David's Hamilton County Big Year 2018

March 29, 2018 Many Double-crested Cormorants and an Osprey were reported this week at Newtown Gravel Pits. I quickly found a cormorant on the water. Score! But try as I might, I was unable to locate an Osprey. A strange thing happened however. I witnessed the electrocution death of a Canada Goose as a flock of five flew low through the power lines and one made contact with the wires in flight, closing a circuit with its wings and/or feet or body and tumbling down to its death below. Nearby Brewer Coat Gravel Pit (the area I had previously reported as Lake Barber) has always been good for waterfowl and has better viewing conditions of birds that are often close. Several species of waterfowl, plus loons, grebes and coots were on the water. Nothing new. In other parts of the state Eared Grebes have been reported and it would be a nice addition. In years past we have enjoyed Red-necked Grebe invasions. Red-throated Loon would also be a nice rarity. Brewer Coat Gravel Pits seems as goo...

March 28, 2018 I visited Lost Bridge mudflats where I have seen several Great Egrets in recent years and, after seeing a report of a flyover at Fernald Preserve, I was prompted to seek them in the most reliable place, in my experience, in Hamilton county. I had identified 9 Wood Ducks (flyovers), 11 Blue-winged Teal, 4 Mallards, 12 Lesser Scaup, 8 Bufflehead, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Great Blue Herons and 2 Horned Grebes at the flats before a very dense, heavy fog settled in and I was unable to see the birds on the water and the flats anymore. I decided to go across the bridge to turn around and the pull off at Miamiview Road when I looked to my left and there they were! Five Great Egrets were sitting in a tree just east of the bridge. Great Egret is #115 for the year.

March 27, 2018 A sure harbinger of spring is the arrival of the Barn Swallow. Many Tree Swallows have already been frequenting the area's waters. I visited California Golf Course where I found 31 Red-breasted Mergansers on one of the lakes. As I was enjoying watching the mergansers, a Barn Swallow made a grand entrance over the water right in front of me! Yippee! Barn Swallow is #114 for the year.

March 26, 2018 Several Wilson's Snipe were recently reported at Kilby Road flooded fields between U.S. 50 and I-275. I quickly found them foraging in the field close to the road from the car, but finding a pull off was difficult. I found small gravel road near the railroad tracks on the opposite side of the road, near a bend. I cautiously walked across the road along the guard rail to confirm 11 Wilson's Snipe in the field. County year nemesis no more! Next I visited nearby Lost Bridge mudflats where Double-crested Cormorants and Bonaparte's Gulls had been reported. I found 5 Bonaparte's Gulls here and stayed as late as possible hoping that the cormorants would come in but they did not. However, another target that had yet to be reported at this location were two male Blue-winged Teal. A pleasant surprise. This species completes my sweep of expected waterfowl in our area. Any other waterfowl additions would be rarities. New additions today: Wilson's Snipe, Bon...

March 23, 2018 Chippies, as my great aunt used to call them, are back in Cincinnati. On my way home from work I made an impromptu decision to pull into Old St. Joseph Cemetery where I expected to find them. I've seen Chippies in cemeteries many times, so I figured it is as good a place as any to look. I didn't take long before I heard one singing. Already this year I had found a Pine Warbler at Mitchell Memorial Forest and Dark-eyed Juncos have been singing in my neighborhood. Both of these birds sound superficially similar to the Chipping Sparrow, but the Chippie has a drier, more monotone song than these two. The Pine Warbler's song was easily recognized as sweeter, more musical. The Dark-eyed Junco's song seems to be somewhat in between the Chipping Sparrow and Pine Warbler in terms of dryness and musical quality. The Chippie was seen on the ground eating grass seeds from the growing stems, and another was heard in a nearby tree. After changing from my work clot...

Although not rare in March in Hamilton County, Ohio, it was still thrilling to add three species to my county year list on Monday March 19th. My first stop was a Kilby Road Gravel Pits where Common Loon is usually reliable in the right season. It was a target bird and the reason for my visit there. As I scanned the water, the first waterbird I found on the water after the usual Canada Geese was a single Common Loon which later I was unable to relocate after scoping six female Red-breasted Mergansers, two pair of American Wigeon with a male Lesser Scaup swimming with them. The reason for being unable to relocate the loon was made evident very quickly when it flew over my head and, assuming it was the same bird circling the lake, flew over my head a second time, this time lower and more directly, enabling me to get this photo. My next stop was Miami Whitewater Forest. My plan was to search for Eastern Phoebe at the restrooms in Bowle's Woods area where they have nested in past y...

Twenty Tree Swallows over rafts of Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks that were frequently scared into the air by a subadult Bald Eagle. Tree Swallow is #105 for county year list.

When I set out to go birding on Monday March 5, 2018, I didn't know what I might find. Some target birds included Wilson's Snipe, Eastern Phoebe and possibly a vagrant waterbird such as Eurasian Wigeon, a species which has been reported in the norther tier of the state this month. As I birded Fernald I had discovered several species of birds, including many species of waterfowl, all of which I've seen already this year. I scanned carefully in a loose raft of American Wigeons for an Eurasian, but none were found. The last time I saw what I thought was an Eurasian Wigeon at Fernald turned out to be a hybrid American X Eurasian Wigeon in 2014. No luck with rarities or the more expected snipe and phoebe. However, on my way out of Fernald, as I drove past Lodge Pond, I saw a rich orange buff ball of fluff by the side of the road. Quickly recognizing this as an American Woodcock, I backed the car up slowly to view it and remembered that I had the camera in the seat next to me so ...