Ohio / Western Lake Erie Basin
May 8-15, 2008 - Bird/Species Trip List
Peg Abbott, Don Donaldson guides, with 10 observers

Pied-billed Grebe – several individuals seen in quiet water areas, four days of our journey
Double-crested Cormorant – common along the lakeshore areas, seen daily
American Bittern – great scope views of this species on the tour-loop road of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Great Blue Heron – one of our most common species, but always great to watch their slow, labored flight and agile hunting tactics. Seen daily
Great Egret - Quite common, seen daily
Snowy Egret – one individual only, seen on the tour route at Ottawa NWR
Green Heron – seen on two days of our journey,
Black-crowned Night-Heron – seen only once, on the second day of our journey
White-faced Ibis – this species caused many to labor over their scopes, trying to sort it out from Glossy Ibis, seen more commonly in this area.  We got excellent views of it shining in the sun as it fed in the marsh.
Turkey Vulture – seen daily
Canada Goose – absolutely abundant, we watched many family groups with long lines of chicks of varying ages.  Seen daily
Mute Swan – several pair seen at various parks and refuge sites, three days of our journey
Trumpeter Swan – This beautiful swan is making a real comeback here, seen on four days of our journey, one pair on a nest
Wood Duck – a beautiful male seen in the scope on our first day walk, then several fly-bys while on our walks, or driving to and from our hotel.  Recorded for almost all days of the journey
Gadwall – pairs seen on two days of the journey
Mallard - very common, seen daily
Blue-winged Teal – lovely views from the roadway entrance to Magee, day two of our journey
Northern Shoveler – seen on two days of our journey, in small numbers
Redhead – seen on our final day of the journey
Common Merganser – lovely males seen on our way into the banding site, in a small pond near the nuclear plant
Ruddy Duck – seen at Metzger on our final day
Osprey – seen on two days of our journey, including a nest with small chicks
Bald Eagle – fabulous views, and seen daily
Northern Harrier – spotted by Richard on our final day.  Perhaps with nesting they were quiet, we expected to see this bird far more regularly….
Sharp-shinned Hawk – quite a handful at our banding demonstration! 
Cooper’s Hawk – seen hunting the woodlands at Magee
Red-shouldered Hawk – seen just on one day of the journey, in the field over a small pond, where we walked in on an overgrown road, hearing Field Sparrows…
Broad-winged Hawk – seen on our final day
Red-tailed Hawk – seen almost daily, excellent views
American Kestrel – spotted by a few of the group on one day
Ring-necked Pheasant – seen on day two of the journey
Sora – this bird put on a fine show as it fed along the margin of cattails in small ponds rimming the entry road to Magee Marsh.  Heard again on day two of our journey
American Coot – numerous and vocal, seen on three days
Sandhill Crane – we heard a very vocal pair of Sandhills from the boardwalk trail at Maumee Bay State Park, but could not spot them in the wetland expanse. 
Killdeer – seen daily
Greater Yellowlegs – one of our more regularly spotted shorebirds, seen on four days
Lesser Yellowlegs – nice to compare to Greater Yellowlegs, seen on two days
Solitary Sandpiper – seen on three days
Willet – one individual on the loop tour route of Ottawa NWR
Spotted Sandpiper – first seen along the river at Edison near the Osprey nest, then spotted on two additional days
Upland Sandpiper – distant view across some agricultural fields near Ottawa NWR
Ruddy Turnstone – beautiful bright individuals feeding actively along the lakeshore at Magee Marsh, also seen on our final day
Least Sandpiper – a few individuals in with other shorebirds on the loop drive at Ottawa NWR
Baird’s Sandpiper – seen on the loop drive at Ottawa NWR
Dunlin – nice to see their bright black bellies in breeding plumage, at Ottawa NWR and again at Metzger
Short-billed Dowitcher – seen on one day of our journey, in ponds near Ottawa NWR
American Woodcock – we had good looks at a rather secretive individual feeding and resting in the woods at Magee Marsh, from the boardwalk
Wilson’s Phalarope – a nice find at Ottawa NWR, scope views
Ring-billed Gull – very common and seen daily
Herring Gull – quite common, good views on our Kelly’s Island day.  Seen daily
Common Tern – nice to hear and see this agile flyer on our final day
Forster’s Tern – seen on one day of the journey near our seafood dinner restaurant, a good comparative study with the Common Tern we later spotted
Black Tern – an excellent sighting off the Ottawa NWR loop route, as we were scoping in male Yellow-headed Blackbirds
Rock Pigeon – urban areas and Cleveland airport
Mourning Dove – seen on most days of the journey
Eastern Screech Owl – this little rascal was wedged into a comfortable roost spot, and luckily it stayed put as it was not easy to find! 
Great Horned Owl – We got only a glimpse of this bird (feathers in dense branches at a known nest site) as it was raining heavily and thus sitting tight… 
Long-eared Owl – on the narrow part of a trail on Kelly’s Island, we spooked up a  roosting individual
Common Nighthawk – heard only, our final day
Chimney Swift – Richard spotted these independently, flying high over Magee Marsh our final day
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – seen on four days of our journey
Red-headed Woodpecker – seen only in the hand at our banding demonstration, a real thrill!
Hairy Woodpecker – seen very well off the boardwalk trail at Maumee Bay
Downy Woodpecker – seen almost daily
Northern Flicker – seen almost daily
Eastern Wood Pewee – seen well at East Harbor
Alder Flycatcher – seen on two days of our journey at Magee
Least Flycatcher – seen on day two of our journey
Eastern Phoebe – singing and calling on the first two days of our journey
Great-crested Flycatcher – seen on four days of our journey
Eastern Kingbird – seen on three days of our journey, a cooperative bird that often posed for our inspection
White-eyed Vireo – seen once from the boardwalk trail at Magee
Blue-headed Vireo – seen quite close, three days of our journey
Warbling Vireo – seen on most days, best views when in the parking lot at the start of the trail at Magee
Red-eyed Vireo – seen on three days of the journey
Blue Jay – seen or heard daily
American Crow – seen on four days
Horned Lark – spotted in agricultural fields after some searching on our final day
Purple Martin – active in the martin houses at the Sportsman’s Center
Tree Swallow – seen almost daily, several posed for our photos at the start of the boardwalk trail at Magee one day
Northern Rough-winged Swallow – seen on three days of our journey
Barn Swallow – active and visible every day
Black-capped Chickadee – seen almost daily, including a pair at a close nest site on day two
Tufted Titmouse – seen at the feeders at Old Woman Creek
Red-breasted Nuthatch – seen daily
Carolina Wren – We heard this bird on three days of the journey, but with so much going on realized on our final day we had not made the effort to find this little cutie!
House Wren – seen daily
Sedge Wren – seen on three days of the journey, nice views of this often secretive species
Marsh Wren – seen on day two only
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – seen in the hand at the banding demonstration and in the wild daily
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – seen on three days of our journey and heard again our final day
Eastern Bluebird – seen quickly from the van, then well on our final day while at Old Woman Creek
Veery – seen on three days of the journey
Gray-cheeked Thrush – seen on our second and last day of the trip, nice to compare to other thrush family members
Swainson’s Thrush – seen on three days
Wood Thrush – seen very well at Magee on several days
American Robin – seen daily in good number
Gray Catbird – seen daily and particularly well at Maumee State Park from the boardwalk
Brown Thrasher – seen on two days of the journey
European Starling – seen almost daily
Tennessee Warbler – seen in the hand during banding and again on day three
Nashville Warbler – seen most days of the trip, one of our more common warblers
Northern Parula – seen almost daily and heard singing
Yellow Warbler – very common, often at close range, seen daily
Chestnut-sided Warbler – one of the most common of our warblers, seen daily
Magnolia Warbler – seen on four days of our journey
Cape May Warbler – beautiful views of male and female in the hand banding, and on three additional days
Black-throated Blue Warbler – males were especially common, seen on five days of our trip
Yellow-rumped Warbler – seen daily
Black-throated Green Warbler – seen on four days
Blackburnian Warbler – seen on three days of the trip, our best views on our final day at Magee
Yellow-throated Warbler – one individual, a singing male at Magee – WOW!
Palm Warbler – seen daily
Bay-breasted Warbler – seen only in the hand while banding
Blackpoll Warbler – Richard first spotted this higher canopy dweller at Magee, seen on two days
Black-and-white Warbler – seen on five of our days, fairly common
American Redstart – one of the more visible and cooperative species of Magee and other areas, nice looks at both male and females
Prothonotary Warbler – a few of our group had glimpses of this beauty from the parking lot at Magee as quite a crowd gathered to spot it.  We also had fine views in the hand at the banding demonstation.
Ovenbird – this perky ground-dweller gave us some good looks, while it fed, and later as it sang from low perches in the forest understory at Magee
Northern Waterthrush – seen and photographed from the boardwalk at Magee, on three days
Mourning Warbler – seen only in the hand at our banding demonstation, but very nice to get such good looks! 
Common Yellowthroat – seen in most wetland areas, on three days of our journey
Hooded Warbler – one individual at Metzger, hiding in a quiet lakeshore woodlot
Wilson’s Warbler – seen on the middle two days of the journey
Canada Warbler – seen well at Magee, one individual
Summer Tanager – quick glimpse by Peg at Magee, alerted by call|
Scarlet Tanager – seen on the boardwalk trail at Maumee Bay, not as common as we’d hoped, still just arriving…  Also seen at Magee our final day
Chipping Sparrow – seen on three days
Field Sparrow – heard only, in the field we accessed on an overgrown road
Song Sparrow – seen on three days of our journey
Lincoln’s Sparrow – one individual seen quite well at Magee, then another couple seen the final day
Swamp Sparrow – good views along the boardwalk trail at Magee, one day only
White-throated Sparrow – by far our most abundant sparrow, seen daily
White-crowned Sparrow – several individuals spotted in with larger flocks of White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal – fairly common, and good about alerting us with its characteristic chip note, seen daily
Rose-breasted Grosbeak – best views in the mixed flock at Maumee Bay, and also in the trees near the banding site.  Overall seen on four days of the trip
Indigo Bunting – seen best on our first walk at Sheldon Marsh, and on our last walk at Old Woman Creek
Red-winged Blackbird – abundant, seen daily
Eastern Meadowlark – lovely songster of open areas, seen on our first two days
Yellow-headed Blackbird – a few bright males seen in the scope, on the tour road at Ottawa NWR
Brewer’s Blackbird – good views at Ottawa NWR and Magee Marsh on two days of the journey
Common Grackle – vocal and visible throughout our trip, seen daily
Brown-headed Cowbird – quite numerous, often in small groups near agricultural areas
Baltimore Oriole – great views at feeders, and in trees and shrubs at close range, seen daily
House Finch – feeders and town woodlots, seen on two days
American Goldfinch – first good views going into the banding station at the nuclear plant – quite a powerful background.  We then saw them well on numerous occasions, daily
House Sparrow – seen daily

 

Mammals
Eastern Cottontail
Woodchuck
Eastern Fox Squirrel
White-tailed Deer

 

Amphibians and Reptiles
Red-eared Slider
Belding’s Turtle

 

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