A Birder's Life for Me.

Fresh off a natural high from the Biggest Week in American Birding, here is an effort to encapsulate a week-plus of birding.  A special thanks to Rob Ripma and Lester Peyton for allowing me to drive and guide birders on behalf of B.S.B.O. 

Blackburnian Warbler. 
Once you have seen this bird, you are hopelessly hooked.

There are a hundred reasons to love this event!  We meet the neatest people and go to the best birding locations. Sure, you may hear how crowded the boardwalk at Magee Marsh is getting, but we take folks away from the boardwalk at Magee.  We know twenty other cool places to bird, and many of them have incredible warblers like this Blackburnian warbler!  In fact, many of our locations are private areas and you only get in to see them with a Biggest Week Tour.

Bird-in-your-hand birding. Crazy stuff!!!
Photo provided by Julia Plummer.

Take this location for example:The Arnold property.  We had a lovely time birding around the diked wetland, often seeing Wood Ducks and warblers.  The Yellows and Common Yellowthroats were everywhere! Can you imaging be tired of warblers?!

Then, in swoops  Scruffy the Black-capped Chickadee. The property owners, Robin and Gena, have the little guy trained to take seeds from hand.  Imagine how exited folks from California were to see this! Black-capped Chickadees were a life bird for them one day, and the next day we are posing with a chickadee perched on our hand!  Mind. Blown.

American Redstart at Pipe Creek Wildlife Area

We visit other locations, which are well-known and well-loved.  Pipe Creek Wildlife Area in Sandusky, Ohio has a long history of providing rarities.  The warblers were dripping off the trees the morning we birded at Pipe Creek!   Our guide, Tim, also has a knack for working the Soras! Good birding doesn't only happen at Magee.

The Erie County trip with Tim Jasinski  (far right.)

Meeting people, learning from other guides, enjoying the great outdoors, oh yeah, and birds.  Every day was different, every trip was wonderful!   And when the birding was slow, patrons were likely to get introduced to some local plants! 

New friends from New Mexico: 
Roberta Winchester (almost my twin!) and Linda Rockwell.

Much of the Biggest Week is about seeing friends, old and new.  My long time friends Hugh Rose and Judy Kolo-Rose put me up (and put up with me) for the whole week!  They should get extra hugs from everyone in the birding community that knows them.  They have also been sharing their knowledge and teaching others about birds for many years as well!  We birders love to share.

It is also about sharing our love of Ohio's special places with travelers.  I couldn't wait to get my friends from New Mexico on some gorgeous birds at Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve in Huron, Ohio. One can hardly believe that few minutes after I took this shot, it started to snow in mid-May! Agh, Mother Nature, give us a break.

Red-headed Woodpecker

It is not all about warblers.  This Red-headed Woodpecker (a non-migrant) made a huge impression as well. Even common-to-us birds, like Blue Jays are often a life bird to the visitors from the west coast. All of these birds are exciting and a part of our bigger ecosystem 

Whether you are a new birder or some jaded, old life-lister, the Biggest Week had something for everybody: Curlew Sandpiper, Whip-poor-wil in your face, Kirtland's Warbler! 

The Biggest Week in American Birding: Come for the birds,  stay for the love.    

Hi-diddle-dee-dee. It is a birder's life for me!

Birding Ohio at Pipe Creek

Social Media meet birding, in a big way.  All across Ohio birders came out to share their interests and learn from one another. We made new friends, promoted birds and birding with "the Pledge to Fledge."  

OOS had a group meeting up at Hoover Reservoir and a bumper crop of Buff-breasted Sandpipers. Toledo Naturalists' Association, Ottawa Refuge and Magee Marsh Wildlife also had fabulous events to encourage new birders and old birders who love to bird!  Don't you love it when a plan comes together?  

 The Birding Ohio Facebook group gathered at Pipe Creek in Sandusky, Ohio. We met up at McDonald's (join Facebook page  here to see the photo of the full group.)

Greg Miller (center).

I came along for the ride with my buddy Greg Miller. He is a wonderful bird mentor and a great friend.  Yes, I knew Greg (in the pre-Jack Black days) before he was rich and famous... well, OK, famous.  He is a great guy and we love talking politics. We may see things from different perspectives, but we have intelligent conversation- which puts us way ahead of either of our political parties!

Kim and Kenn Kaufman ready to BIRD!

The Birding Ohio group arranged several great guides for this trip, including Kim and Kenn Kaufman. Kim was quick to claim she is no shorebird pro, but Kenn has it covered.  Kenn is a wonderfully patient teacher and if you weren't able to join us on this trip, I encourage you to buy the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding.  Carry Kenn in your pocket!  Or better yet, pull him out of your pocket and read the chapter on shorebirds.  He will help you make sense of these madly, confusing birds.  He generously allows that shorebirds- with all of their various plumages- are a challenge!

So the beginners got to see their first Dowitchers, and we intermediates felt better about not knowing if they were Long-bill or Short-billed Dowitchers.  Greg led us through the process of looking at their back-ends for the barred feather patterns.

We were working it!  Photographers, birders and general naturalists were on a Pipe Creek free-for all.

If you are like me and the intense study of plumage is not your main interest, the beauty of this wetland provided many other opportunities for enjoyment. Numerous Great Blue Herons and a two Little Blue Herons worked the shoreline next to a Snowy Egret. A Great Egret and Red-necked Phalaropes also put on quite the show.  That white speck in the center of the photo is a female Phal in outstanding plumage.  These birds who feed by swimming in crazy, erratic circles are standouts among the shorebirds and easy to share with beginners.

Habitat wise, the flowering Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is an invasive species which degrades wetlands, but it was handy for the butterflies and pollinators utilizing it.  Scanning across the wetlands with binoculars provided an endless supply of dragonflies, bees, and butterflies to discover.

How can we tell this is a Bull Frog?

Wetlands and frogs, beautiful things.  Frogs make tasty food for the herons, who don't even care if this is a bull frog or green frog.  However, we know it is a bull frog because it lacks the dorsal lateral folds on its back.  See that smooth back- no lines?  That is a bull frog my friend.   Or shall I say, "That is a bull frog, my friend!"?

Thanks again to the Birding Ohio folks and all the friends who made this day special!