When Jen Brumfield calls, you can be sure a rare bird is involved. Jen lives in Cleveland but was on a field trip to our part of the state. She called to say that she was at Wilderness Road at the south end of Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area and had just spotted a Loggerhead Shrike. About that time Su Snyder pulled up, and soon the word was spreading about the great find. For Su this was a new Wayne County bird, and for Jen it was a new state bird.
Loggerhead Shrikes have been in a downward spiral for many years. The reason seems to be loss of appropriate habitat. Thirty years ago we could usually find a few breeding shrikes in the southern part of the state. Then a pair was spotted just a few miles south of Fredericksburg one year. That pair successfully raised young birds and we were hopeful that they would continue to nest in the area. However, even though there were sightings the following year, that was the last for that area.
Not too many miles away, west of Holmesville, another pair of Loggerheads were located, but that pair also couldnt be found a year later. Since then the shrikes have not been seen. It has been much the same story through much of the country. Peterjohn documents the rise and fall of Loggerhead Shrikes in Birds of Ohio. Apparently, when much of forested Ohio was logged and turned into open farmland, shrikes invaded the state and became common by 1880. Fields with brushy fencerows were excellent habitat. In 1910, Jones, a noted early Ohio ornithologist, estimated that there were about 12 pairs in each township in Erie County, and Milton Trautman reported 10-19 pairs nesting around Buckeye Lake. That gives us an idea of how common Loggerheads were at their peak.
By 1930, agriculture was changing, and the shrike population crashed until there were only a few pairs left in the state by 1970. Shrikes have always migrated through Ohio but they are rarely sighted. It used to be that they were seen more often during the spring migration. Fall migration was not well documented, even when the birds were more common. This current sighting was almost certainly a migrating bird from further north, perhaps on its way to Florida where you can still find wintering birds, although in much smaller numbers than was the case 20-40 years ago.
Changing subjects, some readers know that my wife Helen and I have been in the process of moving to Goshen, Ind., where we used to live prior to 1980, and where our daughters and grandson live. This has not been an easy move for us, as we have greatly enjoyed living in Holmes County, and I grew up in the Wooster area. However, in the age of computers, cell phones and rare bird alerts, I am confident that we will be able to keep up with Ohio birding and our birding friends. At this point I will continue to write this column and look forward to hearing from you. My phone number, 330-317-7798, and email address, birderbruce@yahoo.com, remain the same.
Good birding!
