Columnist Bruce Glick attempts each week to summarize happenings in the birding world. Emphasis is on the local Wayne/Holmes area. This week Bruce reports on an amazing weekend of birding. Find out more in the "Gone Birding" column.
An exciting week for birders in Ohio
We usually think of cold, north wind days in the beginning of November as the time for rare birds to show up, especially along our "coast" - the Lake Erie lakefront. However, this year the show started early and was not confined to the big lake.. While I was in Indiana over the first weekend of October, the reports of rare birds kept flowing in. Jen Brumfield called to report that two Long-tailed Jaegers had been seen at Rocky River, flying east along Lake Erie. Further east, other birders had seen several Parasitic Jaegers. At both locations, fly-by Brant were also noted. Brant are geese that we don't see very often in Ohio.
At the same time, Turkey Vultures were putting on a show at Erie Metropark south of Detroit. Over 4,000 were counted on Sunday and another 2,500 the following day. TVs will continue to come through for several more weeks.
But, as interesting as the above sightings are, I was more impressed with what several birders near Walnut Creek accomplished by watching the sky right at home. I didn't mention above that a number of Peregrine Falcons were also seen at different points along Lake Erie over the weekend. There must have been quite a flight of these falcons because the Walnut Creek birders saw two Peregrines on Saturday (in one hour) and eight (that's right, eight!) Peregrines on Sunday. To put that in perspective, in 20 years of observations at our Conneaut hawk-watch site, only once have we seen more than three Peregrine Falcons in one day. Additionally, they also tallied a Merlin, two Ospreys, three American Kestrels, two Northern Harriers, two Red-tailed Hawks, 43 Blue Jays and 300 Monarch Butterflies. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon of sky-watching.
The Peregrine Falcon is a favorite of many birders. I've kept a photo of a Peregrine on my desk for many years. Seeing one knifing through the sky makes my day. There is something about the raw power and speed of the bird that makes it special. My favorite memory of Peregrines here at home goes back to a spring hawk-watch on a hill east of our house. A sudden thunderstorm came up late in the afternoon and two Peregrines came by, one of them diving down and finding a spot in our woods to spend the night.
Probably the most exciting moment for the Walnut Creek birders last weekend came when one of the Peregrines came in close, diving toward the yard trying to catch a Rock Pigeon (it missed). Nice memory!
For you sparrow enthusiasts, this is the time to be looking for those specialty sparrows, LeConte's and Nelson's Sparrows. Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area is an excellent place to search for them. Good birding!
Bruce Glick
birderbruce@yahoo.com
330-317-7798
