Williams County Ohio Birding through 2005

(Except for CoRd 16/C <--click here for 16/C reports)

2005 2/6/5 Jon & Cindy D. reports SEVEN LONG-EARED OWLS at their usual spot at Lake LaSuAnn. 2/14/516/CSemi-thawed-- 75 Canada Geese, 75 Mallards. The first GRACKLE and COWBIRD of the season. 2/27/5 Lake LaSuAnn Made the annual pilgrimage to see the LONG-EARED OWLS (35 miles away), also running into 26 Wild Turkeys and 10 RedWinged Blackbirds. 4/5/5 Audubon Sanctuary Only wildflower found in my short visit was Harbinger of Spring. Birds were fairly normal (10 BlueWInged Teal, 20 Wood Ducks, Bluebirds, Phoebes, Tree Swallows etc), except for a rail that flushed and flew into the sun, which I presume (based on a deep water marsh and the date) to be a Sora, my first of the year 4/9/5 Dunlap Woods Joined the Black Swamp Audubon Society to tour the Sanctuary here. Lotsa Flickers, a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. Spring Beauty and Purple Cress were new for the season for me, as well as the Red Admiral. Harbinger of Spring and SharpLobed Hepatica were in bloom as well. Also seen: Robin, Crow, WhiteBreasted Nuthatch, Field Sparrow, Turkey Vultures, Killdeer, Song Sparrows, and a pair of RedTailed Hawks. Western Chorus Frogs sang. 4/10/5 Stokely Pond (westernmost) Embarrassed to say that I just saw my first Horned Grebe of the season here, with a pair of RingNecked Ducks, and 2 pairs of Mallards. The easternmost hada about 20 RingNecked Ducks. All four Stokely Ponds had Canada Geese. Sewage Lagoons South was empty, but north had 4 pair of BlueWinged Teal, 3 pairs of Shovelers, 3 pairs of Ruddy Ducks, 2 pairs of RingNecked Ducks, 2 pairs of Mallards. Paulding Reservoir 11 RedBreasted Mergansers, all female, 5 Coots, 5 Gadwall and 3 Bufflehead. Nature Center Canada Geese St Paul Cem Pond Canada Geese Thomas Marsh Mallards, Blue WingedTeal, 2 pairs of GreenWinged Teal, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, and my first Greater Yellowlegs of the year. And from OhioBirds@Envirolink: " Migration continues here as elsewhere. Yesterday, we saw our first flock of Pectoral Sandpipers at the Thomas Wetlands, and this morning my wife spotted a pair of Tundra Swans flying over our place northeast of Antwerp. This is our only April record for this species! Reminds me of the final line of that great ol' Sci Fi movie "The Thing from Outer Space:" "Watch the skies! Keep watching the skies!" Good advice, especially for UFO nuts and birders! Bird long and prosper, Doug & Micki Dunakin, Antwerp, O." 4/12/5 Stryker Jail Inspecting a woodduck house, Denny and I find four Raccoon kittens nursing! 4/17/5 Black Swamp Audubon Sanctuary at Antwerp Home again, pick up two companions and walk the paths: lots of firsts-of-the-year since I've been gone: Catbird, Wilson's Snipe, Barn Swallow, Swamp Sparrow, BlueGray Gnatcatchers, Bloodroot, Toothwort, Spring Beauty, Common Blue and Downy Yellow Violets, Yellow and White Trout-Lily, Sessile Trillium, Early Meadow Rue, Spring Azures, Cabbage Butterflies, Tree Frogs and four-inch Tadpoles! Some I have to go back and check on are Dutchman's Breeches and Kidney-Leaf Buttercup. Other neat stuff included a pretty tame pair of Greater Yellowlegs, lots of Leopard Frogs all around the marsh, five Whitetailed Deer watching us watch them. Even the mundane are so nice Wood Ducks in all the duck boxes (except for one with a Screech Owl in it), BlueWinged Teal, Canada Geese on nests, lots of Tree Swallows, Bluebirds, Phoebes, Robins, Chipping/Field/Song Sparrows, Turkey Vultures. 4/28/5 B50/23.5 A Cooper's Hawk nabs a Horned Lark in an open field!

4/29/5 1 Stryker Jail Denny S. (and the local Cooper's Hawk) spied the returning RedHeaded Woodpeckers. 4/30/5 Black Swamp Antwerp Sanctuary Yellow, Black-and-White, and Palm Warblers, BlueHeaded and Warbling Vireos, RubyCrowned Kinglets <blush> were all new for the season here. Also of note were a YellowBellied Sapsucker, a Belted Kingfisher, Large-Flowered Trillium, Shepherd's Purse, Black and Garlic Mustard, and Swamp Buttercup. 5/2/5 Stryker Jail Parking Lot Pond This tiny pond held lots of Purple Martins and Barn Swallows, and a Solitary Sandpiper which allowed our golf cart close enough access to count the spots on its back. Denny S. had seen two Marsh Wrens here earlier in the day. 5/4/5 Stryker Jail Solitary Sandpiper. A hen Wild Turkey crossing the road leaves an approaching driver boggled! SR576/B50 Pussytoes droop after the heavy frost. 16/C Down to a dozen each Dunlin and Pectoral Sandpipers. Still a Coot, the Ruddy drake, and two DoubleCrested Cormorants. 5/11/5 Stryker Jail My second and third Great Crested Flycatchers are here, another Turkey at 20/C. 6/1/5 Denny S. reports VEERY and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS probably nesting in his yard near SR191/B50. CR B50/C. Bobolinks 6/8/05 Back home again, stumbling upon my first Dickcissel at Williams County's 10/I: Now in bloom are Multiflora Roses, Asiatic Dayflower, Larger Blue Flag and CANADA ANEMONE (at Nettle Lake-- I don't ever remember seeing this one before). 6/10/05 RedHeaded Woodpeckers at the Stryker Jail and B50/SR191--they must be gonna stay to breed. A field full of Dickcissels on County Road D between County Roads 16 and 17, all along the runway at the airport. Williams-DefianceCoLnRd/Wieland A Wood Thrush and a Brown Thrasher by the road, the Thrush singing its beautiful song. Blooming today is Hedge Bindweed (beautiful bloom for such an ugly-behaved plant), Lucern Alfalfa (beautiful hay?), Pasture Rose, Common Mallow, Japanese Honeysuckle, White-top and Daisy Fleabane (ugh). 6/13/05 B50/22 My first Northern Mockingbird of the year. Scott Rd from SR66 to SR15 nothing. 6/15/5 Pat M. sent me a picture of a pair of House Finches at his hummingbird feeder

6/19/05 Jeff Grabmeier on OhioBirds@Envirolink: "I spent this weekend (June 18-19) birding in Williams County, in the far northwestern corner of the state. The birds were seen at Lake Lasuan WA unless marked differently: Dickcissels: I counted six singing males (and there were undoubtedly more) at John Yochum's haunt, the marsh at the intersection of County Roads 16 and C. Also found several on CR H, just west of SR 576. Henslow's sparrows: Found on several areas on CR S. and CR H. Also Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrows at many locations in the county. Osprey: nesting at Lake Lasuan. Red-headed woodpeckers: nesting at Lake Lasuan. Least, Acadian, Willow, Flycatchers, Eastern Wood-peewes, Eastern Kingbirds, and Great-crested Flycathers, Veery and Wood Thrush, White-eyed vireos Warblers: Blue winged, Yellow, Yellow-throated, Cerulean, American Redstart, Prothonotary, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Yellow-breasted Chat -- all nesting at Lake Lasuan.--Jeff Grabmeier Columbus" Denny S. has Mr RoseBreasted Grosbeak bring his fledling to the feeder. 6/21/5 Stryker Jail Denny S. and I watch a YellowBilled Cuckoo. 6/23/5 Stryker Jail Denny S. and I stumble on a Garter Snake with no yellow stripes, but with red-spotted sides. New bloom: Bull Thistle 6/29/05 Pat M. sends a pic of one of his yard babies, a Killdeer:8/22/05 C/B50 A black-headed Vulture by the side of the road-- could it be a Black Vulture? Naw, as the two parent Turkey Vultures fall from the sky to feed their baby. 9/6/5 Stryker Jail A pair of incompatible Phoebes stop in at this unlikely place. 9/7/05 Stryker Jail Lotsa warblers descended on this unlikely place today, but no binoculars! Magnolias for sure! 10/20/05 Stryker Jail Denny S and I stir up an AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 110/25/05 Stryker Jail Denny S and I found lots of migrating birds in just a few minutes-- GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, my first BROWN CREEPERS of the season, mixed in with a Carolina Wren, WhiteBreasted Nuthatches, Titmice, BlackCapped Chickadees, Downy and RedBellied Woodpeckers-- there were too many in one place to get an accurate count of anything. A Cooper's Hawk flew across the road to the woods. Lotsa Bluebirds at B50/CR24. 10/26/5 Stryker Jail Same spot, no birds. The Queen Cooper's Hawk did chase what appeared to be a flock of Starlings, catch a Junco, drop it by the front door and then do that weird angry call from the snag in the parking lot. 10/31/05 Stryker Jail As Denny put it, how appropriate for a Creeper to show up on Halloween. 11/2/05 SR191/US 6 A third-year Bald Eagle was chased by crows to this spot. 16/C Usual Stryker Jail The flocks of Juncos and Goldfinches are gone from yesterday, leaving only the regulars: Carolina Wren, WhiteBreasted Nuthatches, 3 Red Squirrels, Jays, RedBellied and Downy Woodpecker, etc. 11/3/05 16/C Same State Route 576/County Road C Among all the Canada Geese was my first-of-the-year TUNDRA SWAN! 11/4/05 16/C Ditto State Route 576/County Road C SWAN still there. Stryker Jail 2 Creepers and 2 Bluebirds join usuals. SR576/US6 Huge flock of blackbirds here were almost all Starlings, but a small flock of 100 kept to themselves in one corner consisting of RedWinged Blackbirds (juvenile males were great) and a few Cowbirds-- couldn't locate any yellow-eyed ones. Tundra Swan just visible through the locked gates. Still from straight video. 12/11/5 From OhioBirds@Envirolink: "Had about 18 Sandhills flying straight down St. Rt. 576 in Williams County (NW corner of OH) about mid-afternoon Sunday at about 300 ft., maybe looking for a place to land. Tough foraging with nearly a foot of snow on the ground. I should have hopped in the car and followed them to see what they would do, but I didn't. Lach Ohman, Bryan, OH" 12/28/0516/C Mallards and Canada Geese in heavy fog.12/29/05 Stryker Jail The Wild Turkeys and Hera the Cooper's Hawk continue as usual, but the TURKEY VULTURE overhead was new (thanks Denny!). 2004 1/8 State Route 34/WmsCoRd 22.75 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on this busy road. SR191 Stryker 3 Snow Buntings in a horde of Larks. 1/14 Enroute to work unsuccessfully sought owls, but at 22.75/B50 a Red Fox trotted by looking for all the world like a native New Yorker despising another tourist, "Gawd, not another owl-watcher!"1/21 Bryan Lach O. reports on OhioBirds@Envirolink a TURKEY VULTURE over his house.1/31ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (DARK PHASE) at SR49/D50. 20 Wild Turkeys on SR49 at the southern corporation limits of Edgerton. Lake LaSuAnn Fran, Dave and I walked around the nominal lake (the largest) on a very cold day with lots of snow! Very few birds, but there was the LONG-EARED OWL at the usual spot (plenty of whitewash and pellets!), plus a PILEATED WOODPECKER, and Pheasants. 2/3/4 Bryan Closest I got to birding today was a pair of Mallards and a Black Duck in the parking lot pond at Walmart <grin> 2/12/4 Today's birding was limited to the Stryker Jail Cooper's Hawk 2/13/4 US 6/SR 191 An EASTERN MEADOWLARK flew in front of the car enroute to work! 2/19/4 Today's birding was limited to a Stryker Jail ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. 3/10/4 Carolyn K. saw her lifer Bald Eagle on US 6 at CR 20! I've never seen an eagle there before...3/13/4 Lake La Su Ann Don K. stumbled upon SANDHILL CRANES "...9 on a small wetlands plus 4 others in a group shortly after that flying north overhead (different birds I'm sure). I also saw several species of woodpeckers (one Pileated), some Wild Turkeys, 2 skunk, 3 deer, a handful of Nuthatches, couple Chickadees and Cardinals, and a Great Horned Owl." 3/14/4 Walmart's pond at SR 15/C held the first three BLUE-WINGED TEAL of the season for me, two drakes. 3/16/4 Stryker Jail Denny S. and I watched a strange spectacle on the tiny pond as a drake Wood Duck defended a hen Mallard from her perplexed husband! 3/24/4 Stryker Jail Denny S., Dennis S. and I are totally amazed: the drake Wood Duck persists in guarding his hen Mallard from the drake Mallard in our little pond! The drake Mallard is perplexed but patient as his wife has her fling (totally cooperative with the Wood Duck drake!). He persists from five feet away, even though the Wood Duck viciously attacks him when he comes too close. We first noticed this odd trio on the 16th! " The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), which tends to hybridize more than any other duck, has hybridized with about 50 species of ducks and geese (Gray, 1958; Johnsgard, 1974). The Wood Duck comes in second, with hybridization records for about 26 other species. The Mallard's proclivity for hybridization stems from a number of factors: it is abundant; it has many close relatives; and in city parks and sanctuaries it often suffers from an oversupply of males, who then consort with females of other species (Michael Price, personal communication)... Some Mallard hybrids cross genus lines but most of these occur in captivity, including crosses with the Merganser, Eider, Mandarin, Wood Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Tufted Duck, Canvasback, and others, as well as several species of geese (Heintzelman, 1978; Johnsgard, 1965)" - http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/ducks.html 3/30/4 Stryker Jail The drake Mallard has given up and left the Wood Duck drake and the Mallard hen to their own devices.4/27/4Stryker Jail Denny and I found at our small parking lot pond the Wood Duck drake, first-of-seaon GREEN HERON, Yellow-Rumped and PALM WARLBERS (at last!) and an amazingly early MAGNOLIA WARBLER. My Sherwood feeders I counted 15 Chipping Sparrows under the feeders, while the gorgeous gurgling of the Brown Thrashers continues. 4/29/4Stryker Jail The songs of the many Black-Throated Green Warblers were not wasted on Denny and I. 5/19/4 Stryker Jail My first Bobolink seen here, as the grass was being mowed (sad face). Also first SilverSpotted Skipper and Giant Swallowtail of the season. C/24.75 Huge tom Turkey by the road.6/1/4 a fawn at the Stryker Jail was a nice find:

6/4/4 On the Bend Road just past Scott Road I found a colony of Purple Martins in white gourds. Two cock Pheasants looked as if they'd been sparring at CoRd C/CoRd A. The Dickcissels persist. 6/10/4 Both sides of CR2425 at B50 had singing Dickcissels, easily called in with tape, while B50 at C had plenty of Grasshopper Sparrows, also easily called in (very angry!). Dickcissels continue at 16/C. 6/27/4 From OhioBirds@Envirolink: "I was in Williams County this weekend doing some survey work and came across a family of SANDHILL CRANES (two adults and one young). They were west of the village of Cooney on P50 Road about a mile west of Rte 49. I also found a singing LARK SPARROW in an area closed to the public. It was in the western end of the county. I also ran into some of the other expected Williams County birds such as HENSLOW'S SPARROW, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, Dickcissel, and CERULEAN WARBLER. --John Pogacnik" 7/11/4 From the Toledo Rare Bird report ( http://www.rarebird.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=329&PN=1): "Steve Stockford and Tom Kemp ran an Ohio big day from Williams County to Mohican State Forest and found 141 species, perhaps a new monthly record for the state. Of local interest were...widespread Sedge wrens and Henslow' sparrows in Williams Co..."7/19/4 SR34/CoRd D A Mockingbird flew in front of the car enroute to work. 8/12/4 Co Rd C's dead-end at 23.50 14 Wild Turkeys.8/17/4 Highlight was this HICKORY-HORNED DEVIL from the Stryker Jail: 8/24/420/C A Cooper's Hawk, and another in the front yard when I arrive home 8/31/4 Doug M. at work told me today of a SNOW GOOSE that has been hanging with 800+ Canada Geese at SR576/CR C but a visit there tonight before the opening of goose season tomorrow found that someone had mowed, leaving only 10 Canada Geese, a few Mallards and BlueWinged Teal, lotsa Killdeer, hundreds of Mourning Doves, a HARRIER, and even a few Cedar Waxwings on this treeless lot! 9/9/4 My third visit to SR576/C found no geese, only many Mourning Doves, a few Killdeer and another Spotted Sandpiper. 9/21/4 SR576/C A Kestrel, a Harrier, 3 Turkey Vultures, 8 Wood Ducks, and another 200 Canada Geese 9/22/4 Another pair of Wild Turkeys a mile up the road at 21/C. 16/C, SR576/C, Orchard Hills Golf Course almost repetitious, similar to recent days. 9/30/4 576/C Usuals: Canada Geese, Mallards, Wood Ducks, juvenile Harrier, Kestrel etc 10/1/4 Denny S. reports a VARIED THRUSH from this home at B-50/SR 19 These shots are from video he took, the whole of which is available on ohiobirds.org

10/2/4 SR191/B-50 Continued the vigil at Denny's but found only a Cooper's Hawk in the morning and two Goldfinches in the afternoon. A mile east, where B-50 curves to meet C, there were hundreds of Robins, with a VESPER SPARROW that walked all the way up to the car for a personal inspection. 10/3/4 SR191/B-50 Continued vigil; more birds than previous days in Denny's yard, but still pretty darn slow. 10/29/4 US 6/CR15 adult Harrier 11/3/4 State Route 576/County Road C Usually at least 100 Canada Geese here, but only 2 Mourning Doves here today, one with white wing and tail tips:

12/18/4 LaSuAnn Jon D. tells me the LONG-EARED OWLS are back at their traditional spot-- FIVE of them. 2003 1/2/3 Heavy snow all the way home from work, so the only birds I saw were at the Stryker Jail: a Cooper's Hawk, a Harrier and 3 Rock Doves.1/7/3 A BIG ol' Cooper's Hawk was quite prominent in the tree behind the house at 1307 S Defiance St in beautiful downtown Stryker. Worth the drive in the drifting blowing snow was finally my first ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK of the season, on SR 2 halfway between Goll Woods and Stryker. 1/9/3 Stryker Jail 7:45am Dave G, James H, and I watch 20+ Wild Turkeys drop from their roosts in the tallest trees back of the jail! I've never seen turkeys so very high as in these very tall trees in the woods! The Cooper's Hawks were back, as well as 2 Harriers harrying near the watertower. 1/22/3 Today at the Williams County Stryker Jail, one of the Wild Turkeys was dead in the adjoining field. 1/25/3 Today decided to go to Lake LaSuAn in Williams County to see the LONG-EARED OWLS. That was fine, but also got to see grey-phase Screech Owl, and enroute back at Rosedale/Scott in Defiance County a Northern Mockingbird. I know this bird nests at this intersection but didn't realize it stayed all winter. Rosedale/Jericho at 5:45-- excellent close views of a Short-Eared Owl, and very close to home in Sherwood, at Openlander/Fountain Street 5:55pm, excellent close views of another Short-Eared Owl as it crossed in front of my car, then flew a quarter of a mile ahead of me, down the road. Also saw my first Sherwood crow after seeing Pam. There were plenty of crows at LaSuAn, strangely enough. 2/19/3 Stryker Jail and Bryan Ohio Walmart in Williams County both had female Cooper's Hawks today. 2/24/3 ROBIN at SR66/US6 in Williams County. 3/5/3 As if to confirm my suspicions about the blackbird flock in Sherwood yesterday, a solitary Rusty Blackbird is at SR34/CR 24.25 3/12/3 At US 6/WilliamsCountyRd 22 was a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK perched on a telephone wire. 3/13/316/C Had to get the car's brakes fixed, so passed here surprised to see it was thawed, let alone held 27 Canada Geese, 163 Mallards, a drake Lesser Scaup and a Great Blue Heron. 3/14/3 Stryker Jail After work while Denny told me in the jail parking lot about the Cedar Waxwings that showed up at his house a few miles away, a flock of Cedar Waxwings landed in a near-by crabapple! 3/18/3 A female RingNecked Pheasant tried all day to get into the jail via the breakroom windows! 3/26/3 Stryker Jail Noisy today with 6 Tom Turkeys displaying for a hen, lots of other Wild Turkeys not far away. 3/28/3 Stryker Jail a male albino RingNecked Pheasant! 4/11/3 My first Chipping Sparrow of the season at Stryker Jail. 4/28/3At work at the Stryker Jail I was surprised to find a PINE WARBLER singing in the mimimum dorm quad! 4/30/2 Stryker Jail Our amazingly small pond was amazing host to 3 Solitary Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, a pair of Canada Geese, a Killdeer and an amazing pair of MARSH WRENS!! Our golf-cart served as a blind, and we were amazingly close for easy no-binoculars-necessary viewing! still closed due to flooding, butI walked the trail from the marina to the first pavilion. Only migrants were Veery, Swainson's Thrush, a single Tennessee Warbler. The Wood Thrush was nice too. 5/2/3 Stryker Jail A Bald Eagle flew over today!Vireos and warblers arrive at the jail, but none new for the year. A mile or so away, stopped off at Denny S.'s place to see the 7 White-Crowned Sparrows and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks that are coming to his feeder (my first of the year). County Roads 5/1/3 Stryker Jail First-of-the-year baby Killdeer (Killdeerettes?) up and around. 5/6/3 Stryker Jail Denny and I saw Palm and heard Magnolia Warblers, with 2 RoseBreasted Grosbeaks. 5/7/3 Denny S. Stryker YellowRumps. 5/8/3 Stryker Jail still just YellowRumps 5/10/3 LaSuAnn Joe Hildreth understandably listed his highlight from a trip there as Cerulean! 5/11/3 SR191/C south of Stryker, a Mr Sloan advises in the Bryan Times that a pair of Mute Swans flew into his farm pond over a week ago and have remained ever since. Easy to see on drive-by, also a photo in the newspaper. 5/27/3 Jeff Grabmeier on OhioBirds@Envirolink: "At the Nettle Lake Sewage Lagoon on May 25, Eric Durbin and I found five swallow species flying over the pond: Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow and Barn Swallow. At the intersection of County Roads 8.50 and 8/M on May 26 I found a singing VESPER SPARROW and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW I also went to Lake La Su An Wildlife Area on May 25 with Eric Durbin and May 24 and 26 alone. Highlights: Common Loon, breeding plumage adult, on Lake La Su An (May 25) Osprey, pair on nest (May 25) Barred Owl. Two adults and possible nest site found. One adult spotted on tree with frog legs dangling from beak! (May 24) Alder, Willow, Least, Acadian flycatchers all found. I believe all nest there. (May 25) Henslow's Sparrow (May 25) White-eyed vireo (May 24) Black-billed cuckoo (May 26) Wild Turkey (May 26) Red-headed woodpecker (May 25) The following warblers which I believe are all summer residents or nesters, all seen on May 25 unless noted: Blue Winged, Northern Parula (rare summer residents), Yellow Warbler, Yellow-throated (rare summer residents), Cerulean, Black and White (rare summer residents) (May 26) American Redstart Prothonotary. I found three singing males in ponds where they have nested in the past. Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded (rare summer residents), Yellow-breasted Chat. I found four singing males. (May 26) Migrant Warblers found: Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian (May 26) Black-throated Green (May 26) Mourning, Canada. Thanks for reading this far! Jeff Grabmeier, Columbus, OH."6/1/3 SR34/CR20 A hen Wild Turkey ambled across the road, then flew to the nearby creek. 6/2/3 SR34/CR20 RedHeaded Woodpecker 6/3/3 Tonight Jim Cunningham showed me some great photos he took of BARRED OWLS and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (as well as other more common birds) at Harrrison Lake. Theresa and her mother were a great find as well. B50/2350 RedHeaded Woodpecker StateRoute34/20 the second bridge east, was a MOCKINGBIRD. 6/15/3 Jeff Grabmeier on OhioBirds: "While Dickcissels have seemingly sprouted up all over Ohio, I could not find them in many Williams County spots I have reliably found them in previous years. However, there were two singing on County Rd. H just west of SR 576. Lake La Su An had the usual good stuff: Alder, Willow, Acadian and Least flycatchers, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Prothonotary Warbler, among them. 6/18/3 Stryker Jail 4 RedHeaded Woodpeckers return today near the largest Buckeye tree I've ever seen (80' high, 40' wide crown, 8' circumference. Just up the road at 24/B50 I heard a Dickcissel while leaving work, turned around, played a tiny part of the tape, and from the far back side of the field flew a male directly to the telephone wire overhead.6/20/3 There were plenty of Grasshopper Sparrows however at the NE corner of WmsDefCoLnRd and Bostater 6/21/3 CR7/US6 The western meadowlark still has not returned to his traditional spot. 7/9/3 E50/24.25 RedHeaded Woodpecker. But best flying find of the day was this fantastic Regal Moth Denny S. and I found today at the Stryker Jail:

Second best flying object was this Cecropia Moth:

 

 

7/22/3 but at the Stryker Jail three more Royal Walnut Moths, a Rosy Maple Moth, and a Tiger Moth showed up. 8/1/3 CountyRoad 18/StateRoute 34 Six adult Wild Turkeys and many very small poults in the grass around them. 8/21/3 at the Stryker Jail was a very strange fungus, Dog Stinkhorn:

As if the view itself wasn't funny enough, the informative yet hilarious webpage http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/july99.html

(Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month) could only have one rolling on the floor!: "If you don't know the reason for this [name] I don't think you're ready for me to explain it to you...The phallic-looking fruiting body emerges over the course of just a few hours. As it becomes erect the black slimy mass of spores on the cap begins to mature-- and begins to smell like rotting meat. This attracts flies, which think they're getting a great meal of roadkill orsomeother animal...The stinkhorns seem to be absolutely dependent on the flies for the dissemination and mating of their sores; unlikemost basidiomycetes, there is no wind dispersal of spores...DICTyophora species all have a veil-like structure hanging down, while Phallus species lack the veil. Phallus impudicus is probably the most famous of the stinkhorns-- it certainly has the most descriptive name!..Mutinus elegans...saclike structure at the base from which the rest of the fruiting body emerged. Mutinus species lack a cap at the top of the stalk. The slimy spore mass is borne directly on the pointed apex...Surprisingly there are some human uses for members of the Phallales. You're probably not going to believe this, but some of these members of the Phallales, especially Phallus and Dictyophora are considered a delicacy in China! As you might guess (especially if you're familiar with the doctrine of signatures, where the ailment cured by an organism is related to its shape), you won't be surprised that both of these are considered aphrodisiacs!" and from http://www.bluewillowpages.com/mushroomexpert/mutinus_elegans.html :"As far as eating them goes, I would suggest waiting a few hours while the slimy tips work up a nice, foetid funk in the hot sun, then reconsidering." 10/3/3 Stryker Jail I counted over 75 Blue Jays in the jail courtyard in just a few seconds before a unit marching to chow scared them on. " Stryker Jail A Case Manager called me so I could see the SHARP-SHINNED HAWK eating a bird in the middle of the jail courtyard, ignoring those walking by as if knowing walking on the grass was forbidden and he was thereby safe. It could have been safely identified by sound alone as it flew over the parking lot, calling loudly, happy with its full stomach.10/28/3 The Hera of all Cooper's Hawks landed on the only large tree in the Stryker Jail Parking Lot today 11/29/3 From OhioBirds@Envirolink: "LONGEARED OWL on the trail around Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, 3 separate flocks of SANDHILL CRANES. The largest was a flock of 40 directly over Lake La Su An. I also saw flocks of 19 and 6 while driving around the county. 32 Bufflehead at the Nettle Lake Sewage Pond. Remarkably, there were absolutely no other waterfowl on the pond, and none on Lake La Su An. 2 YellowRumped Warblers at Lake La Su An, 1 Swamp Sparrow, dozens of American Tree Sparrows and Golden-Crowned Kinglets. --Jeff Grabmeier, Columbus, Ohio. 12/4/3 Stryker Jail SR66/US6 A band of Wild Turkeys caused minor traffic snarls at shift change as Corrections Officers watched them in the field across from the jail. I snapped their pic quickly through my dirty car window as my turn to pass by came up:

12/14/3 Bryan Lach Ohman on OhioBirds@Envirolink: "We had a Catbird in the spruce tree, all puffed up to ward off the snow. Seems like he must have missed the last bus south." 12/20/3Stryker Jail Mike C. reports 50+ SANDHILL CRANES flying over the courtyard while taking J200 to chow about 11:15am, while Jeff W. reported 150+ SANDHILL CRANES about 2:30pm a half-mile west of the jail..2002 1/22/02 At the jail, were 2 Cooper's Hawks, large females, but again, the red-headed woodpeckers were mysteriously absent. 3/13/02 Joe found 2 ROUGHLEGGED HAWKS at Lake LaSuAnn in Williams County. 3/19/02 Last night at the Black Swamp Audubon Society meeting in Defiance I heard that Williams County's LaSuAnn held LONG-EARED OWLS. Got off work at 3:30 and had barely enough time to rush to the opposite corner of Williams County and back for a 6pm Union Meeting, but it was worth it! There were about 150 RIngNecked Ducks (well, I counted only 148) in this one lake alone, with two pair of Canada Geese, and five or six of these LongEared Owls!:

4/2/02 Enroute to work this morning about 6:45am there were FIFTY WILD TURKEYS in the field by the Stryker Jail (CCNO) at Williams County B-50/CoRd 2425. Two huge toms displayed openly, fighting over the hens, easily viewed. 4/5/2 At work at the jail, the Mourning Doves have built their nest and laid eggs where they usually do every year, inside one of the busiest courtyards. 4/15/2 Back in Williams County, at work at the Stryker jail today RoughWinged Swallows again commenced nestbuilding in the generator exhaust. Every week it blows their nest out, but the rest of the week they rebuild it, every year. Sigh. 4/30/02 Denny S. reports a pair of RoseBreasted Grosbeaks at his Stryker, WilliamsCounty feeders with about a 100 Goldfinches that are eating him out of house and home via the thistle feeder. He also showed me my first Indigo Bunting of the season: a dead male that evidently ran into the razorwire at the Stryker Jail (CCNO). RedHeaded Woodpeckers have also returned to the jail. 5/3/02 A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was at CCNO (Stryker, WilliamsCo OH jail) 5/6/02 At Williams County B-50/US 6 was my first MOCKINGBIRD of the season. 5/16/02 Denny & I spotted (and heard, grin) 2 RedEyed VIreos and a Warbling Vireo amidst the usual Orioles and Indigo Buntings at WilliamsCo CoRd 2450/State Route 34. Star of Bethlehem (evidently escaped) in bloom everywhere. 5/17/02 I found another MOCKINGBIRD at Williams County E-50/23.50. Denny reports FEMALE Hummingbirds have arrived at his feeders near SR191/US6. 6/8/2 In Williams County, the Columbus group found a singing WESTERN MEADOWLARK at the corner of US 6/Rd 7 in the SW corner, and an UPLAND SANDPIPER along SR 49 between Rds L and M in the NW. 6/16/02 Jeff Grabmeier in Williams County on Ohio-Birds@Envirolink: "-- A pair of adult Sandhill Cranes were found in a farmer's field on County Rd. P.5, just west of SR 49. This is the same location I found them last July with two young. I hope to find them with young next month.-- The Western Meadowlark remains singing persistently at the intersection of County Rd. 7 and SR 6.-- A single Northern Harrier was found flying along County Rd. H, about 2 miles west of SR 576.-- I found at least three singing Dickcissels on County Rd. H, just west of SR 576. This was the only spot I found them this year; the last few years I had found them occupying at least three other locations in the county.-- I saw a double-crested cormorant flying over in the western part of the county -- a strange site away from any major bodies of water.-- On Saturday June 15, Eric Durbin and I found a singing Chestnut-sided Warbler in western Williams County. Its persistent singing suggested to me that it may be unmated. This is the first summer resident I have found in my several years of birding the county." 6/23/02 Had an eye-opening outing with Toledo Naturalist's Association's Eric Durbin and 11 others (among them Delta's Joe Hildreth; I don't have permission to list the others) to William's County's Lake LaSuAnn, a place I have almost no experience in. I think the list was of about 71 species, but who can believe 10 warblers in late June?!! Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, BlueWinged, okay, but Mr Durbin first led us to this soupy swamp where we saw PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, and heard Hooded! OVENBIRD was still there, as well. Plus an OSPREY flew over carrying a large stick! Unusual flower on the trail-- Wild Four O' Clocks perhaps? ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS were abundant, and a pine grove was pointed out as the nesting area of least flycatchers. At the bridge nearby were REDSTARTS, and CERULEAN WARBLERS. Some heard yellow-throated warblers and chats! Wasn't that enough? No, he further shared his experience for free by pointing out several birding spots. Between R and S was one of the most cooperative HENSLOW'S SPARROWS ever! And Sooz in Pioneer? Number one, I don't think I've been to downtown Pioneer. And number two, where can you get a chicken or meat loaf dinner with blueberry pie, salad bar and iced tea for under $7?!! With the company of 11 of the 12 others after a great day in the field? Priceless.

Henslow's Sparrow, snappys taken from 8mm video

9/11/2 At the Stryker Jail in Williams County today we had to call a wildlife rehabber (Nature's Nursery in Whitehouse) to pick up a GREAT HORNED OWL. We are uncertain whether it had West Nile Virus or had been stunned by a car strike, but the rehabber noted that they had 30 Owls now, with one being picked up only 5 miles away the Four-County Vocational School. Postscript: The Owl died 2 weeks later, not of West Nile, but probably from being struck by a car. 9/22/3 John Pogacnik on OhioBirds@Envirolink: Williams County "Lake La Su Ann Wildlife Area. Two flyby sandhill cranes were seen along the eastern end of the wildlife area." while Alan Anderson on InBird: " In the northeast portion of Indiana, along I-80/90 Indiana Toll Road, I was very pleased to find a few Sandhill Cranes. There were 2 in a field on the north side of the Toll Road about mile 126, and three flying a bit farther west. Later I observed 2 more in a field at mile 103.5 (north side) and 2 more in a field at mile 96 on the south side. There might have been three more cranes in a field at mile 63, but I wasn't sure these were cranes or not." May be the 5 that are constantly being reported in OH/MI/IN corner: "9/5/2 My sister had her first baby so I did no birding! but Ed S. from work reports what sounds like the same family of SANDHILL CRANES just off the freeway near Fremont IN. 7/29/2 Joel S. saw a family of five SANDHILL CRANES at the corner of Ohio/Michigan/Indiana, just barely into Michigan." 11/7/2 Best bird of the day was an odd RingNecked Pheasant at the Williams County Stryker Jail where I work. Denny and I drove right up to a flock of about 30 Wild Turkeys, with which was a single cock, with the usual red bare skin spot on a white head, white primary feathers, and a uniform red body and tail without markings. Website searches indicate Ringnecks have 30 subspecies, as well as mutant variants, and there is the possibility that perhaps this was some odd molt. 11/8/2 Although I see deer nearly every day, the largest buck with the biggest rack yet was seen with a doe enroute home from work, near Stryker. Not shy at all, he stood by the side of the road watching me watch him from inside the car. 11/29/2 But a Cooper's Hawk almost got a Pheasant at the Stryker Jail. Joe Hildreth had a PEREGRINE FALCON at the Delta Reservoir in Fulton County.12/1/2 Lach & Joann Ohman, near Bryan, WIlliams County had better luck: " At about 5:30 pm Sunday, just after sunset, I watched a big, tight flock of 60 to 80 Sandhill Cranes pass over at about 400 feet, going west, doing a lot of cackling, probably looking for a place to settle in for the night. By the time I had raced into the house to alert my wife and come out again they were gone. I drove the roads to the west of us (we're three miles northwest of Bryan, in the very northwest corner of Ohio) but failed to find them. It was the biggest flock of Sandhills I've seen around here." --from Ohiobirds@Envirolink 12/5/2 The unusual male RingNecked Pheasant (white head) was with a leucistic female today at the jail near Stryker, almost coming in the front door! The female was so white that she blended in with the snow, and was hard to see until she moved. Light tan streaks were among the white feathers, though. 12/14/2 LongEared Owls were reported back, as well, by John Diller at Williams County's Lake LaSuAnn. 12/14/2 LongEared Owls were reported back, as well, by John Diller at Williams County's Lake LaSuAnn. 12/16/2 Joel S. tells the story of a big Cooper's Hawk at the Stryker Jail entrance, walking round and round a bush, chasing a screaming sparrow with people only 15 feet away! 12/18/2 Stryker Jail, Williams Co a male and a female Cooper's Hawk at the entrance! 12/19/2 Stryker Jail Williams County MALE REDWINGED BLACKBIRD in the field opposite the jail entrance. 12/20/2 Stryker Jail Williams County The Cooper's Hawk ate the white RingNecked Pheasant hen today... in plain view.12/26/2 The female Cooper's Hawk continues at Williams County Stryker Jail, sitting today in the cherry tree 10 feet from the entrance door. 12/27/2 The female Cooper's Hawk continues at Stryker Jail. LaSuAnn in Williams County was monitored by Jeff Grabmeier, reported on OhioBirds@Envirolink: "..I found a Long-eared Owl roosting in a pine tree and enduring the scolding of a collection of Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-Crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatches and a Downy Woodpecker. Along County Rd. 7.25, there were 5 Snow Buntings feeding along the road, mixed in with a larger flock of about 15 Horned Larks.

2001 2/9/01 State Route 34 at Williams/Henry Co Line Rd were 10-drake-and-one-hen RingNecked Ducks with about 5 Canada Geese in a trickle of a creek that has turned into a lake. 2/16/01 State Route 34 and US 6 just over the Defiance County line in Williams County was a flock of about 25 Wild Turkeys. 3/12/01The extremely small pond at the jail in Stryker had 2 pairs of Mallard and a pair of Canada Geese. 3/14/01 2 Turkeys stood by the road at Stryker Jail. 3/15/01 22 Turkeys stood by the road at Stryker Jail. 3/20/01 Stryker Jail Denny & I watched two tom Turkeys spread their tails, strut their stuff, and chase each other over the attention of two nearby hens.3/22/01 A cock RingNecked Pheasant tried to get through the security yard fence at Stryker Jail.4/17/01The jail pond, at Stryker OH, had 2 Gadwall, 4 BlueWinged Teal (3 drakes and a hen) and a pair of Canada Geese. 4/18/01 The jail pond was exactly as yesterday. Harrison Lake was a too-tidy recreational park with only the birds most insensitive to human encroachment-- 3 Ringbilled Gulls, a Great Blue Heron and a Canada Goose. County Road 24 at the Ohio Turnpike, very nearby, had 11 Bonaparte's Gull, a RingBilled Gull, about 50 BlueWinged Teal, 50 Northern Shoveler's, a pair of Mallards, a single GreenWinged Teal, Tree/Barn/RoughWinged Swallows, a Coot, both Yellowlegs (hard to count in the tall grass), thanks to the flooding of the Tiffin River into the nearby fields. 5/7/01 Today at work at the jail pond (Stryker, WilliamsCo OH), Denny and I saw a Great Egret, 2 drake Mallards, a pair of Canada Geese, and 7 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, very tame, that didn't mind in the least when we drove our golf cart within 3 feet of them. 6/1/2001 Friday. A Great Egret flew over the jail at work. 6/19/2001 Thanks to a hot tip from Jeff Grabmeier on Ohio Bird's Envirolink, I got the opportunity to see aWESTERN MEADOWLARK"At 09:40 PM 6/18/2001 -0400, you wrote:With the help of Phil Eley, I ran my Breeding Bird Survey route in Williams County yesterday (6-17). One highlight was a Western Meadowlark found at the intersection of U.S. 6 and County Road 7. (DeLorme, p. 34). I went back that afternoon and he was still singing. His favorite spot seemed to be the telephone pole on the southeast corner of the intersection. On a related note, are people seeing Western Meadowlarks in Ohio and just not reporting them? It seems to me I used to see more reports of Western Meadowlarks in Ohio in previous years than I have recently.Thanks, Jeff, for the post! This bird was on top of the same telephone pole, singing so loudly I heard him while still on US 6 with my windows rolled up and the air conditioning on high, today (June 19, Monday, 6pm)." 6/22/2001 The WESTERN MEADOWLARK still sings at Williams CR7/US6. 2 miles south (at Rosedale/Scott in Defiance County) was a juvenile adult-sized MOCKINGBIRD spread-winged begging from an adult! 7/5/2001 At work, at the jail in Stryker, Williams County, Killdeer have been nesting like crazy. We have easily seen 5 nests hatch out, a pair of RedHeaded Woodpeckers with three young-uns, and a RedTailed Hawk that had a hard time flying and a harder time landing. His right eye was blind and his right foot was talonless. He may have tangled with our barb wire, but we called the rehabbers. A nice Mourning Dove couple hatched out two of the cutest kids and then immediately set to nesting again, just inside the barbwire fence above a door the whole jail uses often. RoughWinged Swallows try again this year to nest in a generator vent that blows their nest to smithereens every week. 7/11/2001 Spotted Sandpiper in winter plumage at the Stryker Jail. 8/17/2001Also, a lone Sandhill Crane flew over the Stryker Jail while I was at work.RedHeaded Woodpeckers have been everywhere--SR 34/WmsCoRd 25, at home in Sherwood, Kleinhein/Lockwood, the Jail even has a pair and 3 juveniles... 9/5/2001 Denny reports a flying squirrel in his bluebird box near Stryker, named Rocky: on the sidewalk after evidently colliding with one of the Stryker Jail's windows evidently. 10/18/2001 34 Turkeys have been marching around the Stryker Jail this week. 10/25/2001 Kelly B. relates in the breakroom at work the sad story of a Canada Goose she saw hit by a car outside of Stryker yesterday, it's mate lingering at the road's edge near the body. Enroute home, she says, the two were still there.10/31/2001 Went to visit Lach at Bryan to see the birds he reported on Envirolink: "The last couple of days we have had a nice mix of birds at our backyard feeder including purple finch, pine siskins, white-winged crossbills, and red breasted nuthatch," but the best we could see were Purple Finches. 11/9/2001 Stryker Jail had 39 Wild Turkeys and a Brown Creeper this morning... 11/16/2001 A flock of SANDHILL CRANES rests at the Stryker Jail! 12/9/2001 Lach O. reports a Mockingbird in his yard near Bryan in Williams County. 2000 1/20/00: Bryan OH at the bank near Ohio Art on SR 34: I was stopped at the redlight when I saw two crows flying in from about 3-treetop-high level. One of the crows went into a steep dive, swooshing up at ground level inches above the head of a Cooper's Hawk directly in front of the bank's entrance at my immediate right! The Cooper's was beautiful and huge at this close proximity, and was sitting on a still-struggling starling! I was so tempted to stay put although the light had turned green! In the middle of busy traffic in busy Bryan at lunchtime! 1/24/00 A Cooper's Hawk alternated between chasing starlings and rock doves today across the street from where I work (Correction Center of Northwest Ohio) just outside of Stryker OH, near SR66/US6 intersection. The Horned Larks are very easy to see now with all the snow, and salt on the side of the road. SNOW BUNTINGS numbering near 100 could be seen a half-mile toward SR66 from the jail. 3/20/2000 A Sharp-shinned Hawk is persisting just outside of Evansport OH. Denny Stantz reports they are even coming to his feeder at CR191/US 6. Denny S. has video of an immature Yellow-bellied sapsucker at his feeder . It has been there from Thanksgiving up to 4/24/2000. 2/23/00 At work today (CCNO-- the local jail) there was a butterfly that since childhood I have called aglais urticae, simply because my insect books were limited and that's what this animal encyclopedia called it. MILBERT'S TORTOISESHELL, it is still called but with a different Latin name than I remember. Spring! 3/7/2000 Tuesday. At work (CCNO jail at Stryker, Williams Co OH), were 20+ Wild Turkeys, a Milbert's Tortoiseshell, and the first Turkey Vulture I've seen this season.3/17/00 Yesterday's Bryan Times featured a photograph of 50 Turkey Vultures there the 15th (Hinckley Buzzard Day), on the front page. 3/28/2000 Sandhill Crane flew over as I turned at SR66/US6 in Williams Co near the jail, where I work. 3/29/2000 10 Turkeys just north of Evansport on Evansport Rd. 3/30/2000 At the jail were a Blue-Winged Teal and 50 Turkeys. 4/24/2000 Stryker Jail Turkeys still there (as they are every morning) although today is the first day of Turkey season, I believe. Denny S. reports 6 Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers (3 of each sex) at his Stryker home, near the jail. A Robin has built her nest on the towmotor at work (the jail at Stryker). 4/26/2000 ca.20 Wild Turkeys were just outside the Bryan city limits today about noon. ODNR says 20 Turkeys were taken the first day of the season in DefianceCo, 43 in WilliamsCo, 6 in PauldingCo. Took the 1mi Bur Oak trail at Goll Woods, and saw 2 Red-Headed Woodpeckers, Mourning Cloaks, Large-Flowered Bellwort & Miterwort. Enroute home just north of Evansport on Evansport Road were my first 2 Greater Yellowlegs of the season, in a flooded farmer's field <alliteration!>. 4/27/2000 Denny S. reports Yellow Warblers (1m,2f), and a Green Heron at his rural Stryker home. The Robin at the Stryker jail has laid her first egg in her nest on the towmotor, in spite of the fact that the forklift is used every day! 4/28/2000 Enroute home from work, I discovered 12 Lesser Yellowlegs (seasonal firsts) had joined the 2 Greaters at the Defiance/Wms Co Line slough just outside Evansport. The Robin at Stryker jail laid it's second egg. 5/1/2000 2 Luna Moths were seen by Denny S. & me at the Stryker Jail. Some well-meaning soul moved the robin nest off the towmotor. Although it had 3 eggs in it, they seemed cold, and no robin was seen near the nest today. LAKE SENECA, SR576 North 2 miles from SR 20, make left on Lake Seneca Dr from 576, after 1 mile use the beach parking at the video rental place. Joe Grabmeier reported (from ohio-birds@) 9/4/1999 Saturday a Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, with 8 Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Short-Billed Dowitchers, 5 Pectoral Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers (and of course 30 Killdeer). He reports also 2 Greater Yellowlegs and 2 Stilt Sandpipers added on Sunday 9/5/99. Pectorals, Semi-Palmated, Bairds Sandpipers reported there 9/25/99, along with 3 pipits! 2/6/00 Jeff Grabmeir reports on Ohio-birds mailserve: I saw a flock of 21 Wild Turkey foraging on the edge of a wooded area along the north side of County Rd S, just east of County Rd 8 in Williams County this afternoon. Nearby was a Ringed-neck Pheasant. Also in Williams County, there was also a flock of about 30-40 Snow Buntings in a farm field along County Rd 13. There were a half dozen or so Horned Larks with them, but no longspurs that I could see. 3/26/2000 In Williams County Jeff Grabmeier, courtesy of ohio-birds@envirolink.org, reports LaSuAnn had 4 Bufflehead, 3 Common Mergansers, a resident Osprey and a Common Loon. Lake Seneca, he also reports: 150 Mallards, 50 Canadas, 50 GreenWing Teal, 20 BlueWinged Teal, 20 RingNecked Duck, 20 American Wigeon, 20 Common Mergansers, 10 Black Duck, 10 Northern Pintail, 8 Wood Duck, 5 Redhead Duck, 4 Pied-Billed Grebes, 4 Gadwall, 3 Northern Shovelers, and 1 Horned Grebe. 5/15/2000 At the jail in StrykerOH today I saw my first Giant Swallowtail of the season. Rough-winged Swallows keep trying to build a nest in the exhaust pipe of the jail's generator, but every time it comes on the nest is blown onto the ground. 5/16/2000 Surprised to find Star-of-Bethlehem growing wild in the Stryker Jail woods. 5/19/2000 A mile from the StrykerOH jail in a farmer's flooded field 10 feet off the road were 3 Dunlin.6/8/2000 A dozen baby Wild Turkey poults have joined the 50 or so adults at the jail outside Stryker OH. The Rough-Winged Swallows persist on building their nest every week only to have it blown out the generator exhaust every Wednesday! 6/11/2000 Not getting out much, obviously, with all the yard work. Today was a lifebird, however, with Henslow's Sparrow found immediately when I pulled up to a field at CoRd S and 8 in Williams County near Michigan. Also there were Bobolinks, Viceroys, and of course Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows, Barn and Tree Swallows, RedWinged Blackbirds, Great Blue Herons, Mallards, Goldfinches, etc. Less than a mile away, over the Michigan line, a pair of summer tanagers were also reported on the NW OH Rare Bird Alert, but I couldn't find them among the clouds of Orioles, Robins, Phoebes, Kingfishers, Indigo Buntings, Red-Bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Yarrow, Vetch, Wood Anemones. 6/19/2000 Jeff Grabmeir in WilliamsCounty on ohiobirds@envirolink: A singing SEDGE WREN was found on County Rd. H, 1.5 miles west of SR 15 this morning (June 19). It was in a field south of the road, just west of the recycling center. I first heard it while I was running a BBS route. I returned later, it was still singing, and I got a good look at it. It had food in its mouth, but I could not find a nest or mate. I heard and saw a NORTHERN PARULA at Lake Lasuan WA on June 17. I heard it only on June 18. It was along County Rd. S at the St. Joseph River. This is the first I have ever seen in Williams County outside of spring migration (April and May). A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was heard at the same location. I found several DICKCISSELS along the BBS route June 19. On County Rd P between County Rds. 15 and 16 there were at least 6 singing males. I also found singing males at three locations along County Rd. H and one site along County Rd. 7. HENSLOW'S SPARROWS were also found June 19 at two spots along County Rd. H, one site along County Rd. P, and at Lake Lasuan WA on County Rd. S. I relocated KING RAILS at Lake Lasuan June 18 along County Rd. S, 0.8 miles west of SR 576. They were where I originally found them May 16. I also heard begging calls from a juvenile in the marsh...may have been a rail. There were PROTHONOTARY warblers at three separate sites at Lake Lasuan. This included a pair feeding two recently fledged young on June 18. I saw two NORTHERN HARRIERS -- one along County Rd. P on June 18 and one along County Rd. H on June 19. 6/25/00 Near LaSuAnn in Williams County. I have been checking unsuccessfully for Jeff Grabmeir's Sedge Wren (I could hear it singing daily, but couldn't locate it from the car, and was afraid to walk across some farmer's grassy field to look for it), and the Summer Tanager at Territorial/Carpenter just across the Michigan State Line. Today, I took five steps and carefully watched the trees for birds, then another five steps etc. I was surprised to find a Veery staring back at me, singing to me directly in my face, not afraid at all. I enjoyed watching Pewee's chasing insects from corn-plant to corn-plant of all things. Lots of Cedar Waxwings and Orioles, a male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Buntings, but finally came that two-note call of the Tanager, and suddenly there it was-- a lifebird, a male SUMMER TANAGER I even got some video, right by the bridge in the cottonwood by the road. I was so bouyed by this experience I headed back to WmsCoRd H (even though I had been there earlier). Enroute I stopped to see the Henslow's Sparrows and Bobolinks again, and also saw my first Wood Nymph of the year. Back at the Wren Spot, I heard them again but this time just walked out into the field and found two SEDGE WRENS, sometimes from only three feet away, lifebirds. I wasn't confident about finding them so unfortunately didn't take my video camera into the field with me, and would hate to disturb them again in case they are nesting. 8/9/2000 Just north of Evansport limits were 5 Wild Turkeys back in their usual spot. At Ashpacher & Lockwood was a beautiful immature Red-Headed Woodpecker. 10/24/2000 22 Turkeys were parading at the North end of the Stryker Jail parking lot again, today! 11/25/2000 Jeff Grabmeier from Columbus was visiting in Williams County: "Highlight was a NORTHERN SHRIKE seen on County Rd. S about 0.6 miles west of County Rd. 13. At the Pioneer Boy Scout Camp I saw a flock of 4 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, a few Golden-crowned Kinglets, 1 Fox Sparrow, lots of American Tree Sparrows and Juncos and the usual year-rounds species. Northern Harriers were common in many reas. At my Dad's house on Lake Seneca, there was a Pileated Woodpecker (very uncommon around here), a Red-headed Woodpecker, and a lingering Common Grackle." from ohiobirds@envirolink listserve.

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