We interupt the regular programming...First Warbly of the Year!!

They're back!

First of the year! Yellow-rumped Warbly!

I left work early a few days ago...actually I leave work early everyday...getting ready to retire in October! Woo-hoo!! Anyway, the weather was warm and beautiful so I thought I should get outside. And I did!

I live very close to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Cascade Valley Parks of Summit county. Today I had a nice walk in the Cascade Valley View area, which is undergoing a redesign near the Cuyahoga river. They have nice easy trails that will lead to the river soon. I wandered down those trails, petted a few dogs, and saw a few birds...so here ya go!

A walk wouldn't be complete without an orange-breasted ground thrush...or what most people call an American Robin...whoops...wrong end...

A helpful couple and their floofy dog told me about a bald eagle nest a bit of a distance from the trail.

I could see an adult on the nest and at one point a little wiggly head!

 

A very naughty bird! Brown-headed cowbirds will lay their eggs in other birds nests for them to raise. The young will try to push the natural babes out of the nest and hog all the food.

Another invader! Cabbage White butterflies were introduced to North America in about 1860 in Quebec and have spread all over the continent.

BOB?! Is that you?

Nope, just another eastern chipmunk trying to hide in the leaf litter...one day Bob may be back!

Just a couple of puddle ducks playing in a puddle...

AKA Mallards...

I could head red-bellied woodpeckers everywhere, calling and slamming their heads into trees in search of a mate.

I rarely take flight shots, they make my vertigo kick in.

I took a chance with this red-tailed hawk and didn't fall over!

I like to watch red-winged blackbirds inflate.

I haven't seen one burst yet...

A female red-winged blackbird giving her hotsie- totsie pose for the males...

My favorite non-warbly! I like song sparrows, they sing all year just because they're happy.

They put a lot of effort into their singing!

 One last shot...the male yellow-rumped warbly showing off the yellow patch on his crown.

 

The Biggest Week in American Birding starts May 2nd!! I'll be there driving a few van trips and leading 2 beginner bird walks at Pearson Metropark near Toledo. If you see me, say hello!! 

See ya soon!

 

I'm Behind Again...and so are my photos!

 Howard Marsh at sunset...

Howard Marsh is an amazing place! Open for the past three years , it was farm land for the last hundred years or so. Donated to the Toledo Metropark system, they've done an astounding job of transforming the land back to it's original marsh habitat.

There's plenty of trails wrapping around and going through the area. You'll have the opportunity year round to see a number of species that migrate through, ducks in fall and winter, shorebirds in early spring and late summer and all of the wonderful migrants that make the Biggest Week in American Birding so great!

The high point for me was seeing the breeding black-necked stilts! It's been nearly sixty years since they bred in northern Ohio...and now we have TWO pair nesting here! And on top of that they're easy to see with one pair nesting near the benches near the boardwalk.

Next time Magee Marsh...and WARBLIES!!!!

The boardwalk is fantastic for seeing the stilts, grebes and coots...even old ones like me!

A juvenile bald eagle was eating his dinner atop a muskrats home...yummee!

A pair of American wigeons, a couple of gray and white things(ho-hum) and a peep gang!

Black-necked stilt booty!!

A stilt trying to get away from me...I can't understand why...

One of the two pairs nesting and breeding here!

I think I was discovered staring...

Them leggies is long!

Blue-winged teal waaaaaay back in the marsh...

this is cropped quite a bit!

Just a lowly brown-headed cowbird...

Lots of great egrets were fishing in the marsh...

A lonely horned grebe just floating through life...

This killdeer was leading me away from it's nest...

Oopsie...adult supervision required for this Osprey photo!

Baby making time!

Taking a break after his little soiree...

Even the red-winged blackbird was shocked!

Hmmm...a semipalmated sandpiper, a dunlin and a lesser yellowlegs(which is hard to tell from that angle!)

Another semipalmated sandpiper and a lesser yellowlegs...maybe... not the best with shore birds butt I'm trying!

And my little song sparrow buddy!

Stay tuned for the warbly migration at Magee Marsh and the Biggest Week in American Birding!

 

Boy, do I need practice!

This is the view of the new Cleveland Metroparks bridge that will connect to trails going through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park all the way to Akron. You can ride your bike or hike all the way to the shores of Lake Erie. 

YOU can, I'm lazy, I'll drive...

So, I decided to hit the shores of Lake Erie to get me some hot warbly action! This was actually the third time I made it out birding, I'm going to be a little behind in posting for a while. On top of this spring craziness, busyness at work, and the regular insanity of life, I've decided to move to a new abode. Why would you want to do that you say? I found a nice place smack dab in the middle of the parks! Summit Metroparks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park! With a view of the woods from my deck...I'm hoping to get some good yards birds there! I'm really going to miss my great neighbors (especially the cookies!) and the neighborhood. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

So....back to where I am...Wendy Park is a tiny wood lot and grassy area saved from developers and now run by the local park system. Right on the lakefront and bordering downtown Cleveland and the industrial flats area, it has turned into a real migrant trap in the spring. There's been a number of rarities that have shown up here...of which I have missed most of them. If you live in the area and have never been, get your butt down there now! You won't regret it...

I found a number of American Goldfinches gathering nesting material and eating bugs so I wouldn't get bitten. Thanks buddies!

There American Redstarts galore this weekend...lots of juvenile males were singing and trying to show off like this guy...women won't be impressed...I've tried...

Ooooo...pretty warbly!

I was amazed at the number of Baltimore Orioles flying through...most at the tippy top of the trees where I couldn't get a shot of course...

It's also butterfly time with a boondoggle of butterflies zooming to and fro. This was a Black Swallowtail. I also saw Cabbage Whites, Pearl Crescents and Sulphurs, butt they wouldn't hold still!

I got so excited to see my first Black-and-White Warbly of the year! I had to show off my B-and-W tattoo!

I was a little surprised to see this Black-throated Green Warbly gathering nesting material. I have no idea where he was flying off to with it, but I don't believe they ever nest around here.

WARBLY BOOTAY!!!

...and an proper grown up shot of the Black-throated Green Warbler. It's soooo hard to act like an adult...

The dreaded Brown-headed Cowbird, the scourge of little birds nests. In case you weren't aware, Cowbirds lay their eggs in others birbs nests and make them raise their spoiled kids. Kinda sounds like a good idea...

My only shot of this very secretive Cape May Warbler...I also saw a Black-throated Blue, but he was TOTALLY uncooperative. Poop head.

The Chestnut-sided Warblies were making things difficult for me too!

I'm trying to learn how to do this after being off for a year, give me some slack!

See that?! 

The Eastern Kingbirds knew that I was struggling to learn how to focus, hold the camera and chew gum at the same time. They cut me some slack.

YEA!!! My favorite birb...next to warblies of course! Gray Catbirds were in great abundance with meows coming from every nook and cranny.

This humble House Wren was kind enough to come out from under the logs and stumps to give everyone a nice view.

I also remembered how hard it is to shoot  a dark bird in intense sun, like this Indigo Bunting.

Blue is a color I know! Yea me!

Getting the stare down for disturbing this Lincoln's Sparrow. Sorry buddy...

He was kind enough to let me get a little closer while he chowed down on seeds.

My only shot of this Prothonotary Warbly. He was in a hurry to leave town I guess...hot date maybe?

I'm not the greatest with sparrows as I only see a select view when I'm out. But, I'm pretty sure this is a Savannah Sparrow.

Here's the shot that convinced me of his ID.

Speaking of hard birbs to ID when you're color blind...what do ya say? Swainson's Thrush?

Another angle of the many I saw...

Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower. Built during the depression to house a train station with stores and offices above. It's been struggling for the past few years but, still looks great.

There were dozens of White-crowned Sparrows passing through on their way to Canada...eh?

Not to be left out, the White-throated Sparrows were on the move as well!

I watched a little birb dart in and out of the shrubbery, but couldn't quite catch a good view of it...goldfinch, or...

Terrible lighting in there, but it turned out to be a Yellow Warbly building that nest!

I finally got a proper pose from my warbly buddy!

Of course there are always plenty of Butter Butts around!

Oops, apparently he doesn't like being called a butter butt. Yellow-rumped Warbly of the Myrtle variety.
 

That's it for now, I have plenty more from the previous weeks, but now...I'm heading for my happy place, MAGEE MARSH!

 

I'll be at Maumee Bay with friends for 5 days of birding bliss...they don't know that yet...shhhh!