Three Rivers Birding Club: Outings Revisited (May2009)

May 2009
Synopsis of Outings

Sunday May 3 - Frick Park

Species list Total 51:

Great Blue Heron	Carolina Chickadee	Blackburnian Warbler
Cooper's Hawk	Tufted Titmouse	Palm Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk	White-breasted Nuthatch	Bay-breasted Warbler
Mourning Dove	Carolina Wren	Black-and-white Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Worm-eating Warbler
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	Ovenbird
Downy Woodpecker	Wood Thrush	Scarlet Tanager
Northern Flicker	American Robin	Eastern Towhee
Pileated Woodpecker	Brown Thrasher	Song Sparrow
Least Flycatcher	Nashville Warbler	White-throated Sparrow
Eastern Phoebe	Northern Parula	Northern Cardinal
White-eyed Vireo	Yellow Warbler	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue-headed Vireo	Chestnut-sided Warbler	Indigo Bunting
Warbling Vireo	Magnolia Warbler	Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-eyed Vireo	Black-throated Blue Warbler	Baltimore Oriole
Blue Jay	Yellow-rumped Warbler	American Goldfinch
American Crow	Black-throated Green Warbler	House Sparrow

May 6 through May 15, 2009 Magee Marsh and Northwest Ohio

Instead of the usual outing report for this trip, we would like to solicit comments and photos from all of the members that went to Ohio. We are not looking for formal report. Anything will do. Did you see a life bird? Did you meet someone famous? If it was your first trip to this birding Mecca, what was your impression? Do you have photos? We can post them on this sight, or link to your photo or web page. Contact Joan Tague at babyowl@mac.com

Trip report from Jack and Sue Solomon

Complete trip list

Lori Bruns' review of Ken Kaufamn's Lecture on Migration

Chuck Tague's blog entry for Migration 2009. Click on Migration 2009 and then "Check it out". Play the slideshow for the full effect.

Dan Weeks' on-line photo album from Magee Marsh 2009

The tally is in and the list follows - the birds seen on the 3RBC outing to Ohio for 2009.
—compiled by Joan Tague

Participants - 57

Bird List for 2009 Magee Marsh Trip

Total Species - 183

Canada Goose	Rock Pigeon	Golden-winged Warbler
Mute Swan	Mourning Dove	Tennessee Warbler
Tundra Swan	Black-billed Cuckoo	Orange-crowned Warbler
Trumpeter Swan	Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Nashville Warbler
Wood Duck	Eastern Screech-Owl	Northern Parula
Gadwall	Great Horned Owl	Yellow Warbler
American Black Duck	Common Nighthawk	Chestnut-sided Warbler
Mallard	Whip-poor-will	Magnolia Warbler
Blue-winged Teal	Chimney Swift	Cape May Warbler
Northern Shoveler	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Black-throated Blue Warbler
Green-winged Teal	Belted Kingfisher	Yellow-rumped Warbler
Hooded Merganser	Red-headed Woodpecker	Black-throated Green Warbler
Ruddy Duck	Red-bellied Woodpecker	Blackburnian Warbler
Wild Turkey	Downy Woodpecker	Yellow-throated Warbler
Pied-billed Grebe	Hairy Woodpecker	Pine Warbler
Double-crested Cormorant	Northern Flicker	Prairie Warbler
American Bittern	Pileated Woodpecker	Palm Warbler
Least Bittern	Eastern Wood-Pewee	Bay-breasted Warbler
Great Blue Heron	Willow Flycatcher	Blackpoll Warbler
Great Egret	Least Flycatcher	Cerulean Warbler
Snowy Egret	Eastern Phoebe	Black-and-white Warbler
Little Blue Heron	Great Crested Flycatcher	American Redstart
Green Heron	Eastern Kingbird	Prothonotary Warbler
Black-crowned Night-Heron	White-eyed Vireo	Ovenbird
Turkey Vulture	Yellow-throated Vireo	Northern Waterthrush
Osprey	Blue-headed Vireo	Kentucky Warbler
Bald Eagle	Warbling Vireo	Mourning Warbler
Northern Harrier	Philadelphia Vireo	Common Yellowthroat
Cooper's Hawk	Red-eyed Vireo	Hooded Warbler
Red-shouldered Hawk	Blue Jay	Wilson's Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk	American Crow	Canada Warbler
American Kestrel	Horned Lark	Yellow-breasted Chat
Merlin	Purple Martin	Summer Tanager
Peregrine Falcon	Tree Swallow	Scarlet Tanager
King Rail	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Eastern Towhee
Sora	Bank Swallow	Chipping Sparrow
Common Moorhen	Cliff Swallow	Clay-colored Sparrow
American Coot	Barn Swallow	Field Sparrow
Sandhill Crane	Black-capped Chickadee	Lark Sparrow
Black-bellied Plover	Tufted Titmouse	Savannah Sparrow
Semipalmated Plover	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Song Sparrow
Killdeer	White-breasted Nuthatch	Lincoln's Sparrow
Greater Yellowlegs	Carolina Wren	Swamp Sparrow
Lesser Yellowlegs	House Wren	White-throated Sparrow
Solitary Sandpiper	Winter Wren	White-crowned Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Northern Cardinal
Ruddy Turnstone	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Semipalmated Sandpiper	Eastern Bluebird	Indigo Bunting
Least Sandpiper	Veery	Bobolink
Dunlin	Gray-cheeked Thrush	Red-winged Blackbird
Short-billed Dowitcher	Swainson's Thrush	Eastern Meadowlark
Wilson's Snipe	Hermit Thrush	Yellow-headed Blackbird
American Woodcock	Wood Thrush	Rusty Blackbird
Wilson's Phalarope	American Robin	Common Grackle
Laughing Gull	Gray Catbird	Brown-headed Cowbird
Ring-billed Gull	Northern Mockingbird	Orchard Oriole
Herring Gull	Brown Thrasher	Baltimore Oriol
Bonaparte’s Gull	European Starling	House Finch
Caspian Tern	American Pipit	Pine Siskin
Common Tern	Cedar Waxwing	American Goldfinch
Black Tern	Blue-winged Warbler	House Sparrow

Jack and Sue Solomon - Magee Marsh Trip report

We look forward to our annual pilgrimage to Magee Marsh, in Ohio, every spring. It’s a magical place where swarms of migrating warblers, vireo, and thrushes stop to rest and refuel before flying over Lake Erie to their boreal forest nesting grounds. Males arrive first in their bright mating plumages of red, orange and yellow, with accents of black and white. They dart from branch to branch, seeking caterpillars and fly-catching for midges. Rated by Birdwatchers’ Digest as one of the ten best places to bird for the spring migration, this year’s trip was rated great by the 60 (or so) 3RBC members who were there for at least part of our outing.

Joan arrived early and birded in her avian study hall, matching the Orange-crowned Warbler’s few marks to his otherwise bland appearance. Her Hermit Thrush was a seen-by-one-person-only in our total tally of 183. On a “low” day she saw 18 warbler species but low numbers. I saw the single reported Laughing Gull because he flew over the “Big Sit” post on Migration Count Day (May 9). Margie saw the only Bonaparte’s Gull on her way home, May 15. So if you go to Magee, don’t always expect to see 183 species. Even 89 year old Grandma Mary hiked the half mile boardwalk in two hours and enjoyed seeing 10 warbler species, and her favorite -- Baltimore Oriole.

When asked which bird he favored, Nader’s little boy replied, “I liked the snake.” The Eastern Fox Snake and the rare Blanding’s Turtle basked along the canal where an Amish birder found one of the first Mourning Warblers playing hide and seek in the alder shrubs. A throng of birders soon appeared to catch a first sighting. Kim Kaufmann reported more magnolias banded this year. Their black and gold colors remind me of the Super Bowl winning Steelers. Ken Kaufmann lectured on consecutive Fridays to Benefit the Ohio young birders organization. A dozen of us attended the informative PowerPoint presentation in Port Clinton. He illustrated the birds’ migrating pathways and Magee Marsh’s prime geographical location. [Click here for Lori Bruns’s story ].

We held two group dinners, one at the Garden and the other at McCarthy’s, where perch and walleye are local specialties. Sports bars willing to televise Penguins playoff games were difficult to find. This year, Tropical Birding tropicalbirding.com tour guides led two walks daily on the boardwalk, complete with a green laser to help us find the target bird. Even Yellow-billed Cuckoos can be well camouflaged. They put a scope on the two Eastern Screech Owls (one gray and one red phase) that perched adjacent to each other over the boardwalk, daily. I saw my only Yellow-headed Blackbirds through their scope on a pickup truck bed at Ottowa National Wildlife Refuge. A former Pittsburgh birder, Ken Behrens, works in South Africa as a guide for Tropical Birding. A shorebird outing left daily from the Black Swamp bird Observatory and a Wilson’s Phalarope was almost guaranteed. Jack and Joan also guided some of our 20 or so newcomers , but the Tropical Birders were cute and had delightful British accents. All the newcomers vowed to come again next year. We meet birders from as far as California and Florida every year. It’s like a club that anyone can join.

The Migration Day weekend can be very crowded, but also offers bird banding stations and vendors selling top-notch scopes and binoculars. It’s also the time when the birds are most numerous and of various species. Black Swamp Bird Observatory also sold lunches and snacks. The Sportsmen’s Migratory Bird Center sold coffee and donuts. Most of our group usually picnics by the boardwalk. The full list of 183 species, including 33 warblers, is above. Maybe next year we’ll stay long enough to see the Connecticut’s and Kirtland’s warblers that we missed this year. For those who missed the trip and those who want to relive it, there’s a link on the 3RBC web site to Chuck Tague’s photo essay. -by Sue Solomon

Kenn Kaufman Lecture on Patterns of Bird Migration

A number of TRBC members attended a special lecture by Kenn Kaufman as part of their Crane Creek/Magee Marsh visit. Kaufman demonstrated that birding migration routes are much more complex than the traditional understanding of four north-south flyways. These complex paths are shaped by geography, wind direction and availability of food for the migrants. The routes taken by birds flying north may differ from the routes of these same birds flying south.

Why don’t the birds that spend the winter months in Central and South America migrate south instead of north? Kaufman’s answer was that the land mass of northern North America is much greater than that of southern South America, therefore presenting many more food sources and opportunities for nesting without competition.

In general, many birds spread out to breed across the entire breadth of northern Canada and Alaska. When migrating south, most groups converge eastwards towards the Atlantic Ocean. If these birds were to fly directly south from western or central Canada, these birds would complete their journey in the Pacific. (South America is east of North America!)

Some groups converge near the Chesapeake Bay and then continue to Mexico, Central and South America over the ocean. Blackpoll warblers, for example, may migrate 8000 miles one way from Canada to as far south as Brazil - including three days flying non-stop over the Atlantic Ocean.

Other groups of birds funnel towards Florida, but then follow alternative routes south. Some cross the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to South America, others cross the shorter span from Florida to the Yucatan and then follow the coast southwards, while still others follow the coasts all of the way to Central and South America, avoiding crossing long stretches of open water.

In the West, Rufous Hummingbirds follow narrow routes shaped by the availability of food. Their migration north follows the blooming of desert flowers; their migration south follows the blooming of flowers east of the mountains.

Fees paid by attendees at the lecture support programs for young birders offered by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. See http://birdingwithkennandkim.blogspot.com/ and http://bsbobird.org for information about Observatory activities. See also http://www.rarebird.org – Black Swamp Bird Observatory Updates for daily notes from Kenn Kaufman on sightings in the area.

Additional migration information is available at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/migratio/routes.htm.

Contributed by Lori Bruns

Saturday May 9 - Buttermilk Hill Nature Sanctuary

The first thing you notice about Jerry Stanley and Kathie Goodblood's log house at Buttermilk Hill Nature Sanctuary in Venango County are the bird feeders attracting rose-breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, chipping , field, and white-crowned sparrows, indigo buntings, all kinds of woodpeckers, and ruby-throated hummingbirds, along with more garden variety birds, such as goldfinches, robins, chickadees, and more. Six birders met with the couple on the overcast, dreary morning of a day that improved with every passing hour. Even the walk up to the house from our car showed promise as a catbird sang, a common yellowthroat appeared, and tree swallows buzzed around.

Jerry, an accomplished birder, led the group through their property as he heard and then pointed out birds. First up was a Nashville warbler not 100 feet from the house. As our path wound down the hill from the house to French Creek, a vertical drop of 500 feet, habitat and species changed. The thick trees near the top produced many warblers including hooded, magnolia, black-throated green, yellow-rumped, and American redstart. Jerry excitedly found a morel growing along our route. As we descended the trees were taller, and cerulean warblers and red-eyed vireos dominated. Under foot we also encountered red efts, the juvenile stage of red-spotted newts, and two inch long millipedes. At a bend in the road next to a tree bearing a beautiful scarlet tanager, we spotted a porcupine grooming itself in another tree.

As the group reached the bottom of the hill and French Creek, we encountered a little used railroad track which became our highway. Immediately two common mergansers flew up the river. Kathie heard a ruffed grouse thumping nearby, and new birds started appearing. We got great views of a yellow-throated vireo and a Louisiana waterthrush along the track; we even watched a vireo steal nesting material from a nest on one side of the tracks to take to its nest on the other side. (Moving on up?) A happy sighting was a pileated woodpecker nest with a youngster peeking out. Other waterfowl included three great blue herons, a pair of wood ducks, and a spotted sandpiper. Raptors overhead were turkey vultures, some red-tailed hawks, and a bald eagle. On an island in the river we watched soft-shelled turtles sunning themselves. As to flora, Jerry discovered a new cache of dryad's saddle mushrooms along the bank, and the couple also pointed out a crop of fiddle head ferns on the shore.

Jerry thought ahead and did not make us climb back up the hill, but had parked a vehicle down below in which we rode back up to the house. By now the wind was howling up on top, so the couple graciously invited us into their home to eat our lunches. As an extra treat Kathie let us sample some fiddle head ferns she cooked up, and Jerry passed out fresh, uncooked asparagus from their garden.

The final show came as we left. An eastern kingbird seemed to be hanging around the house, and we found out why. The kingbird flew from a tree near the house, almost diving at us, but suddenly snatched a flying carpenter beetle right in midair above us. The beetles had been buzzing in the leeward side of the house. Spectacular!-by participant Tom Moeller

Species List:

Canada Goose	Red-eyed Vireo	Black-throated Green Warbler
Wood Duck	Blue Jay	Yellow-throated Warbler
Common Merganser	American Crow	Cerulean Warbler
Ruffed Grouse	Tree Swallow	Black-and-White Warbler
Great Blue Heron	Barn Swallow	American Redstart
Turkey Vulture	Black-capped Chickadee	Louisiana Waterthrush
Bald Eagle	Tufted Titmouse	Common Yellowthroat
Red-tailed Hawk	White-breasted Nuthatch	Hooded Warbler
Spotted Sandpiper	Carolina Wren	Scarlet Tanager
Mourning Dove	Winter Wren	Eastern Towhee
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	Chipping Sparrow
Belted Kingfisher	Eastern Bluebird	Field Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Wood Thrush	Song Sparrow
Downy Woodpecker	American Robin	White-crowned Sparrow
Hairy Woodpecker	Gray Catbird	Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker	Blue-winged Warbler	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pileated Woodpecker	Nashville Warbler	Indigo Bunting
Least Flycatcher	Northern Parula	Brown-headed Cowbird
Great Crested Flycatcher	Yellow Warbler	Baltimore Oriole
Eastern Kingbird	Magnolia Warbler	American Goldfinch
Yellow-throated Vireo	Yellow-rumped Warbler

Friday May 15 - Sewickley Heights Borough Park

Fourteen birders, including two home-schooled siblings ages 12 and 9, gathered on a gorgeous Friday morning to explore Sewickley Heights Park and the surrounding area bordering Little Sewickley Creek.

At first it seemed we would do more birding by ear than by sight as the group listened to the songs and calls of a Wood Thrush, an Ovenbird, a House Wren, and a Red-eyed Vireo. While walking on Butterfly Trail a Yellow-billed Cuckoo suddenly flew into view and perched in a tree right beside the trail. Seconds later it was joined by another yellow-billed. The meadow was rather slow with only sightings of an Eastern Bluebird and an Indigo Bunting.

The gravel road and Pipeline Trail provided the best action for warblers. Black and White, a Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Hooded, an American Redstart, and a Magnolia were spotted flitting through the tree canopy. Scarlet Tanagers and vireos seemed to be in good numbers as many were heard and some seen, including a Blue-headed Vireo. An Eastern Towhee was coaxed out of hiding with a recording to give one of the youngsters his life bird.

Our search for migrants continued at Walker Park. The reliable Little Sewickley Creek standbys were soon discovered: Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Phoebes, a Warbling Vireo, Chipping Sparrows, and a Pileated Woodpecker. One entertaining scene was provided by six male Brown-headed Cowbirds as they tried to attract the attention of a female cowbird. The female kept foraging in the grass and seemed oblivious to the males.

At Pontefrac Park a first of season sighting was made of a solitary Cedar Waxwing. Playing back the song of a Yellow-throated Warbler lured this bird onto a low hanging branch and gave birders a stunning view. As the group left the park, two circling raptors sharing a thermal of air were discovered. At first the birds were both thought to be Red-tailed Hawks, but one sharp-eyed birder noticed the white-crescent shaped "window" on the wings of one of the buteos. Thanks to Bob Machesney for correctly identifying the Red-shouldered Hawk. Yellow Warblers were plentiful at the Edgeworth Dump. A check of the Ohio River revealed Herring Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants.

Two remaining birders made a final stop back along Little Sewickley Creek to walk the Creek Trail. An Acadian Flycatcher was heard and eventually sighted bringing the day's species total to 57. Although the warbler count was somewhat low, Sewickley Heights is still a good birding destination during migration. Just ask the two young birders who couldn't wait to get home to look up the birds they saw.-by leader Bob VanNewkirk

Species List:

Cormorant, Double Crested	Vireo, Red-eyed	Warbler, Black-throated Blue
Vulture, Turkey	Jay, Blue	Warbler, Black-throated Green
Goose, Canada	Crow, American	Warbler, Yellow-throated
Mallard	Swallow, No. Rough-winged	Warbler, Black-and White
Hawk, Red-shouldered	Swallow, Barn	Redstart, American
Hawk, Red-tailed	Chickadee, Carolina	Ovenbird
Gull, Herring	Titmouse, Tufted	Warbler, Hooded
Dove, Mourning	Nuthatch, White-breasted	Tanager, Scarlet
Cuckoo, Black-billed	Wren, Carolina	Towhee, Eastern
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed	Wren, House	Sparrow, Chipping
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated	Bluebird, Eastern	Sparrow, Song
Woodpecker, Red-bellied	Thrush, Wood	Cardinal, Northern
Robin, American	Catbird, Gray	Grosbeak, Rose-breasted
Woodpecker, Downy	Starling, European	Bunting, Indigo
Woodpecker, Pileated	Waxwing, Cedar	Grackle, Common
Wood-Pewee, Eastern	Warbler, Yellow	Cowbird, Brown-headed
Flycatcher, Acadian	Warbler, Chestnut-sided	Oriole, Baltimore
Phoebe, Eastern	Warbler, Magnolia	Goldfinch, American
Vireo, Blue-headed	Vireo, Warbling	Sparrow, House

Sunday May 17 - Harrison Hills

It was unseasonably cool, cloudy, and windy, not a good set of conditions for an outing. Regardless, 21 birders showed up, expecting to see some great birds at Harrison Hills.

Migrants were few and far between. Only 11 warbler species were tallied, most of them breeding birds. 10 Cerulean Warblers were heard, but none seen due to the wind. After several frustrating attempts, both Kentucky and Hooded Warblers put on a nice show for everyone in the group. Most common bird in the park was the Red-eyed Vireo, heard everywhere we went except for the open fields. At least 40 were seen or heard. Two were seen low in shrubs, providing excellent views for this tree top species. The second most common bird was Scarlet Tanager, with at least twelve seen or heard. Other warblers included Nashville, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, American Redstart, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, and a brief glimpse of a Canada Warbler. A calling Great Crested Flycatcher was my first one at Harrison Hills in several years. He immediately shut up when both a Red-tailed Hawk and a Sharp-shinned Hawk soared close overhead.

The fields yielded an impressive count of ten Eastern Bluebirds (including two speckled fledglings), six Tree Swallows, and three Eastern Kingbirds. As the clouds cleared and the temperatures warmed, the birds became more active, just before the end of the outing. Still, we had 58 species despite the wind and cool, cloudy weather.- by leader Jim Valimont

Thursday, May 21 Nichol Road, Raccoon Creek State Park

The weather promised a perfect day for a walk in the woods. Eight intrepid birders and one dog assembled at the park office at 7:00AM and were immediately distracted by the songs in the parking lot. Cerulean Warblers, a Yellow-throated Vireo and a Great–crested Flycatcher demanded and received our attention and delayed our departure to Nichol Road.

We started down shady Nichol Road around 8:30AM. Eastern Wood-Peewee greeted us by the gate. Hooded Warblers and Ovenbirds sang all along the road. A Wood Thrush peeked at us from the brush. Indigo Buntings were brilliant in the morning sun. We turned off of the road into the field by the Outdoor Center. Common Yellowthroats, Tree Swallows and Baltimore Orioles moved around us. We were surprised to find newly fledged Eastern Bluebirds calling for their parents, who frantically tried to distract us. A little further along we watched a Blue-winged Warbler patrol his territory. Leaving the field, we walked to the bottom of the hill to the wetland area, watching Scarlet Tanagers and Brown Thrashers along the way. Then we proceeded back to the parking lot.

I promised a side trip to Pitch Pine Trail and at the parking lot, I asked if anyone still wanted to go there. I was hoping that everyone wanted to go home. It was getting hot and I was sure that I had picked up a tick or two and I wanted to attend to that. Turned out I had one taker. “Follow me.” I said and we were off. The gameland road was dusty and the heat had built by the time we arrived. When did it turn into summer? I looked forward to getting under the shade of the pines.

After passing the White-eyed Vireo and just before the pines, a Ruffed Grouse scurried off the side of the trail into the brush. It was not the usual grouse explosion, but rather a furtive move out of our way. The grouse then sat out of sight and began to cluck. Around our feet, little chicks jumped up and ran to the call. We were enthralled. Being a girl, all I could say was “They’re so cute!” Immediately, we noticed marauding Bluejays flying overhead. We stayed near until the chicks were back under the hen’s protecting wings. The pines yielded many Red-breasted Nuthatches and Blue-headed Vireos.

Species count for the day was 53. The lesson for the day was that persistence pays off. - By trip leader Joan Tague