|
In This Section:
Past Society Events
Fall Warbler Trip to Magee Marsh and Maumee Bay
September 19, 2004
The Ohio Ornithological Society hosted a day of fun and food for 25 birders at Magee Marsh and Maumee Bay. Attendees ranged in age from 14 to 82! What better evidence could there be of the attraction of birding to people of all ages? Following a brief delay at the entrance gate (a gate was locked that shouldn’t have been, which threatened our walk with disaster before it began until a Magee staffer most apologetically opened the gate), we assembled at the parking lot near the boardwalk. Seeing that 25 people would be too large for a single group, trip leader Greg Links suggested we split up into two groups. One group, led by Micki Dunakin, did the standard loop of the bird trail while Greg’s group started at the trail and then relocated to the trail by the Sportsmen’s Center. This approach seemed to work well, as each group found some species the other hadn’t spotted. The birding was quite typical for a fall day, with only sporadic sighting of little flocks here and there. As usual, sightings were often near the tops of some of the higher trees at Magee, providing participants with excellent looks at undertail coverts, tail spots and belly markings. These difficulties, however, gave many of us a good opportunity to learn some of the finer details of field identification. After all, hungry migrating warblers rarely grace us with those striking profiles seen in the field guides!
Our morning walk at Magee Marsh netted 72 species, including 14 species of warblers, 5 vireos, 4 wrens, and 5 woodpeckers. Birds of note included Bald Eagle, Osprey, Caspian Tern, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, both Kinglets, Marsh Wren, Winter Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Philadelphia Vireo, and Scarlet Tanager. Warblers seen included Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Ovenbird,
Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's and Canada. Not bad at all considering the low numbers of birds actually sighted.
Our brunch at Maumee Bay was simply outstanding, with a little bit of something for everyone, ranging from omelets, sausages, waffles, and sweet rolls for the breakfast-minded to roast beef, salmon, chicken, and a variety of salads and desserts. One needs to keep one’s strength up when birding, doesn’t one? Needless to say, it was a delightful meal.
After lunch, trip leaders Greg Links and Micki Dunakin treated us to a great slide presentation on identification of fall warblers, with the aid of some fantastic images provided by OOS President Jim McCormac. For those able to stay fully awake after such a fantastic meal, it was a very informative session.
Following the session at the lodge, we birded awhile on the boardwalk at Maumee Bay.
Our grand total for species on the trip was 74, a good number considering there was no big songbird movement and our total birding time was around just four hours. All in all, it was a nice mixture of birding, food, and the special kind of fellowship shared among birders. Greg and Micki wish to thank all participants for making it an especially enjoyable day!
Doug Dunakin
Antwerp, Ohio
|