Two Snowy Owls in Wood County

We previously mentioned that a Snowy Owl was present in Wood County, Ohio, near the city of Bowling Green.  Now there are two present there, and both were seen on December 23rd.

The first one, first found on December 12, is southwest of Bowling Green. Most of the sightings have been in the general area of Cygnet Road (Township Hwy 3) and Otsego Pike (State Route 235). Cygnet Road runs east - west, and crosses Interstate 75 about eight miles south of Bowling Green. Otsego Pike is about 6 to 7 miles west of Interstate 75. The bird was seen today (Friday Dec. 23) both north and south of Cygnet Road, near Otsego Pike.

The second one, found on December 21 by Tom Kemp, is northwest of Bowling Green. It's along State Route 64 (Haskins Road) near its intersection with Hannah Road, only a couple of miles outside of BG. It has been seen on both the east side and west side of SR 64, and north of Hannah Road half a mile west of 64. This individual also was seen today (Dec. 23).

Just a little outside our area, a Great Gray Owl was found Friday, Dec. 23, just west of Point Pelee, Ontario. Apparently this is a first record for Essex County, and it's a LOT closer to Ohio than Great Grays are usually found. These directions are from Sarah Rupert, starting from Leamington, the town closest to the entrance to Point Pelee National Park: "From Leamington, take County Rd 20 (Seacliff Drive) west through Kingsville. You'll pass Pleasant Valley Campground on the north, the next road is McCain Side Road. Turn north on McCain and continue down the road approx 2 km. You'll see address marker 1643 on the west side of the road, the bird was last seen at the north end of that property along the edge of a farm field. We watched the bird until we lost the light. It was actively feeding throughout the time I was watching it and we're hoping it might stick around."

For updates on the latter, check the Ontario birding listserve: http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/ONTB.html

Best of success to anyone who decides to look for any of these birds, and please remember to keep a respectful distance from the owls and to respect the private property of local landowners.

Snowy Owl in Wood County, Ohio

Late fall / early winter 2011 has been marked by a major influx of Snowy Owls into the north-central U.S., with scores of individuals reported around the western Great Lakes.  Only a few individuals have been found in Ohio so far, but one is being seen currently not far from our immediate area: in Wood County, just southwest of Bowling Green. 

As reported on the "RareBird" forum, the owl was first found on December 12 by Mark (last name not given) and has been seen several times since.  Most of the sightings have been in the general area of Cygnet Road (Township Hwy 3) and Otsego Pike (State Route 235).  Cygnet Road runs east - west, and crosses Interstate 75 about eight miles south of Bowling Green.

The owl has been seen perched atop telephone poles a few times, but more often it has been seen sitting on the ground out in open fields, often some distance from the road, so a telescope is useful for getting good looks.  If you go to look for this bird, please do not approach it closely.  Snowy Owls that come this far south are often stressed and hungry, and we must not do anything to add to their stress. 

As of about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 16, Ben Warner reported that the owl was being seen off Cygnet Road, southwest of its intersection with Otsego Pike.  It was about 500 yards out in a corn stubble field.

4/27 should be big

Late evening Tuesday, 4/26:  As reported earlier today, this turned out to be a major day for migrants all over n.w. Ohio.  Huge numbers of Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers were around, and one Audubon's Yellow-rumped was found near the west entrance to the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.  This western form (which probably will be treated as a full species again in the future) is very rare in Ohio, and I can't resist pointing out that it showed up on John James Audubon's birthday!  Other notables at the boardwalk area included Kentucky Warbler (on the boardwalk near number 27) and Blue Grosbeak (near the west end of the Crane Creek beach). 

Myrtle Warblers swamped everything else in numbers today, but other birds present in numbers included Blue Jays (which stage a massive migration here each spring), Palm Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks put in their first appearance of the year locally.  Warblers that I saw or heard about at either Magee or Metzger Marsh were Blue-winged, Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Yellow-throated, Pine, Palm, Black-and-white, Ovenbird, Kentucky, and Com. Yellowthroat.  Seventeen warbler species is a good total for this early in the season, and a big jump from the day before!

Tonight (Tuesday night) a lot of birds are moving, as indicated on the Nexrad radar images from Cleveland and Cincinnati.  There may be a lot of turnover before morning, but tomorrow (Wednesday 4/27) could be a very big day.  Mark Shieldcastle pointed out this evening that the conditions looked classic for bringing in a lot of birds from the south. 

From the Weather Channel, here are conditions just before 6 p.m. Tuesday.  The low-pressure area centered over eastern Iowa / n.w. Illinois and a high-pressure area off the screen in the Atlantic are contributing to the air flow from the south, which is clearly coming all the way up from the Gulf.  There will be areas of rain overnight, but not enough to shut down the migration.

Also from the Weather Channel, here's a graphical presentation of those winds just before 6 p.m. -- strong winds out of the south, heading right up through our area.  Although the wind speed slowed down considerably after dark, the overall flow is the same.  It's almost certain that Wednesday morning will produce a major number of birds in northern Ohio.  There may be stormy weather in the morning, but in between showers there could be a ton of migrants to sift through. 

Next migrant wave 4/27 or later?

Late evening Sunday, April 24: In an earlier post, I had suggested that we might have a good arrival of migrants in n.w. Ohio on Tuesday, April 26. That still might happen, but the latest weather forecast is making it look less likely. The latest prediction shows a lot of rain overnight Monday night, and winds mostly from the east, not shifting to southeast until shortly before dawn Tuesday. That’s not a good formula for a big overnight arrival of migrants.

Winds are supposed to be southerly on Tuesday and through Tuesday night. We may have a lot of rain and even strong thunderstorms during the day, but overnight it appears there may be a lot less rain. With southerly winds and a break in the rain, a lot of migrants could be moving, especially if there are clear skies anywhere to the south of us. So at the moment, it looks as if Wednesday April 27 could be a moderately good day in the migrant traps along the Lake Erie shoreline. A lot of species could put in their first appearance of the season. At the moment, diversity of warblers and other tropical migrants is a little lower than expected for this date, but that will change in a hurry as soon as a wave arrives.

Looking a little farther ahead, we’ll have rain and shifting winds off and on this week, but there’s a chance that Saturday could offer very good birding. According to some forecasts, by late Friday a large high-pressure area may have moved off to the east of us, with a couple of low-pressure areas lined up just a little to the west, and these could produce a strong southerly flow coming all the way from the Gulf states Friday night. If that forecast holds, that could be a setup for a really major arrival of birds Saturday morning – a good situation for the many birders who can get out most easily on weekends!

In the meantime, unsettled weather often produces records of interesting birds. Good finds today (Sunday) included a beautiful adult Tricolored Heron found by Sherrie Duris at Metzger Marsh, seen from the second pulloff on the causeway on the way in to the marsh. A Yellow-headed Blackbird was being seen on Veler Road, just west of the n.w. corner of Ottawa NWR (please be respectful of private property if you go to look for this bird!). The Black-necked Stilt and Cattle Egret mentioned in the previous post were both seen again today.

Weekend outlook, April 16-17

April 15: We are definitely into the season of full-on migration, with new species appearing practically every day. The birds arriving now are mostly those that winter in the southeastern U.S., but a few of the long-distance migrants from deep in the tropics are starting to show up.


The weather word for the next few days is "unsettled." A strong low-pressure area, currently centered over the Kansas City region, is expected to track toward the northeast, passing north of our area over the weekend. Local conditions over the weekend are likely to be windy (winds near 20 mph), with some periods of rain, and temperatures not rising past the mid-50s. But birders who get out and look are probably going to see a lot of early migrants and perhaps some rarities.


As of Friday morning, April 15, local winds are from the east or east-northeast. Winds should shift to the southeast during the night, and to the south or southwest for much of the day Saturday. Rain is very likely late Friday night and early Saturday morning. By early Saturday afternoon, with south winds and an end to the rain, we may see a moderate movement of birds of prey along the Lake Erie shoreline. Magee Marsh, Metzger Marsh, and Maumee Bay State Park would all be good vantage points. Saturday night will probably produce some more rain, and winds will shift more toward the west by Sunday morning, but Sunday should be mostly clear. Depending on exact wind direction on Sunday, it could also produce some raptor migration along the lake shore: more if the wind is more southwesterly, less if it's directly from the west, so check the wind before you decide to go hawkwatching.


The auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge will be open on Saturday, the 16th. Two American White Pelicans were seen at the refuge on April 13th (near the Crane Creek estuary) and a male Eurasian Wigeon was found on April 9-10 on MS 8b, which is the first major impoundment to your right as you begin the auto tour route. These birds may still be in the area, and Ottawa usually holds some surprises at this time of year.


Although I don't expect any big waves of songbird migrants to arrive over the next couple of days, there are already many birds in the area, and both days this weekend should provide good birding if you stick to the downwind sides of the woodlots. Sparrow numbers and variety are excellent. Seven sparrow species were at the feeders at Black Swamp Bird Observatory on April 14. There are still surprising numbers of Fox Sparrows around (mainly in thickets very close to the lake) and American Tree Sparrows are still widespread, while we're seeing a good arrival of Chipping, Field, and Swamp sparrows at the woods and marshes, and Savannah and Vesper sparrows in more open country.


Purple Finches have been widespread in the area during the last few days, and we're seeing a decent passage of Winter Wren, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Towhee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, and other typical early migrants. Rusty Blackbirds are past their peak but still present. Both kinglet species are around, although they seem to be in surprisingly low numbers. Many local breeders are arriving back on territory, including Brown Thrasher, Barn and Northern Rough-winged swallows, and Purple Martins.


The warblers, the stars of the show in May, are just now appearing. At least 9 species have been reported in nw Ohio during the last week, mostly in very small numbers. In addition to Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, of course, this early part of the migration is good for Pine and Palm warblers, and some others such as Black-and-white Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler have shown up as scattered singles. The first Prothonotary Warblers should be here any day now. The latter part of April is the best time in spring to look for Orange-crowned Warbler. This is also the season for "overflight" species: warblers that nest to the south of us, which sometimes overshoot their nesting territories and show up here. Louisiana Waterthrush is annual in April in swampy spots along the Magee Marsh boardwalk, and other "southern" warblers such as Hooded, Worm-eating, Prairie, and Yellow-throated are worth watching for.


Finally, with all the unsettled weather and with winds shifting to the west by Sunday, it would be a good idea to check the lakeshore and open water areas for stray birds such as Franklin's Gull or American Avocet. Wherever you go, have a superb time, and please consider stopping by BSBO to let us know what you've seen.

Sabine's Gull 11/25 at Metzger, plus access to Magee Marsh

On Thursday, November 25, Delores Cole reports that the Sabine's Gull is still present at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, still providing good looks from the area of the parking lot at the end of the road at around 10:30 a.m. See previous posts for more information.

Delores (along with observers Bill and Ann Toneff) also saw large flocks of Snow Buntings along the entrance road into Metzger. The fields on the north side of the entrance road, just after the turnoff from State Route 2, are often very good for open-country birds like Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks, blackbirds, etc., and are always worth a look.

On a different listserve, I received a question about access to the causeway at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (where a Northern Shrike has probably settled in for the winter). According to information from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, the causeway and the areas beyond (boardwalk and wildlife beach) will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 27, and all day Sunday, Nov. 28. These areas will be closed the rest of the time for the next week and a half, through Friday, December 3. Then they should be open on Saturday, December 4, and for the rest of December. So if anyone is considering coming up to look at the Sabine's Gull -- it may not stick around after today -- it has already stayed longer than most previous Sabine's in Ohio. But if you can't get here until Saturday, looking for the Northern Shrike on Saturday afternoon would be an additional possibility.

Sabine's Gull at Metzger 11/24

The Sabine's Gull at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, mentioned in the previous post, is still present as of about 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 24. Thanks to Erik Bruder for getting the word out quickly. The wind and the cold front that came through yesterday don't seem to have pushed the bird out, but this is a species that nests in the high Arctic, after all.

Sabine's Gull at Metzger Marsh

A juvenile Sabine's Gull turned up at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area on the afternoon of Sunday, November 21. Sabine's Gull is a very rare migrant in Ohio; records are now almost annual along the Lake Erie shoreline in the eastern half of the state, but there are very few records for the region between Toledo and Sandusky. Sabine's Gulls found in fall are often seen for only very brief periods, but this individual actually has stayed for more than a day, and it is still present on Tuesday morning, November 23.

See our map of Metzger Marsh (under "birding hotspots: directions and maps" on the BSBO birding pages) if you're not familiar with the area. The road in to the wildlife area ends at a parking lot on the edge of Lake Erie, with a concrete fishing pier extending out into the lake. The Sabine's Gull has been spending time in the area just east of this pier. Part of the time it rests on the water out on the lake, often with Bonaparte's Gulls, at which time the Sabine's can be picked out by its much darker upperparts. Occasionally it gets up and flies around, showing its spectacular wing pattern.

When I first found the bird I was afraid that it would not even stay long enough for anyone else to see it. Now that it has stayed for more than 24 hours, there is a chance that it will stick around for a few more days. I'll try to post updates here as they become available.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at Pipe Creek

Friday, August 13, 2010: Today, ace birder Larry Richardson (former director of the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, and former board member of BSBO) found a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at Pipe Creek Wildlife Area, on the east side of Sandusky, Ohio. This strikingly patterned tropical and subtropical duck is known to wander, and indeed there had been records from some surrounding states and provinces within the last few weeks. The bird was seen by a number of birders during the day, and was still present in the evening. It was associating with Mallards on a small island near the north dike of the wildlife area (on Unit B, as shown on the map linked below).

Pipe Creek is at the base of the causeway that goes out to the Cedar Point amusement park. Here are directions from our BSBO birding pages: From U.S. Highway 6 on the east side of Sandusky, turn north on Cedar Point Drive, then turn right at River Avenue (just after the McDonald’s). The small parking lot for Pipe Creek is at the end of River Avenue. Impoundments are good for shorebirds, waterfowl, and wading birds, while the woods hold fallouts of songbirds during migration. Note that traffic going to Cedar Point can be very heavy on warm weekends. For a map of Pipe Creek from Ohio's Division of Wildlife, click here.

Arctic Tern at Maumee Bay State Park

Wednesday, August 11, 2010: Maumee Bay State Park, on the Lake Erie shoreline in Lucas County just east of Toledo, Ohio, is a superb place to study terns in late summer and early fall. The concentration of Common and Forster's terns there often reaches 200-300 individuals, offering a fine opportunity to compare their plumages, shapes, and flight patterns.

I went to the park today mostly to look at juvenile Ring-billed Gulls, but while I was there I scanned through the flock and was surprised to find an adult Arctic Tern resting with the Common and Forster's terns. This species is generally quite rare in the interior of eastern North America; Ohio had only a few previous records. The Arctic Tern was present for at least half an hour, long enough for me to shoot some photos and call some other birders, but by the time anyone else arrived, the bird had disappeared. Fortunately it came back in mid-afternoon, and many other birders got to see it late in the day.

Field guide treatments may emphasize bill colors: usually solid red on adult Arctic Tern, red with a black tip on Common Tern. However, many adult Commons in late summer become entirely red-billed. The Arctic Tern present today, however, had a very dark bill, which is an uncommon phenomenon for so early in the season but more expected later on in fall.

Here are some photos and some discussion of how today's bird was identified.

While standing, this bird was noticeable by its overall dark gray look and its short legs, but these are both tricky points. Both Common and Arctic terns vary in their overall shade of gray, and Common Tern can look shorter-legged depending on its posture and the position of its feathers. To confirm the I.D., it's very helpful to see flight pattern.

Here, with the bird taking off, we can see that all of its primaries are about the same shade of gray on the upperside, rather than having the outer primaries much darker than the inner ones. And the trailing edge of the primaries (outer part of the wing) is traced by a narrow black line. On Common Tern, there is a broader, smeary dark trailing edge but it involves the tips of fewer feathers.

Here's another angle showing the relatively uniform color on the upperside of the wing and the narrow black trailing edge on the whitish underside of the wingtip, as well as the strong wash of gray on the underparts. Notice also that the wings appear to be set far forward on the body, an illusion enhanced by the small head and long tail.

This photo compares the Arctic Tern (above) with a Common Tern, perhaps a two-year-old bird rather than a full adult, with a different shape and different wing pattern.

With practice, the wing pattern of Arctic Tern can be seen from a number of different angles.

In this photo, the Arctic Tern is seen flying with several Common and Forster's terns. The differences in shape and wing pattern are evident here.

May 14: spectacular migration plus Kirtland's Warbler

Friday, May 14: It's never possible to predict big arrivals of migrants with absolute certainty, but the predictions for today turned out to be right on target. This was by far the biggest day of the spring so far in terms of numbers of migrants along the lake shore in n.w. Ohio.

For the last few days we'd been having modest numbers but very good diversity. Today the diversity went up a little and the numbers were at least ten times what they had been. I started off by going to the east beach at Magee Marsh (about half a mile east of the boardwalk; see the BSBO birding map of the Magee area for clarification). The low trees near the beach were hopping with American Redstarts, Gray Catbirds, Least Flycatchers, Magnolia Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, and many other birds. I saw my first good numbers of Indigo Buntings for the spring, several Scarlet Tanagers, and a lot of other migrants including Orchard Oriole, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Mourning and Wilson's Warblers. Diurnal migrants were streaming past: flocks of Eastern Kingbirds, Blue Jays, Cedar Waxwings, and all the expected species of swallows.

At about 9:15 a.m. I was lucky enough to find a male Kirtland's Warbler. I was luckier still that it stayed around: I sent out the word via Twitter and cell phone, hundreds of people arrived during the next four hours while I was there, and it was still being seen after 4:30 pm. The location was along the east (wildlife) beach about 300 yards east of the parking lot. The bird was feeding low for the entire time, sometimes hopping on the ground, sometimes foraging among low branches of sumacs or willows, or even among brush piles. Often it was amazingly easy to see, and several times it flew toward crowds of people and foraged unconcernedly within a few yards of its admirers. I'm sure it was seen by over a thousand birders, and undoubtedly tens of thousands of photos were taken; this is probably the most-photographed Kirtland's Warbler in history!

Of course it's impossible to say whether the bird will still be there Saturday morning, May 15, but I'm sure that people will go to look for it. I will try to get the word out early if it is seen Saturday.

Right now the winds are still out of the west-southwest, and they should be out of the west for most of Friday night, shifting to northwest sometime Saturday. My best guess is that Saturday will have somewhat fewer individual birds than today, but still very large numbers, and lots of variety.

Aside from the excitement of the Kirtland's: I heard about sightings of roughly 30 species of warblers in the general area. Several Mourning Warblers were found in the woods at Ottawa NWR and the Magee boardwalk, and Golden-winged and a "Brewster's" hybrid were found at the latter location. The first C0nnecticut Warblers of the season were found at the BSBO banding station (on a closed section of Ottawa NWR), so the species should show up soon at the Magee boardwalk.

Nine American White Pelicans circled over the Magee - Ottawa area around the middle of the day. A Marbled Godwit was being seen from the observation platform on Stange Road (southwest corner of Ottawa NWR -- see the BSBO map of the refuge) and at least two Yellow-headed Blackbirds were being seen a short distance west of there on Krause Road.

Purple Gallinule east of Magee Marsh

No, it's not a "chase-able" bird, but it's interesting nonetheless. This morning -- Wednesday May 5 -- a man who lives in one of the small communities on the edge of Lake Erie, a few miles east of Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, found an injured Purple Gallinule wandering around in his yard. He brought it to Black Swamp Bird Observatory, where it was cared for and kept quiet for a short time until it could be transported to our friend Mona Rutger, the dedicated wildlife rehabilitator who runs Back To The Wild, of Castalia, Ohio.

Purple Gallinule is ordinarily a rare visitor to Ohio, averaging fewer than one record per year in the state. But amazingly, this makes four Purple Gallinules found in Ohio in the last few days: another injured bird found in Miami County, one that appeared briefly in a back yard in Medina County, the famous and now much-photographed bird in Lorain County, and the Ottawa County bird. This species occasionally stages odd northward "invasions," and something of the sort is clearly happening right now; if four individuals actually have been found, there may be dozens out there undetected. It would be worthwhile to actively look for Purple Gallinules during the next few days in wetland areas with lots of emergent or floating vegetation such as cattails and lily pads. Metzger Marsh, Ottawa NWR, and Toussaint Wildlife Area would all seem like good places to search.