The Holy Grail of Ohio Rails

Birds in the family Rallidae, or rails, are notoriously secretive. They live and breed in wetlands, a habitat which is difficult to bird.  Scientists and hunters who frequent the marshes during fall migration tell me they are numerous.  So why are they so hard for birders to see?

King Rail at Glacier Ridge, photo by Bruce Miller.

Birders are willing to travel many miles and stand for hours for an opportunity to see a King Rail in Ohio.  Are King Rails that rare, or are they just difficult for the novice to find?  Since rails are generally limited to wetlands, and Ohio has lost 90-93% of our wetlands, would it be surprising if rail populations are also limited?

BSBO's Mark Shieldcastle with King and Virginia Rails in hand.
 Photo by Hugh Rose.

The best way for a birder to see more rails, is to support the scientific endeavors to study them. Black Swamp Bird Observatory has been conducting studies on rails in the Lake Erie Marsh for many years.  Biologist Mark Shieldcastle will be telling the story of BSBO's study during the Fall "Rally for Rails" being held in Lakeside.

King Rail outfitted with transponder. Photo courtesy of Winous Point.

 A very large King Rail study has been going on at Winous Point Marsh Conservancy.  Transmitters have been attached to King Rails to help scientists better understand their migratory movements, life history- and possibly shed light on the sheer numbers of their population.

This Virginia Rail was a re-capture, already outfitted with a transmitter.

 The Soras and Virginia Rails are outfitted with a much less expensive transmitter that helps to track their localized movements within the marsh.  This helps the team understand preferred habitats and life history while present in Ohio's marshes.

John Simpson examines a recently captured Sora.

 These scientists at Winous Point take their jobs very seriously.  The birds are treated with the utmost care while being weighed, measured and fitted with tracking devices. Good information is reliant upon healthy and normally functioning birds.  The primary goal is to gather information with the least disturbance to the population.

A closer look at the Sora.

 Soras are one of Ohio's more abundant rails.  Other better known Rallidae, or at least one more frequently seen by birders, are coots and gallinules.  Because King and Virginia Rails are difficult to monitor visually, the tracking devices are providing needed information about those populations.

Oliver Cornet and Brendan Shirkey gently fit a harness on the Sora.

 The transmitters are attached to a harness, much like a micro-backpack.  The biologists gently work the harness onto the bird and double check to assure the bird's wing movement is not restricted.  The bird's feathers settle back around the harness.  The actions and walking gait of a recently "harnessed" bird appear normal and unencumbered.

Brendan adjusts the harness for comfort.

Brendan Shirkey will be sharing more details about the work of Winous Point and the Marsh Conservancy at the Ohio Ornithological Society's "Rally for Rails."  It will be held in conjunction with our fall Annual Meeting in Lakeside, Ohio.  Registration is now on line at http://ohiobirds.org/category/rails/#

Special funds generated by this program for the conservation and study of rails will be directly applied to programs designed to conserve these wonderfully secretive birds.

Not just another pretty Bobolink

This is not just another pretty Bobolink.  Much more than a grassland bird, this is also a symbol of conservation in Ashland County. Once we reveled in the sighting of a few Bobolinks at Byers Woods; now we enjoy a cacophony of the males' burbling song. As many as fifty bobolinks were recently seen fluttering above their grassland gals on the methane mountain* at Byers Woods.

* This grassland is a result of capped landfill mound.

A Bobolinks at Byers Woods....photo by Lisa Rainsong.

Bobolinks at Byers Woods is a little festival the Greater Mohican Audubon Society has been putting on since 2006.  It is a successful blending of teamwork, conservation, education, tourism and a whole lotta fun.  Most of all it is a success story.  Byers Woods is a landfill which has been re-purposed into an Ashland County Park which holds an abundance of wildlife.

Bluebirds tending young in the nest.

Byers Woods is not just for Bobolinks! There are plenty of close-up looks at other birds tending their young.  Many locals go to Byers to look at wildflowers, walk their dogs, or to visit the ponds, and they undoubtedly encounter something new on every visit!

Jim McCormac's group celebrates great looks at a rarity. (photo provided by Jim)

The Bobolink festival increases the odds for nature interaction by providing -at no charge- some of the the best bird guides in Ohio. Jim McCormac is legend for his hearing ability, and no doubt his keen ears led this group to the rare Black-billed Cuckoo hiding out at Byers Woods.

 

Later that morning, Jim regrouped for a second trip, specializing in butterflies and dragonflies.

Jim shared an up close and personal look at a dragonfly. (Photo by Irv Oslin)

Jim is one of Ohio best known and experienced trip leaders. We appreciate all he has done to promote this park from its earliest days, and his willingness to participate at our festival. Jim was the keynote speaker at the very first one.

 

Tim Leslie of the Ashland County Park District (Photo Irv Oslin) 

Plently of Ashland County Park District (ACPD) folks helped too, like trip leader Tim Leslie and Kolleen Crall who made crafts with kids.  The ACPD provides food service, parking help, and tables for the vendors.

I wish I had a photo of all the vendors and displays, as it was wonderful. (You'll notice most of these photo were sent to me; I only had time to snap a few on my phone.)  Bianca Davis handed all the educational displays and vendors this  year, and she and her son Derrick did a magnificent job.  They were the first ones there in the morning and the last Audubon members left folding tents and cleaning up long after the party was over.  A VERY SPECIAL thanks goes out to them!  

Weedpicker Cheryl points out butterflies with Lisa Rainsong. (Photo Irv Oslin)

Music professor, Lisa Rainsong, led our first "Bird Song" trip for this festival.  There have been rave reviews on her abilities as a leader and guide.  Greg Miller and Su Snyder also helped people find Bobolinks  in their spotting scopes.  We appreciate their volunteering as well.

Sure, it is all fun and guides now, but the fact remains, this little festival is a conservation effort in progress.   In the early days, Bobolinks were dying on this field during the annual early summer mowings.  Our efforts to educate the public and raise awareness have resulted in pseudo-sanctuary for grassland birds.  This is why it is important that the Bobolink festival remains free and open to the public.  But to run a festival like this -with tents, banners and top quality leaders- it does take money.   

Fortunately, some folks cared enough about grassland birds to help us raise some funds for the effort.

Michelle Goodman and Cheryl Harner with  Michael Godfrey, videographer from Virginia.
Photo by Randy Harner

Michael Godfrey was gracious enough to show a video and lead a discussion on conservation and climate change and its impact on grassland birds. The audience was charmed by his narrative which included photos from his farm in Virginia.  This special benefit program helped Greater Mohican Audubon Society raise funds to continue our educational efforts at Byers Woods.

Participants enjoyed the benefit held at Gorman Nature Center.

 Thanks to those to joined us for a casual evening and contributed generously to the cause.  We would like to especially acknowledge the support of Ohio Ornithological Society, Black Swamp Bird Conservancy and the North Central Ohio Land Trust.  Your generous support has helped us take this festival to the next level.

OOS Conference 2012

Birders and Lakeside- a match made in heaven.  The 2012 Annual Conference of OOS was held in Lakeside, Ohio this weekend and just one of the popular events was a breakfast with the birds.

Sunrise greets the birders at Lakeside, Ohio.  This fabulous breakfast was a joint effort of  Birding Ohio  Facebook group and OOS. It is good to mingle with fellow birders and share with friends.

Lukas Padegimas and Greg Miller- entertaining birders!

Lukas Padegimas  lead off the Friday evening program with a mind-blowing account of his summer surveying birds near the arctic. He is a young birder you'll want to watch, as he could be our next "Greg Miller!"  

Greg gave some fun commentary during the movie The Big Year. He has been a wonderful ambassador for the birding world and we are very proud he is one of Ohio Ornithological Society's founding board members.

Birding!  Of course, there was birding.  Saturday morning, birders thrilled to the opportunity to bird with Kenn and Kim Kaufman  (foreground-in gray) at Meadowbrook Marsh- a wetland recently conserved by the joint efforts of OOS, Carbon Offset, and Mid-West Birding Symposium.  Black Swamp Land Conservancy is doing the actual land conservation.  Kudos to Danbury Township for its foresight to set aside land for bird (and fish) conservation.

 The Ohio Young Birders will be doing their Big Sit!on this platform at Meadowbrook, and you can go here to donate to that cause.

Kevin Karlson, author of -"Visions: a Photographic Celebration of Birds and Nature"

 Kevin Karlson of Cape May birding fame is a reknown photographer and shorebird expert.  He gave two presentations.

The first,  Saturday mid-morning, was a review of "impressions" of shorebirds.  Forget plumage- Kevin says to look at the body structure of shorebirds to make your ID.  He has us all eager to join him on a beach at Cape May!

His evening keynote address "Visions: a Photographic Celebration of Birds and Nature" was both relaxing and inspiring at the same time.  His book is going on the top of my Christmas list!  (Did you read that, family?)

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, the location of our well-attended shore bird trip.
We are fortunate to have the largest area of wetlands in the entire state of Ohio as an active partner.  

Jason Lewis, Director at Ottawa is a powerful ally for birds (and butterflies!)  He has made the refuge more accessible and allowed great folks like Rebecca Hinkle, Sherrie Duris, Tom Bartlett  and others to lead educational trips into otherwise unavailable areas.  We appreciate this generous cooperation.

Native botany at Ottawa

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge has a beautiful native garden filled with butterflies and pollinators! The birds "flocked" to this area while the birders enjoyed it during our lunch.  It is an excellent example of native plants in the landscape providing a function along with their form. 

Botany tip of the day:  Did anyone else smell the fragrance of Butterscotch? Those white Heath Aster Symphyotrichum pilosum have a unique fragrance you can use to identify them. Unfortunately, they have so many common names: Heath Aster, Frost Aster, Hairy White Oldfield Aster-you need the scientific name for the sure thing. 

Oh Asters, you just have to be confusing!

Gooseberry, eh?

One of the most fascinating plants on the Point Pelee trips was this Gooseberry. After spending hours in the books, I can officially say I know quite a bit more about the individual species enough to say one thing: YIPES Ribes! These species are maddeningly difficult to key out.

OK, maybe I know two things. Not only does it take a true botanist to sort these bad boys, there are many species around, some of them non-natives. Should we just totally avoid them? I don't think so, but maybe it is OK to just note they are one of the Ribes. They are quite interesting, and provided a great case study in the relationships of birds and flowering plants.


This is the Gooseberry in question from Point Pelee. I am fairly confident it is Bristley Gooseberry, Ribes cynosbati.

However, I am only confident because that is how it is listed on the FLORA of Point Pelee, a handy little list I will take on my next visit to Canada! Click on this and scroll to the bottom of the page for their complete listing.

Note: it may cause some confusion that the list is broken down into monocot and dicots, and Large-flower Bellwort is list as simply "Bellwort."

But why were we so interested in Bristley Gooseberry? Because it was a bird magnet.

This Tennessee Warbler was nectaring on the flowers, entertaining us for the longest time as it popped about acrobatically. A lucky moment finally revealed the tell-tale eye line.

Most of the time, it would have done Dave Lewis proud- only giving us views of its underside.

This Tennessee was not the only bird in this bush, I first started watching this gooseberry when an Orchard Oriole had flown in to sip on the flowers. In the half-hour or so we watched it during lunch, several other species came by for their lunch- including a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Trip leader Dan Donaldson (standing center) called out many species to an appreciative crowd. The gooseberry bush was just beyond this railing where we enjoyed our very birdy lunch.

Thanks to BSBO for scheduling this boat trip to a foreign land, filled with interesting birds and plants. The talented leaders on these trips make it fun to see and savor so many species in a short amount of time. And while the Magee Marsh boardwalk remains a great place to see warblers- and gooseberries- there are plenty of other interesting trips and locations offered at The Biggest Week. I hope you will try a few of them next year.

Thanks to Kim and Delores for allowing me to help BSBO in any little way I could, and a huge tip-of-the-hat to all the fabulous birders and leaders I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with through out the week, especially Greg Miller. And many thanks go to the Tropical Birding guides who helped at least a thousand people see their first Connecticut Warbler!

What an incredible 10 days it has been!