[MDOsprey] MOS Convention/vacation rpt
GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Mon, 24 May 1999 10:31:31 -0400
Howdy All!
Norm and Fran--it was great birding with you Friday afternoon. I only wish
there'd have been more birds!
It was a great pleasure to be able to meet many of you at the convention!
Special thanks to George Jett for a great day listing in Charles County
last Saturday!
Last Sunday I drove 500 miles to Western Lake Erie (between Toledo and
Sandusky). Although I was tired (yes, really!), I managed to drive back to
Crane Creek St Pk and bird the last 3 hrs of the day (5-8pm). My reward?
Killer views of a female Connecticut Warbler! I had 75 species for the
evening including 18 warbler species...not bad.
Monday and Tuesday, 5/17-18, were a real pleasure. I birded a leisurely 14
1/2 hrs both days with little jaunts to other adjacent areas as well.
Tuesday evening I met my birding relatives, my father, Bruce Miller, my
uncle, Jim Miller, and Jim's son Kent Miller (my cousin). We did a family
Big Day along Lake Erie on Wednesday, 5/19. My dad went through heart
surgery a couple years ago and my uncle had knee surgery just this Spring.
Kent and I dragged them around for 14.5 hrs of birding and conservatively,
6 miles of hiking. <grin>
At the end of the day we had tallied 143 species of birds (pretty decent
for the Lake front) and 26 species of warblers. Highlights included a
count of 15 Mourning Warblers on the day, a Stilt Sandpiper (good find in
Ohio in Spring), and a beautiful, dark morph Red-tailed Hawk (all chocolate
with a slightly pinkish tail).
Empids were in good supply with numerous Yellow-bellied Flycatchers at many
locations. Crane Creek was dripping with Magnolia Warblers--they were
everywhere. We started the day at nearby Metzger Marsh where we were
delighted with 3 Yellow-headed Blackbirds. It was the tiny parking area
there that caused the greatest adrenaline rush, though. It's few trees were
chock full of birds. In one small tree in morning sunlight, we saw
Blackburnian, Cape May, Tennessee, Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, and
Yellow Warblers, and Red-eyed, Warbling,
and Philadelphia Vireos! Birds were literally dropping in from out of the
sky! Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Buntings were singing behind us and
Mourning Warblers and Wood Thrushes were singing beside us. What a delight!
For those of you who'd ever like to make the trek someday, here's a list of
places we stopped on Wednesday:
---Mallard Club Marsh (just East of Maumee Bay St Pk) - marsh birds; we had
both Bitterns here, but missed King Rail
---Metzger Marsh (on Rt 2 about 5-6 miles West of Ottawa NWR) - marsh
birds/passerines, nesting locale for Yellow-headed Blackbirds
---Ottawa NWR (just West of Crane Creek St Pk on Rt 2) - formerly, premier
locale for shorebirds; water levels unpredictable now; woodland areas here
still may be the best spot along the Lake for Golden-winged Warblers; we
didn't stop here on Wednesday as it requires more walking...
---Crane Creek St Pk (adjacent to Ottawa NWR) - one of the best Spring
migrant stops in North America; ranks with Pt Pelee, but lacks the nearby
shorebird habitat that Pelee has; has fewer visitors than Pelee, too and
you don't have to ride a tram!
---Pipe Creek WMA (near Huron off Rt 2) - good mudflats this year; has been
good for Piping Plover; Common Terns breed here
---Sheldon Marsh WMA (near Huron off Rt 2) - more good mudflats, thanks to
low levels on Lake Erie; has Tufted Titmouse (rare at Crane Creek!) and
Black-capped Chickadee and several woodpecker species in the woodland
areas; can also be good for passerines
I spent the remainder of the week visiting my family in Holmes County and
shooting pics of some of the 700+ flowers my mom has in the yard--the
flowers were outrageously beautiful...
I shot a bunch of pictures, and a few turned out nicely. I'll scan the
photos and post them tonight or tomorrow.
-Greg Miller
Baltimore, MD