in, it wasn't too cold. Four Mute Swans were just offshore to the east and were quite interesting. Three were immature birds still showing patches of brownish plumage and nearly black bills that were already the shape of the adult's. All four were vigorously bathing and we even saw one roll completely over. They were quite a sight in the bright light. Few gulls were in the air, but many were on the docks where we located an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and a first winter Glaucous Gull. We found nothing more exotic and only two Bonaparte's Gulls. In the Cleveland harbor there were a few thousand Bonaparte's and there was a Gadwall again at the E. 55th marina.

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We went chasing John Pogacnik's gull finds at Eastlake from yesterday, but with strong westerly winds, the docks were awash, the parking area nearly so and the gulls dispersed by the waves.

Bonaparte's Gulls were strange with none east of Bratenahl, many off Gordon Park and in the harbor, thickest off Burke airport where they are building the new impoundment, but almost none further west, just a small flock off Perkins.

At the Whiskey Island Marina we were told after this month it would NOT be open to the public!

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We went to the Lorain impoundment where the heavy rain yesterday and the strong northeast wind today brought the water's edge closer to the pier than it has been in months. Maybe 2,000 Bonaparte's Gulls were in the marina area and nearby, many on the water in the lee of the pier itself, flying patterns over the water along the pier or in the landfill itself. Before we even left the car Dick spotted an adult Little Gull among the birds flying over the water in front of us. It was still there when we left the pier. Out in the wind and misty rain (and temperatures now down to the 40s) we found the 5 Dunlin that Vic Fazio had reported were still present. There were almost no ducks, over 100 Great Black-backed Gulls, but lower numbers of Ring-billed and Herring. We stopped at French Creek, but nothing was coming to the feeders.

After Jean's visit to the dentist, we checked Perkins Beach, E 55th to Burke and the Gordon Park boat basin. Still not much there, but the Northern Mockingbird was perched along Gordon.

Hopefully Vic will keep us posted on the many great bird finds the state has been producing!

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With a temp of 55'F it was unseasonably warm, but with a very dark overcast this afternoon when we found Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet in Lake View Cemetery, all of the less common birds from the Christmas bird count except for Northern Mockingbird. In addition we found two Swamp Sparrows that we missed on the count (in the fog.) The American Goldfinches feeding in a hemlock among various other birds gave us a start with hopes of crossbills (as there have been recent reports from Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Chapin Forest in Lake County and a cemetery in Columbus).

The Cleveland lakefront from Gordon Park to Burke Lakefront Airport continued slow and here we still did not find a mockingbird.

The Say's Phoebe in Knox County was reported again yesterday following the cold spell and there were tantalizing reports of Lark Sparrow and Northern Waterthrush from Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties.

The reports of Snowy Owl from Conneaut harbor drew us into starting our year's birding there, but we did not find one and most ducks were seen seeking shelter from the winds outside the breakwalls. We also did not find any unusual gulls. In Fairport Harbor we had a lot of Common Mergansers and a few other ducks but the other most interesting location was Perkins Beach on the west side of Cleveland where there were thousands of Bonaparte's Gulls. We did not go to the Whiskey Island Marina where we found 7 Double-crested Cormorants inside the marina wall on the 31st. With a late start and time spent driving, we only found 30 species.

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Lake Erie from Gordon Park in Cleveland west through Rocky River, Avon Lake and Lorain had good numbers of gulls, especially Great Black-backed Gulls, but no unusual species and very few ducks. There were a few Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots and a Belted Kingfisher, but best is that the four Dunlin in the Lorain impoundment remain.

The Knox County Say's Phoebe continues to be seen, though more often lately back at the Lake Kokosing spillway than along Overly Road.

We got away today for the two hour drive to northwest Knox County and after driving around on Overly Road for a while the bird showed up in a corn stubble field near "the brown house". We watched it for quite a while, but it was always at the back of the field and so we had to get our good views with the scope. This is only the second Ohio record and the first seen by many people, so each day of this holiday season the area is being covered. [background info and directions]

On today's Cleveland Christmas Bird Count we had some very good birds in Lake View Cemetery. We had Northern Mockingbird for the second year, but were surprised to find a second one away from the ponds (and then we had the Gordon Park bird in the afternoon and know of at least one more in Eastlake!]. Red-headed Woodpeckers seldom winter there, but we had three calling in the upper sections. We also found Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglets which are uncommon there most years. Misses included the Great Horned Owl and towhees.

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There was a report of a Ross's Gull from the Conneaut Harbor this morning. We didn't learn of it until after dark, but we hope it will be relocated. It was seen by Craig Holt. It would be a new state bird! [sadly this bird has not been relocated.]

Checks of the Cleveland lakefront several days in the last week have found little happening. Today birds of interest were a Killdeer, briefly, at E. 55th St. and a Peregrine Falcon perched on a runway light at Burke Lakefront Airport. Over 200 Great Black-backed Gulls were on the breakwall off E. 55th and there were good concentrations of Bonaparte's Gulls in numerous locations. Ducks were nearly absent but we saw a few Horned and Pied-billed Grebes. On the 11th we saw the Northern Mockingbird at Gordon Park.

In the flats, off Merwin St., we were surprised to find no birds, not even a night-heron. We don't know if there have been any there recently though we did see some by the police dock on the lakefront last month.

We also took a quick drive through Lake View Cemetery where we will start our part of the Cleveland Christmas Bird Count (east side of Cleveland east to Eastlake) on Saturday, Dec. 20. Among the plentiful Dark-eyed Juncos were still quite a few White-throated Sparrows, so we may have some luck there, but we saw no American Robins or other fruit-eating birds. We were saddened to see a large number of trees marked with a large orange "X" where the cemetery has been expanding into the wooded area. It would appear that will soon be history!

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This morning we looked for the adult male King Eider reported the last few days of Nov. from Headlands Beach State Park. It was cloudy but calm, not great for sea ducks. There weren't even big numbers of mergansers and no sign of the eider. We did see six dark ducks on the water that flew east looking to be Black Scoters (based on rather round head shape and no noticed white markings on the heads which might rule out Surf). Rather shocking were the "No Tresspassing" signs along the east side of the park prohibiting access to an area of the dunes we never knew didn't belong to the state park. Maybe we will learn what it is all about soon. Tree Sparrows were moving along the park and we saw (and heard) about 30 in a few minutes along with a few Song Sparrows and American Goldfinch.

At Eastlake the numbers of mergansers were down from what Dick saw yesterday, only a couple thousand, but they did include at least 2 male Common Mergansers and the large gulls on the walls included at least 80 Great Black-backed Gulls and one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull which showed its yellow legs, darkly streaked head and different head and bill shapes along with about Herring Gull size. There were also 2 Double-crested Cormorants and a Great Blue Heron perched in a tree along the stream along the road back to the highway.

In Cleveland at Gordon Park and E. 55th there were a few Pied-billed and Horned Grebes but very few ducks. Northerly winds are coming and a change is undoubtedly in store in the birds.

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URL: http://pw1.netcom.com/~djhoff/wint9798.html
Send mail to: Dick & Jean Hoffman (djhoff@ix.netcom.com)

Archived: Mar. 1, 1998