Thursday 5/6 update

Thursday May 6: Yesterday turned out to be excellent for variety in the migrant traps near the Lake Erie shoreline. No fewer than 28 warbler species were found at the Magee Marsh boardwalk, and the total for the BSBO main banding site east of Magee was well over 20 warbler species.

Last night some heavy rain came through late in the afternoon, and winds shifted to northerly, so it appears that most of yesterday's birds are still around today. An early report from the BSBO banding site was that today was like yesterday but with more Tennessee and Black-and-white warblers. At the Magee boardwalk, a Kentucky Warbler was showing off well at the small loop (near number 7A), and Cape May Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo were crowd-pleasers near the west entrance.

Dick Ashford, chair of the board of the American Birding Association, saw eight dark ibises fly over near the entrance to Ottawa Nat'l Wildlife Refuge yesterday evening, just before the storm hit. These are the first ibises I've heard of so far this spring. Ottawa NWR is the best place in Ohio to find these birds; Glossy Ibis occurs more often than White-faced Ibis, but both species have been found in recent years, and it takes a close look to distinguish them. Hopefully they'll be found along the refuge auto tour route this weekend.

The entrance pool at Ottawa NWR had an early White-rumped Sandpiper yesterday and a good selection of more common shorebirds today. This morning I had a female Wilson's Phalarope at Toussaint Wildlife Area, north of Oak Harbor; the bird was being harassed by Lesser Yellowlegs and eventually it left, but it's likely to show up at Ottawa also.