2014 Spring Migrantion in review

  • By Bruce Glick
  • July 30, 2014
  • 410
                        
2014 Spring Migration in review Columnist Bruce Glick summarizes happenings in the local birding world. This week Bruce takes a look at the 2014 spring migration season. Read more in the "Gone Birding" column. I realize that we are getting near the end of the nesting season, but since I'm working on a report about the spring migration, it seemed appropriate to share some of the more interesting data. It was an interesting season, as is usually the case for the months when so many birds are coming through and most of them are singing. Spring is the favorite season for lots of birders. March is the waterfowl month. Again this year the favorite birding sites included the Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area and nearby Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area and adjoining Prairie Lane. Other areas that always have lots of spring reports include Berlin Reservoir, Pleasant Hill Lake and Clear Fork Reservoir. Even small ponds and lakes can host interesting migrant waterfowl each spring. The one species that dominated the reports this spring was the Red-necked Grebe. This lovely large grebe is usually hard to find in Ohio, but that was not the case this spring. There were many reports from the large lakes and from small ponds. Some of the birds stayed for awhile. Near Goshen, Indiana where we live, I was able to see and photograph three Red-necked Grebes at Pigeon River Wildlife Area for at least 24 days in a row. One of the grebes was not shy, often swimming up close to the shore to pose for photos. There were so many photos of Red-necked Grebes on the Birding Ohio and Birding Indiana Facebook pages that I finally posted one last photo with a note promising not to post any more. Most birders had chances to see the unusual species of geese, all of which were present for multiple days in several locations. Not too many years ago, finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull away from Lake Erie was indeed a rare find. This spring there were 16 of them in one day at Berlin Reservoir and at least 8 at Clear Fork Reservoir. A few of the other rare gulls also showed up this spring, including Franklin's, Iceland, and Glaucous. Raptor highlights could fill an entire page. A number of Golden Eagles were found, most of them by local hawkwatchers, birders who spend many hours scanning the skies in hopes of finding something interesting. A Golden Eagle certainly does make it worthwhile. The Broad-winged Hawk migration was strange indeed, prolonged well past the normal peak dates. Migrants were found from early May until the end of the month, with the largest numbers coming through late in the month. A Mississippi Kite sighting was another highlight of the season. What has to be the rarest raptor sighting came on April 21 west of Walnut Creek. A Swainson's Hawk delighted nine local observers. They had good looks at the bird, first as it was soaring with a Red-tailed Hawk, which made for a nice comparison. This is an excellent record for Ohio, where Swainson's have been found a few times along Lake Erie, but are extremely rare inland. If the Red-necked Grebe was the poster bird for waterfowl, the songbird star was a Rock Wren that made itself at home south of Mt. Hope from April 29 until May 7. This bird was seen by many people and will long be remembered in the neighborhood as well as around the state. Songbird migration may have been about average, depending on who you talk to. Perhaps the best days for seeing a lot of warblers were earlier in May than some years, but warblers continued to come through until late in the month. There were lots of reports of Orange-crowned, good numbers of Golden-winged and Mourning, and one birder had the extremely good fortune to find two Connecticut Warblers on the same day. Many birders found Philadelphia Vireos and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. Alder and Olive-sided Flycatchers were also reported in what seemed like higher than normal numbers. Maybe part of it is more and better birders, which seems to be the case each year. Lots of young birders are out there every chance they get, which results in better birding skills and more rare bird sightings. That's just a taste of the spring migration this year. To keep up on local birding results, consider subscribing to "The Bobolink", the highly respected local quarterly birding journal. For more information, write to: The Bobolink, c/o Time and Optics, 6954 CR 77, Millersburg, OH 44654, or leave a message at 330-674-0240 or send a fax to: 330-674-0920. Good birding! Bruce Glick birderbruce@yahoo.com 330-317-7798


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