Lake Erie Birding Trip

During the weekend of November 6-8, the Ohio University ornithology class that I'm currently in took a field trip to the Lake Erie coastline to do some birding. This post is yet another of the class-related blog assignments the class has to do. You can read about my past labs and field trips at this link. This post is a summary of our Lake Erie birding trip. This will also be the last ornithology class related post!

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One of my most-anticipated trips of this semester was the ornithology class's annual trip to the Lake Erie coast. Every year they go in mid to late November, just in time for the migrating ducks, gulls, and other waterfowl to show up. I had heard how exciting this trip was from previous students, and I couldn't wait to take it! 

Sunrise from the beach at Old Woman Creek. Taken this May.

The trip actually began a day early for me. Due to certain circumstances, the class was scheduled to go up Saturday morning, bird that afternoon, bird all Sunday, and then head back Monday. I wanted to squeeze in a few more hours of birding, so I and the undergraduate TA Alayna Tokash decided to head up Friday night to we could go birding all Saturday morning while the others were making the 3 hour trip north. We stayed at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve just outside of Huron, Ohio. You might have heard me mention Old Woman Creek before; I spent half of my summer living in the dormitories there while helping Maggie Hantak (an OU graduate student) with her Red-Backed Salamander research. Maggie was up at OWC for the weekend, still in the midst of her fall field season, so we all had a nice catch-up Friday night.

I do want to point out that there will be a serious lack of photos in this post. If you've ever seriously birded, you probably know it's hard to take photos at the same time. Switching between binoculars and a camera when birds are constantly coming in and out is a hard task, and people generally chooses to do one or the other at any given instance. I chose my binoculars and took essentially zero photos. I will be pulling some photos from my library though, so there will at least be some!

Two male Redheads with two male Ring-Necked Ducks in the background. Photo taken at A.W. Marion State Park in 2014.

Alayna and I woke up early on Saturday morning. We left Huron at 7:30 AM and headed straight to the famous Lorain Impoundment. The Lorain Impoundment contains a complex of docks, breakwalls, marshes, river water, open lake water, and more. This location, where a heavily-altered Black River flows into Lake Erie, has attracted a crazy array of rare species throughout the years, and has a great showing of expected species every year too. When Alayna and I went, there were hundreds of Ring-Billed Gulls, with fewer numbers of Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls mixed in. A Common Tern and four Great Black-Backed Gulls were a highlight along the breakwalls out in the lake. The freshwater marsh held a good assortment of waterfowl, including Ring-Necked Ducks, Redheads, Gadwalls, Mallards, Green-Winged Teals, Buffleheads, American Coots, and others. Three Dunlins, a species I've been wanting to see for years, were the highlight in the marsh. My complete list from this location can be seen here: Lorain Impoundment, Nov. 7

The barrier beach at Sheldon Marsh SNP during the summer. In winter, the bay shown harbors decent gull concentrations.

We left Lorain around 10 AM and headed back to Huron. The class was nearly there, so we ate some lunch and waited to meet up with them. Once the class came and got settled into Old Woman Creek, we all headed toward the nearby Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve. Sheldon Marsh is an interesting preserve; there's some old fields, deciduous forest, marshes, and a very nice barrier beach next to a small bay. With this wide range of habitat available, Sheldon Marsh attracts a wide range of birds. We had the typical winter forest residents, including Golden-Crowned Kinglets, Dark-Eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. The marshes along the main trail were pretty unproductive, with only a few Mallards present. The barrier beach and bay held many Bonaparte's Gulls, Ring-Billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. A large raft of Ruddy Ducks were floating way out, but their stiff tails and white cheeks made for an easy ID. We walked a bit down the barrier beach and decided to look on the other side of the island which protects a large marsh. This marsh was productive, holding hundreds and hundreds of ducks. Sadly our group scared most of them and they flushed. We did get to see a few Northern Pintails during the chaos, yet another species I've been wanting to see for years! To see my complete list of species from Sheldon Marsh, see this link: Sheldon Marsh SNP, Nov. 7

We stayed at Sheldon Marsh for a few hours, and that brought about the end of the first day. Well, at least the day time portion was over. The professor for the class, Dr. Kelly Williams, is also heavily involved in Project Owlnet. She use to run a Northern Saw-Whet Owl banding station in Ross County, which you can read about here in a post by blogger Jim McCormac. Since right now is migration time for the diminutive owl, Dr. Williams wanted to try and band any saw-whets which might be moving through Old Woman Creek. We set up nets Saturday night, but several hours brought no birds. We took the nets down and decided to try again the next night. 

The next day started early with another trip to the Lorain Impoundment. The goal was to show the class the species that Alayna and I had seen the previous day. Luckily the majority of the species were still present. We missed out on a few species, such as the Dunlin, but added a Northern Shoveler. You can check out the complete list of species here: Lorain Impoundment, Nov. 8

Scanning the lake for jaegars and Little Gulls. The class professor, Dr. Kelly Williams, is on the far left. I am the one in gray looking through spotting scope. Photo by Michelle Ward.

We finished up at Lorain and packed the vans to head to the Huron Pier. The Huron Pier is essentially just a man-made jetty of boulders that extends a bit into Lake Erie. It has a great view of open water, and also a great history of rarities. As soon as we left the van, we noticed a gull hanging out that had a black back. That meant it could either be a Great or a Lesser Black-Backed Gull. The Great is more common, but Lessers are regularly found on Lake Erie. I put a scope on it and noticed that it had nice yellow legs, the telltale sign of a Lesser Black-Backed Gull. That made it a very exciting lifer. The Lesser Black-Backed Gull is actually a species from Eurasia which overwinters in Africa, which is pretty far from Ohio. Over the past century, the Lesser Black-Backed Gull has been slowly moving westward. They began breeding in Iceland in the early 1900's, and then in Greenland in 1990. 1934 brought the first record of one in the United States. 1977 brought the first record of one in Ohio. Since then, more and more have been found overwintering along Lake Erie. Today they are regular in Ohio, just in small numbers. There's a good chance that they might begin nesting in Canada in the near future too (but I've also heard conjectures of a possible undiscovered breeding colony already in existence).

As we walked farther out, we met two birders who told us we had just missed an unidentified jaeger that flew by. Jaegars are an ocean-going type of bird that occasionally show up on the Great Lakes. There are three species which can show up on Lake Erie, and identification can be difficult. It doesn't help that most of the ones that show up are juveniles, which tend to look even more similar to each other. We scanned the lake for awhile, but sadly the jaegar didn't reappear. 

After the Huron Pier, we packed the vans and headed off to East Harbor State Park. East Harbor State Park lies on a small peninsula between Lake Erie and the Sandusky Bay. It consists of marshes, protected coves, open lake, a barrier beach, and a little bit of young woods. We came to scan the protected water behind the barrier beach, as well as the beach itself. The protected cove held a few rafts of ducks, mainly Mallards and Gadwalls. The beach, however, was filled with gulls. The highlight was a Great Black-Backed Gull. It was a monster. In fact, this is the largest gull species alive. The individual we saw stuck out like a sore thumb; it towered over every other gull, and its black back was hard to miss. Here's the complete list of birds for this location: East Harbor SP, Nov. 8

East Harbor was the last location we went to for the day, and we headed back to Old Woman Creek to prepare for another night of owl banding. As soon as the sun set, we opened the nets and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

And then the waiting paid off. We caught a Northern Saw-Whet Owl! These truly magnificent owls are very tiny, and very cute. The Northern Saw-Whet Owl is one of the smallest owls in North America, being similar in size to an American Robin. They feed primarily on mice, but they also have to watch out for themselves; Barred, Great Horned, and various other larger owl species will actually catch and feed on saw-whets. Since they face the threat of predation, these owls have become masters at hiding. They like to roost in very dense conifer stands and can be nearly impossible to find. If you've spent time in a patch of forest with a lot of scruffy pines or grapevines in late fall and through winter, chances are you've probably passed one of these tiny owls without even knowing.

Old Woman Creek Education Coordinator Jennifer Bucheit with the Northern Saw-Whet Owl and her personal banding number. This photo gives you a better idea of just how small these owls are.

Since these owls are so hard to find, the details of their range have been mysterious for quite some time. They breed primarily in the coniferous forests of Canada along with higher elevation mixed or coniferous forests of the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. Their breeding range was easily worked out as the males will sing a very loud and incessant call during their breeding season. Outside of the breeding season, these owls are essentially silent. Couple that with their diminutive size and concealment skills and you have a species that is very hard to detect during winter. This made for the mistaken assumption that they didn't migrate much and were quite rare in certain parts of their range. Then some bird banders began to change that idea. Starting in the 1960's, a few people tried mist netting at night for these owls. They were successful and showed that this was a possible feat. More and more banding stations began to try and replicate this. In 1994, Project Owlnet was created in order to start a network between saw-whet banding stations across the nation and to facilitate the creation of more stations. By having a wide range of stations at different locations around the US and Canada, the banders hoped to gain an accurate idea of saw-whet migration. Due to the efforts of these banding stations, we now know that saw-whets do indeed migrate, and they migrate in large numbers. We also know that they are much, much more common than previously thought. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these owls move through Ohio every year, typically October through November. Dr. Kelly Williams, my professor for the class, was responsible for demonstrating that saw-whets migrated through Ohio, an idea that was previously disregarded by most. The occasional individual had been found in Ohio now and again before her work, but those could have easily just been a "lost" bird. Then, back in the early 2000's, Dr. Williams began a banding station in Ross County, and quickly caught saw-whets. And just like that, she proved that they do indeed migrate through Ohio, and in great numbers. 

So what happens when you capture one of these wild owls? Do they try to constantly bite or claw you while trying to escape? Surprisingly, not really; in fact, they kind of just sit there relaxed while staring at you. Even more surprisingly, they enjoy being pet. And I mean they really, really like it. If you stroke the back of one's head, they will close their eyes and lean into your hand; they basically act like a flying owl-cat, and it's one of the most adorable things to witness. You can see the pure joy and content on our owl's face as Dr. Williams pets her.

And on that note, the end is finally here! Thanks for reading!

A Feisty Eastern Garter Snake

Three weeks ago, I was once again up in northern Ohio to assist with some salamander research. Our journey that day brought us across a rough and windy Lake Erie to South Bass Island. To get to the site, we had to walk about halfway across South Bass Island, one of the many islands found in Lake Erie. South Bass Island is better known for the town of Put-In-Bay which covers most of the island. Once we arrived at the forested site - a piece of secondary forest with caves scattered about - we began looking for the lead phase of the Red-Backed Salamander. This post isn't about the salamanders, but instead it's about another "herp" we found. A very feisty herp.

Meet the Common Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. Specifically, this is the subspecies Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, the Eastern Garter Snake. This is the only subspecies of T. sirtalis found in Ohio, and is one of the more drab subspecies if you ask me. Eastern Garter Snakes are the most common garter snake species in Ohio and are also one of the most common snake species in Ohio. This species is a medium-sized snake, normally reaching lengths between 1 and 3 feet. Eastern Garter Snakes can be found in a variety of habitats, inclduing forests, fields, abandoned farmland, city parks, and more, many times preferring to be in a moist place near water.

This individual immediately coiled up and took a defensive stance when we flipped the tile over (the tiles are used to attract salamanders). If we got too close it would strike. This was, from both of our experiences, unusual. This individual was a male, and typically the males are pretty calm and prefer to flee instead of trying to fight. The females are the more "violent" ones. Like most reptiles, Eastern Garter Snakes tend to be more calm the cooler the temperature, and this day was quite chilly (mid 40's). Studies have shown that as the body temperature of a Common Garter Snake decreases, they tend to become more defensive instead of trying to flee. When it gets to a certain point, the lower the temperature is, the more apt they are to remain passive instead of becoming defensive. This individual kept up the defensive act the entire time though.

We snapped a few more photos and left him alone. His defensive behavior allowed for some great photos. It is important to note that Eastern Garter Snakes are harmless. They can and will bite (especially the females), but a bite will only draw a bit of blood, if that. They will only bite if you go to pick them up, so don't try to pick one up if it is acting like this. In fact, most snakes in Ohio are relatively harmless, aside from the three venomous species found here (which are all relatively uncommon to rare). Snakes, as a whole, are very beneficial to humans and definitely don't deserve the bad rap they get, but that's a rant for another time.

I've been really busy lately with college, and sadly I haven't been able to get as many posts written as I would have liked. I have about 5 more in the works, so be on the look out for those! I'll have a lot more time to write once the semester is up, so hopefully I can catch up. Thanks for reading!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: On bird conservation in the Lake Erie region

Hey guys! This is an important issue that needs action!

There has been a push to build wind turbines along Lake Erie. This seems like a good move as it promotes green energy; however, people are failing to realise the ecological damage this would result in.

Location is key with wind turbines. Wind turbines create vacuums behind the blades which suck in and crush flying animals, such as birds and bats. Lake Erie is an important flyway for many species of migrating birds, and these wind turbines would result in the deaths of thousands of birds every year for as long as they would stand. While it is green energy, the ecological harm these turbines would cause would be catastrophic and undo much of the "green" part of it.

Kenn Kaufman, whom you may know from Kaufman Field Guides, at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio has created a petition to stop these turbines. Please take a moment and sign it. The instructions are below:

"Black Swamp Bird Observatory would like to invite all you to register your objection to wind energy development in the highly bird-sensitive areas of Ottawa County, Ohio, specifically the wind turbine projects at the Camp Perry Air National Guard facility and the Lake Erie Business Park.

Rather than an online petition, we opted for a special email address at BSBO where we offer a 100% guarantee that we will not sell your information to advertisers! Your information will ONLY be shared with elected officials.

Please follow these instructions to the letter to save the BSBO staff time and effort.

1) Send an email to: ResponsibleWindEnergy@bsbo.org

2) Put 'RWE' in the subject line

3) In the body of the email, include the following information in this exact format:

Name
City, State, Zip
Email Address

4) OPTIONAL! - A brief comment (1 - 3 sentences) about why you object to wind turbines in these bird-sensitive areas.

The BSBO staff will create a spreadsheet with all of this information and include with our second official letter of opposition which we will send to elected officials. Thank you so much to all the caring birders out there! YOU are the key factor in swaying the opinion of these elected officials!"

Thanks for reading. Remember, we are the ones who must help protect the Earth from the others wanting to destroy it (even if it may be from ignorance). Do not sit idly by; do your part, take action.

These birds and more would be at risk from wind turbines that would be located along Lake Erie.