Headlands at Dawn

One of greater Cleveland's most noted hot-spots for birds, Headlands Beach ( Mentor, Ohio) was just one of the locations for OOS field trips last weekend.


Northern Saw-whet Owl- photo by Judy Semroc

Near the main entrance to the beach front trail, a Northern Saw-whet Owl was found resting in a tree. These micro-owls, not much larger than a man's fist, are known for daytime napping in grapevine tangles. They can be extremely difficult to locate- even when you know where to look! But once they are found, they seem tolerate the annoying human presence with aplomb.




After sufficient gawking at the owl, our group proceeded to the grass covered sand dunes just beyond the beach. We were in search of warblers and rare sparrows, but we were not above looking at any common species either. While the rest of the group focused on the Eastern Bluebirds, Swamp Sparrows, and a couple of Nashville Warblers, I became more interested in what they were feeding on.

The predominate grass, with arching, fuzzy seed heads, is the state listed Coastal Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium littorale. Any disturbance of the stems sent up a puff of airborne midges- the perfect migrating warbler fuel. As swirling insects were rising with the sunlight and warming temperatures, birds began feeding mid-air.

Want birds? Find their food source. And while botany does not drive midge production, it was certainly providing habitat for them.

Often called "Muffleheads" due to the feathery antennae on the males, these nearly invisible fliers are fascinating if you take a closer look!


Most species of Chironomid midges should be considered beneficials- and do no harm- other than the annoyance they create for some homeowners. They are often listed as bio-indicators, and a measure of a healthy ecosystem, but most of the interesting reading on the fuzzy headed bird-food is produced by agencies promoting means for killing them. I would think you might use ecological controls, like promoting Eastern Bluebirds as a means to control them. However, most publications promote electrocution (bug zappers), poisoning the aquatic nymphs or spraying the adults without impunity.

Kind of makes it hard for a warbler to eek out a living, doesn't it?



Two of the most amazing field trip leaders, Judy Semroc and Larry Rosche clearly understand the connection between nature's gift of insects and our beloved birds. It is not a matter of taking the good with the bad, but rather understanding nature is many things... and beauty can be found even in the life-cycle of a fuzzy-headed midge.

Looking forward to Headlands

OOS' 6th annual Conference is this weekend and I am so looking forward to returning to Mentor Headlands Beach. This is one of Ohio's most scenic birding locations and too good of an opportunity to pass up!


When the beach is this beautiful...

and you are birding beside one of Ohio's historic lighthouses, it is worth the trip. Life is good when you are sharing the day with friends, enjoying some botany and last year- we even saw a "life" mammal!

Harry- the Hairy-tailed mole was skittering around in the beach sand. His fuzzy white tail made for a quick ID. Maybe he just wanted to take in the scenic view as well.

And just a couple miles down the road from the beach you find Wake Robin Trail.

It provides perfect sparrow habitat and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows were seen in numbers here. We got our binoculars trained for several good looks at the skulkers found here last year. That is when we formulated a little Sparrow logic: if is was perched up- it was a Song Sparrow, if it dove down and tucked into the weeds- that was the likely Nelson's.

And what does a sparrow to eat while migrating? Smartweed seeds. Several species of smartweed, including Pennsylvania Polygonum pensylvanicum, Water-pepper Polygonum hydropiper and Arrow-leaved Tearthumb Polygonum sagittatum grow along the boardwalk, providing seeds for the little skulkers.

Another smartweed aficionado, a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar makes good use of the leaves of these same plants.

So whether we get any rare birds this year, or not, it is never a wasted day when we are able to enjoy some of nature's ample offerings. Good birding, and more, to you. Hope to see you at Headlands!