The days are just not long enough
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- June 5, 2017
- 732
This year there were a number of “big day” attempts with several local records set along the way. While most of the efforts were part of the annual Bobolink Area big day event, a group of area birders again set out for an Ohio big day. The results were very interesting to say the least.
Quite a few years ago a group of us tried for several years to do big days, starting in Northwest Ohio and ending up back in our home area. Somehow we never were able to put together a day that resulted in more than 150-160 species. After that we focused our efforts on the local 12-county Bobolink Area with results that consistently were in the 160s.
The best day I was a part of resulted in 169 species, but another local team surpassed that with 170 several years ago. We all knew that sometime all the weather and migration factors would come together, making it possible to surpass 170 species.
Statewide, there are several old records that topped 180 species, and there may be others I’m not aware of. The biggest problem with doing a statewide big day is the amount of time needed to drive from the Toledo area to our local hot spots or even further south. The days are just not long enough.
The team of Tim Hochstetler, Aaron Miller, Kent Miller and James E. Yoder tried a state big day last year but didn’t complete it due to the fact that two very rare birds showed up, which they decided to chase (and find). This year they tried again. To their credit, they did some scouting ahead of time, something we never did in our earlier attempts.
Starting at midnight on May 17, they heard a calling king rail, the first fruit of their scouting. This was at Oak Openings Metropark on the west side of Toledo. They also added whip-poor-will and Henslow’s sparrow but failed to hear lark sparrow or summer tanager, two birds that are definitely possible at night.
From there the team stopped in Toledo to see a cooperative nesting peregrine falcon, then headed to the marshes east of town. For some reason the marshes were very quiet with no bitterns calling. The team did pick up black-crowned night heron and great horned owl.
At Magee Marsh the results were good with most of the expected warblers and some other good birds such as alder flycatcher and Philadelphia vireo.
By 9 a.m. the team left Magee. Stops at flooded fields along the way yielded more shorebirds, raptors and a common loon. Stops at Clearfork and Pleasant Hill reservoirs didn’t add anything unusual, but Mohican State Park came through with almost all the specialties.
On to Funk, they saw a number of ducks and a treasure-trove of shorebirds, which lifted the total for the day to 176. More hours of searching finally ended with barn owl as number 180. This is the highest state total for any local team, but they certainly put in long hours and many miles. As is always the case, the feeling was that next year could be even better.
Four days earlier on May 13, everything came together for the big day team of Atlee, Levi and Marcus Yoder as well as Duane Miller and Lucas Weaver. They followed a route quite similar to what many big teams use, starting locally for owls, then to Killbuck Marsh for rails, woodcock and chat (but no bitterns).
They went on to Tiverton for whip-poor-will and Henslow’s, then driving to Mohican. The only miss at Mohican was winter wren, a bird that is there but not always singing. At Clear Fork Reservoir they added three species of gulls, ruddy duck and great egret. Pleasant Hill held a Forster’s tern. Funk was excellent for shorebirds, and a highlight for the day was a peregrine falcon overhead.
At Cemetery Road in the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, one white-winged scoter and one surf scoter added two very rare birds to the list. From there the team drove to Kidron, where they found a black-capped chickadee at the park and a Eurasian collared dove at the usual place in town.
Another good bird was a red-breasted nuthatch near Apple Creek. Attempts to find a vesper sparrow failed, but they did see the Harris’s sparrow that had been coming to a feeder south of Millersburg: another very rare bird for the day.
By then it was getting dark, but they had already reached 174 species, breaking the old record by four. However, with nighttime south winds bringing additional migrants, they were able to add grasshopper sparrow, gray-cheeked thrush and black-billed cuckoo, ending an amazing day with 177 species.
I don’t have the actual lists of these two big days, but it would be interesting to compare the two and see what the total combined list would be. At any rate these were big days to be remembered, and it may be awhile before they are broken. You probably should start planning for next year.
Good birding!