Great Blue Heron Allan Claybon. Pigeon. the passenger. March 2012 Vol. 47, No. 12

Transcription

1 Great Blue Heron Allan Claybon the passenger Pigeon March 2012 Vol. 47, No. 12

2 Bird Club meeting 2 Ecology of Golden-winged Warblers in southern West Virginia Speaker: Ronald A. Canterbury, University of Cincinnati The March 15th meeting will feature Ron Canterbury of the University of Cincinnati. Ron s program will focus on the ecology of Golden-winged Warblers in southern West Virginia. Ron will discuss the current status of the species and the species replacement by Blue-winged Warblers, as well as specific habitat requirements for Golden-winged Warblers. Ron has studied the Golden-winged Warbler each and every year since 1987 in the Appalachian coalfields, including detailed studies on secondary contact and hybridization with Blue-winged Warblers. Ron did Ph.D. research on the evolutionary physiology of Rock Pigeons at Cleveland State University, and received a M.S. from Marshall University and B.S. from Concord College. Since December 2005, he has served as an Academic Director in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, and teaches Anatomy and Physiology. Ron is a Master Bird Bander, founder of the Southern West Virginia Bird Research Center and the Three Rivers Migration Observatory. -Steve Bobonick thursday, march 15th 7:00 p.m. sharon woods visitor center Golden-winged Warbler Lana Hays around the valley... Oxbow, Inc. Field trip Saturday, March 17th, 8:00 a.m. Location: Oxbow Preserve Leader: Ned Keller, , nedkeller49@gmail.com Meet: upper Oxbow parking lot Cost: Free Cincinnati Nature Center Bird walks Saturday, Mar. 10th Debra Hausrath Saturday, Mar. 24th Bill Stanley Meet in the Rowe Woods parking lot at 8 a.m. CNC daily admission fees are $8.00 for adults, $3.00 for children 4-12 and free for children 3 and under.

3 Eastern Screech Owl Allan Claybon

4 Bird Club 4 Jay Stenger Field Trip Co-ordinator (513) jaystenger@cinci.rr.com Sunday, March 18th 8:00 a.m. Location: Brookville Lake Region Leader: Jay Stenger, (513) , jaystenger@cinci.rr.com Meet: 8:00 A.M. at the Park & Ride at I-275 Exit # 7 (see directions below) The focus of this trip will be the spring waterfowl migration, which should be near peak at this date. Our trip leader Jay Stenger plans to visit several spots around Brookville Lake and if time permits make the short hop over to Hueston Woods to take a quick look around Acton Lake before returning home. Both of these locations are hotspots and are excellent for attracting waterfowl and water birds at this season. The rural countryside surrounding these two large lakes has diverse habitats so we expect to find a great variety of species along the way. Finding 18+ species of Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans) is quite possible. We also expect to find numbers of loons, grebes, gulls, Sandhill Cranes, eagles, other raptors, and songbirds including early spring migrants and lingering winter visitors. Because Brookville Lake is so large this field trip will be an auto-tour type, which will consist of driving from spot to spot interspersed with a few short easy walks. While the trip duration is long and does entail considerable driving, the rewards, in terms of what we see, always make it worth the effort. The trip will run into mid to late afternoon but of course you can leave at any time you like. Bring your lunch and drinks. It always seems colder around large lakes so dress accordingly. If you have a scope it will prove useful. Restrooms will be available. One important note, Indiana State Parks charges a daily per car entrance fee ($5 resident, $7 non-resident). At this time of year there is usually no attendants on duty but we cannot be sure of that We will meet at 8:00 a.m. at the park & ride lot, located on SR 128 at the I-275 Exit # 7 at SR 128 marked Cleves-Hamilton. This is the first exit just west of the Great Miami River at Miamitown. We will caravan from there to the Brookville area, about a 30-minute drive. Call or Jay if you have any questions. Visit the Brookville Lake website at: Visit the Whitewater Memorial State Park (at Brookville Lake) website at: Sunday, March 25th 8:00 a.m. Location: Miami Whitewater Wetlands & Fernald Preserve Leader: Steve Bobonick, (513) , bobonick@msn.com Meet: 8:00 a.m. at the Baughman Rd. parking lot (see directions below) The Shaker Trace (aka Miami Whitewater Wetlands) at Miami Whitewater Forest and the nearby Fernald Preserve are our areas finest wetland and grassland complexes. By this date waterfowl migration will still be under way and they will be the focus of this trip. However other early spring migrants will also be returning and some winter visitors will still be lingering. In addition to waterfowl we can expect to see snipe, another shorebird or two, Northern Harriers, Horned Larks, an array of sparrows, and new arrivals such as Tree Swallows, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Thrasher, Rusty Blackbirds and Eastern

5 field trips 5 Meadowlarks among others. Sandhill Cranes and early rails are also likely. We certainly can expect some surprises and a mixed bag on this trip. Our trip leader Steve Bobonick will begin the trip at the Miami Whitewater wetlands. Steve plans to first walk the paths through the grassland/marsh complex and then head over to the nearby Fernald Preserve and check a few spots there before calling it a day, ending at some time around noon. The trip will consist of level, easy walking. The trails are not paved and can be wet and muddy so wear appropriate footwear. There are no restroom facilities at the Miami Whitewater wetlands, but they are available in the main park area and at Fernald Preserve. A Hamilton County Park pass is required ($3.00 daily, $10.00 annual) at Miami Whitewater for each vehicle. We will meet at 8:00 a.m. at the wetlands parking area on Baughman Road. From I-74, take the Dry Fork Road exit # 3, and turn right. Continue past West Rd, and stay on Dry Fork until it ends. Turn right onto New Haven Road. At the first stop sign, turn left onto Oxford Road, and then immediately left again onto Baughman Road. The dirt parking area is on the right side of the road, just past the bike trail crossing. Contact Steve to answer any of your questions. Directions to Miami Whitewater as well as other information can be found at the following website: miamiwhitewater.shtm For information about Fernald Preserve go to: redevelop/pdf/fernald_preserve.pdf Sunday, April 8th 8:00 a.m. Location: Rocky Fork Lake & Indian Creek WA Leader: Mark Gilsdorf, (513) , markg74@gmail.com Meet: 7:30 a.m. at the Perintown UDF on U.S. 50 (see directions below) Rocky Fork Lake is probably the least visited of our regions large reservoirs by local birders. Brookville, Hueston Woods, Caesar Creek and East Fork all get more birding attention. But the Rocky Fork region is equal to and every bit as productive a birding site as any of these other hotspots. Certainly located on what we consider the periphery of our Greater Cincinnati birding area, it is only about 40 miles east of Milford and no more distant than some of the previously mentioned spots. A number of other birding hotspots are located along the way, such as Indian Creek WA, Paint Creek SP and the Roush Road gravel pits to name just a few. So join our trip leader Mark Gilsdorf for what should be a great day of birding and exploring seldom visited hotspots. Because of the distance and size of the Rocky Fork region this field trip will be an auto-tour type, which will consist of driving from spot to spot interspersed with a few short easy walks. April is smack dab in the middle of spring migration (March thru May) and numerous species either continue or begin their movements during this month. Waterfowl, herons and egrets, gulls and terns, shorebirds, nesting Bald Eagles, other raptors and returning songbirds (including a few warblers) are all likely and should be expected. Even Vesper Sparrow should be found on this trip. After meeting at the UDF Mark plans on first making a fairly brief stop at Indian Creek WA. From there we will head to Rocky Fork Lake and on the return trip Mark plans to stop a the Roush Road gravel pits, another productive birding site which is located about a mile off of US 50. This field trip will run into mid to late afternoon but of course you can leave at any time you like. Bring your lunch and drinks. If you have a scope it will prove useful. Restrooms will be available We will meet at 7:30 am, in the parking lot of the United Dairy Farmers located in Perintown, on US 50, at the corner (stoplight) of Round Bottom Rd. We will caravan from here to Indian Creek SWA, about a 20-minute drive, and from they re on to Rocky Fork. Gas/Restrooms/Supplies are all available at the UDF. To get to this meeting spot from I-275, take the US 50, Milford/Hillsboro exit # 59, and go east on US 50 about 2 miles. The UDF is on the right. For a map and information for Rocky Fork State Park go to the following website: rockyfrk/tabid/784/default.aspx For a map and information for Indian Creek WA go to the following website: wild_resourcessubhomepage/ WildlifeAreaMaps/ SouthwestOhioWildlifeAreaMaps/ IndianCreekWildlifeArea/tabid/19772/ Default.aspx

6 6 Green-winged Teal Lana Hays Red-winged Blackbird Allan Claybon

7 Canvasback Lana Hays Surf Scoter Lana Hays

8 the passenger Pigeon Newsletter of the Cincinnati Bird Club Cincinnati Bird Club c/o Newsletter Editor 6270 Orchard Lane Cincinnati, OH President: Bob Foppe Program Chair: Steve Bobonick Field Trips: Jay Stenger Newsletter Editor: Mark Gilsdorf Treasurer: Lois Shadix Park VIP: Jay Lehman Dues: If you haven t sent in your dues yet for the September May 2012 birding season, please fill out the form below and mail it in along with your membership fees. Visit us on the Web at: Bird Club Membership Name Address Phone Yes I would like to receive my newsletter via . Individual $12.00 Family $15.00 Student (under 18) FREE Make your check payable to Cincinnati Bird Club, and mail to our Treasurer: Lois Shadix (lcshadix@fuse.net), 2928 Saddleback Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45244