David's Hamilton County Big Year 2018

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 ...

On Monday 2/26 I decided to check out Kilby Road Gravel Pits to see if I could find anything on the water that might be of interest. I have seen recent reports in other parts of the state of Red-necked and Eared Grebes, White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Duck. Only waterbirds I was able to find were one Mute Swan, six Canada Geese, six Red-breasted Mergansers (3 males, 3 females) and three Common Goldeneye (2 males, 1 female). I found a singing Horned Lark in the gravel area and got really good scope views of it with the little ear tufts. Some other horned larks were flying over head but then two different birds with rich buff underparts, short, squarish tails were calling "pip-it, pip-it!" as they flew overhead. American Pipits! These are sometimes hard to come by and this is the way I most often see them, unfortunately. But they still count as #102 for the year! On Wednesday 2/28 I decided to try for Pine Warbler at Mitchell Memorial Forest. I parked at the Pine Meadow Y...

I went to Fernald on Feb 15th in search of Eastern Meadowlarks, a bird that I had trouble finding in January despite regular reports of them there. While scanning the fields and the tops of trees, I spotted a distant meadowlark in the top of a sapling, then heard two more while walking along the access road. Several ducks and geese were taking off and flying directly overhead so as I walked I tried to get some in flight shots. I photographed Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwall and Canada Geese in flight. I walked further and stopped at the viewing platform that overlooks the grassland, searching for sparrows. There were Song and American Tree Sparrows there. Then I heard a high-pitched squeaky goose call and noticed smaller geese flying with Canada Geese. At first I thought they might be Cackling Geese but after snapping a quick photo and zooming in on it on my camera, I discovered they were Greater White-fronted Geese. I counted 21 of them in my photo, although I think there were m...

After much effort to try for 100 species in January and falling short, I finally got a chance to do some birding again on February 12th. I checked St. Rose Church Riverview and Rivertowne Marina for White-winged Scoters, of which there are several reports over the past ten years of this species along Ohio River locations. No such luck among the flotsam of debris in the rising waters. However, I finally found one lone Killdeer (#99) at Rivertowne Marina. Where were they in the whole month of January? Very few ebird reports in January and February so far this year. I viewed and photographed one of the Bald Eagles at Four Season's Marina and noted three Herring Gulls among the multitude of Ring-billed Gulls there. I met Josh Eastlake, one whose name and Facebook posts I have seen often but had hitherto not met. He informed me of Horned Grebes at Lake Barber. That would be a nice bird for my milestone. After a quick check of California Woods Nature Preserve along the way, I headed to L...

When I looked at the Cincinnati bird checklist for January at the beginning of the year, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to reach 100 species in the month for the January 100 Challenge. But after scoring 5 species of geese in one day and getting some very accomodating Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings, I thought it might be possible. The impressive thing about this whole run was, despite bitter cold temperatures that kept most bodies of water frozen or nearly so, I managed to find little patches of open water here and there and eventually sweep all of the expected species of January waterfowl. The only regularly occurring waterfowl species that I'm missing at this point is Blue-winged Teal which I wouldn't expect here until around March. In February my waterbird focus will be on finding scoters, Long-tailed Duck, loons and grebes. I managed to sweep other family groups as well, including all of the expected January diurnal raptors, including all three falcon species, and...

I had already planned to go birding this morning (Saturday 1/27/18) so a little rain wasn't going to stop me. Afterall, I've seen many good birds in the rain, among them my lifer Henslow's Sparrow and Willow Flycatchers, and hoards of Soras and Virginia Rails. I began my morning in the dark driving some back roads to see if I could find Sandhill Cranes in the cornfields before they take off at day break. I also needed to determine where the county line is when Oxford Rd. becomes Race Lane Road at the Hamilton Co./Butler Co. line. There is no county sign marking this boundary, so I had to rely on my Ohio Delorme Atlas & Gazateer. Apparently the county line is shortly after a sharp bend in the road. I also tried for Northern Saw-whet and Eastern Screech-owls using playback. No luck. I initially was going to begin daybreak at Miami Whitewater Wetlands, but I decided to go to Fernald to see if I could get Short-eared Owls at the gate at daybreak. When I arrived, I was s...