Sora

The past two weeks have been the peak of rail migration here in Ohio. I saw report after report, photo after photo, of Virginia Rails and Soras from around the state posted on various Facebook groups such as Birding Ohio. I absolutely adore rails; an infamous Black Rail which showed up outside of my hometown in 2008 was responsible for converting me from a birdwatcher to a birder. And of course, with all the reports I was seeing this year, I just had to go out and try to find a few rails myself. I traveled to a few good locations, but came up empty each time. And then I stopped by a local city park in Circleville, Ohio...

The typical view of a Sora in dense reeds.

The Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park (what a name) lies on the edge of Circleville in Pickaway County. It's half forest and half prairie. In the middle of the prairie section is a small pond surrounded by reeds and cattails. I stopped by to do some birding in the forest, and I checked the pond first to see if there were any ducks hanging out. All of the sudden I heard the distinctive whinny call of a Sora! After searching the known haunts of Soras and Virginia Rails in Pickaway County, and coming up empty handed each time, there was a Sora hanging out right in a heavily-traveled park! And then I heard another whinny; there was more than one! I didn't have my camera on me, so I decided to head back out the next day to try and get some photos. After arriving, I carefully walked the edge of the pond, searching for any movement among the reeds. After a few moments, I caught a glimpse of something moving. A Sora was walking through the reeds, heading away from me.

I positioned myself in a location that was a bit more open. I took out my phone and played a call of a Sora in an attempt to draw one a bit closer. To my surprise one came running at me! He looked at me, apparently decided I wasn't a threat, and then began foraging only a few feet away from me. My camera shutter flying, and my hands shaking from excitement, I took photo after photo.

He moved into the open a few times and allowed me to take photos I never thought I would get to take. The Sora is a common species of rail. Rails are birds in the family Rallidae. Members of Rallidae are duck-size-and-smaller birds which are mostly tied to wetlands, especially here in the US. The Sora is actually not as closely related to the Virginia and King Rails as one might expect, but is instead more closely related to the Moorhens (Gallinules) and Coots. The most common rail in Ohio is by far the familiar American Coot, but the Sora takes second place. The issue with most rails (American Coot aside) is that they are incredibly secretive and shy birds, which means they often escape notice even though they move through Ohio in pretty good numbers. Soras are a bit more outgoing and can often be seen by the patient observer. Virginia Rails are a bit more secretive and harder to see, but by far the hardest rails to lay eyes on are the Black and Yellow Rails. Black Rails and Yellow Rails are scarcely the size of a sparrow, and trying to see one of those moving through 5 foot tall reeds is a bit of a challenge. Those two species are incredibly rare here in Ohio, but they are found every several years. No doubt many more migrate through each year than are found. But back to the Sora!

The Sora breeds across much of the northern half of the US, including most of Ohio aside from the southern portion of the state. They breed in freshwater marshes, including places here in Ohio such as Calamus Swamp, Battelle-Darby Creek, and the marshes of Lake Erie. They overwinter in the marshes of the southern coastal US, Central America, and the extreme northern parts of South America. Like all rails, the Sora has extremely large feet that are adapted to walking over bits of broken reeds as you can see in the photo above. The larger surface area of their feet makes it easier to stay above the water without sinking in, but if it comes to it they are pretty good swimmers as well. Soras prefer shallow water that is less than 20 inches deep, so their large feet really compliment their habitat preference.

The Sora spends most of its time moving stealthily among dense cattails and other reedy wetland plants, foraging on a range of food types including snails, spiders, insects, and assorted plant material (mostly seeds). The Sora is a migratory species, and they migrate through Ohio from April to May and again from August to mid October. Those which nest in Ohio start as early as late April/early May. I really hope that the individuals I saw and heard are trying to nest in the park. The pond and edge wetland are 2.5 acres (1 hectare) in size, and this seems to be the lower limit in area that they will nest in. Soras face the threat of habitat destruction (and what species doesn't anymore?) as acre after acre of wetland habitat is destroyed in the US. The pond these Soras were hanging out in was actually recently constructed as part of a habitat restoration project (it had been an agricultural field for decades). Hopefully these, or future, Soras take advantage of this new wetland. 

I have to admit, I was shaking from adrenaline as I was taking these photos. As I mentioned before, I LOVE rails, and I never thought I would have one foraging essentially at my feet, let alone getting a chance to photograph one like this. The Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park is a special place. Not only are there Soras and Wilson's Snipes hanging out in the wetland during some parts of the year, but the seriously declining Henslow's Sparrow, along with the more common Savannah Sparrow, breeds in the surrounding restored prairie. The other half of the park, a wet forest, offers a stopover location for warblers and other migrant songbirds within the sea of corn and soybean fields which surround it. And apparently (as I just saw my first one at this location after years of birding the patch), a Red-Headed Woodpecker, a species in decline here in Ohio, is setting up shop in the park! It's a lovely park to bird at, and I can't wait to see what other interesting species show up!

Thanks for reading!

Six Orchids from Southern Ohio

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being one of the trip leaders for the Ohio Ornithological Society's "Warblers and Wildflowers" event. This is an annual weekend foray that takes places in the rolling hills of Shawnee State Forest and nearby areas. My group spent Saturday morning in Shawnee SF, and the rest of the day birding around next door Adams County. I ended up observing 66 species of birds on Saturday, a new daily high! Sunday was a free-for-all, and I was lucky enough to be able to tag along with two amazing botanists, Andrew Gibson (blogger at The Buckeye Botanist) and Tanner Morris (you can view Tanner's photography page right here), as they ventured through some select sites in Scioto and Adams Counties. We saw a lot of amazing plants, but this post is over the orchids we saw in bloom.

First, some background on orchids. Although the word "orchid" conjures up images of tropical forests, Ohio does indeed have an array of native orchids. There are 46 species of native orchid (family Orchidaceae) which have been recorded in Ohio. Of these 46, 4 are sadly extirpated (locally extinct in Ohio). Of the remaining 42, 22 are state listed as either potentially threatened, threatened, or endangered (and 2 of those 22 are also federally listed). The vast majority of these orchids require a narrow set of ecological characteristics to live, with some being much more picky than others. This makes orchids generally uncommon and oftentimes hard to find in Ohio, depending on the species. (For a complete checklist of Ohio orchid species and hybrids, check out this link)

The orchid blitz was mainly Sunday, but it began Saturday night. We took a short drive to one of the many gravel roads that criss-cross the massive expanse that is Shawnee State Forest. Just off the side of the road were these two unassuming flowers. This is Large Whorled Pogonia, Isotria verticillata. Large Whorled Pogonia is an orchid of the forest. More specifically, this species prefers acidic soils of upland forests and the likes. It's relatively widespread across the Allegheny Plateau region of eastern Ohio, but it's an easily missed flower. 

Large Whorled Pogonia in bloom.

Many of the orchids in Ohio are not overly showy, and the Large Whorled Pogonia falls into that category. It would be an incredibly easy flower to miss if you weren't looking. Although the Large Whorled Pogonia is relatively common (albeit hard to see) in eastern Ohio, it's close cousin the Small Whorled Pogonia, Isotria medeoloides, is a whole other story. The Small Whorled Pogonia is a federally listed plant, and it is incredibly rare in Ohio. In fact, it's only been recorded in 2 counties, and both of those have been in single locations. The first individual was recorded in Shawnee State Forest back in 1985, only a few miles from where the photo above was taken. It has since not been relocated. The second record was from a location in Hocking County in 1998, where a single fruiting individual and several vegetative stems were discovered. Sadly those individuals haven't been seen in several years, but this species is known to lie dormant. There is a chance that it will once again sprout forth. There is also a chance the Small Whorled Pogonia is out there somewhere else in Ohio, hiding among other plants, either overlooked or in places where no botantically-minded person has ventured...

On Sunday we once again ventured down a lonely road in Shawnee State Forest. Ovenbirds, Worm-Eating Warblers, and Wood Thrushes greeted us with song as we arrived at the first location. However, so did rain. Cue me awkwardly trying to protect my not-weather-sealed camera from the rain while still trying to take photos. Luckily these Pink Lady's Slippers, Cypripedium acaule, did not pay a lick of attention to the rain. Pink Lady's Slipper is a species of orchid in the Cypripedium genus, whose members are called the "lady's slippers" due to the distinctive shape of their flower.

The Pink Lady's Slipper is one of the more common of the lady slipper's here in Ohio. The Yellow Lady's Slipper, which we will get to in a bit, has been recorded in more counties than the Pink, but the populations are much more scattered and tend to be not as abundant in individuals. The Pink Lady's Slipper can be found in the northeastern part of Ohio (the glaciated Allegheny Plateau) and a few scattered counties in the southeastern half of the state. They prefer dryer, acidic oak and pine forests, such as the ridgetops of Shawnee SF with a sandstone bedrock.

Just a few dozen feet away was a very interesting Pink Lady's Slipper that wasn't so pink. This is a white variation individual of the Pink Lady's Slipper. It's a pretty rare phenotype for this species, and it was a pleasure to see. This isn't the first white-variant flower I've seen before; a few years ago I found a white-variant individual of Scaly Blazingstar. You can see a photo of that individual at this link.

Close by to the Pink Lady's Slippers were a few individuals of the Large Yellow Lady's Slippers. The taxonomic naming seems to be a bit unsure. There are three thoughts. First, most would call this Cypripedium parviflorum, specifically Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens. Others would call this Cypripedium pubescens. A few would call this Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens. This confusion all boils down to the never-ending conflict of what defines a species. In Europe there is Cypripedium calceolus, the Yellow Lady's Slipper. Originally many considered the yellow lady's slippers in North America to be a subspecies of the European C. calceolus. As genetic work was done, they found this probably wasn't the case, and the American ones were diverged enough to be considered their own species.

This led to the next issue; within North America there are 4 varieties (in essence the botanical version of a subspecies) recognized. Many botanists then decided to call the overall species Cypripedium parviflorum, and then designate the varieties as var. exiliens (found in Alaska), var. makasin (found in the northern part of the range), var. parviflorum (found in the southern part of the range), and var. pubescens (found throughout the range). These varieties all have different ranges, different habitat preferences, and different morphologies, and one could argue that these are different species, depending on what your idea of a species is (as there are a few dozen concepts). In fact, this resulted in some deciding to elevate Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens to its own species, Cypripedium pubescens. Yet at the same time, all of the American "varieties" are extremely closely related when it comes to their genetics. This leads to a big question: How much does genetics play a role in designating what a species is, and how much does the ecology of the various populations play a role?

Regardless how they are classified, they are an extremely awesome plant. The delicate yellow flower stands in stark contrast among the greens and browns of the understory. They are found across Ohio in about half the counties, but they aren't really "common" here, although they can be locally abundant in good areas. They prefer wetter areas than the Pink Lady's Slippers, and often can be found on forested hillsides.

Stepping away from the lady's slippers for a bit, let's go to this tiny plant. This is Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis. And yes, I spelled the common name correctly. It's not Showy Orchid, but Showy Orchis, as strange as that might seem. The name "Orchis" comes from the old genus this species was placed in, which was Orchis. However, they have since been removed and placed in the new genus Galearis, but the common name of Showy Orchis remains. Showy Orchis can essentially be found throughout the state. It prefers moderately moist (AKA mesic) forested habitats. Such habitats include the bottoms of ravines in southern Ohio. They are only a few inches tall and could be easily missed by the unobservant hiker, but a careful observer might catch the tiny white and purple flowers.

After awhile we left Scioto County and headed to next-door Adams County, which happens to be my favorite county in Ohio. I also absolutely love parasitic plants, and I was delighted when we stopped by an unassuming roadside with a population of Spring Coralroot, Corallorhiza wisteriana, in bloom. I've covered the related Crested Coralroot (you can read the post here), and it was great to see another species. Spring Coralroot is listed as a Potentially Threatened Species here in Ohio. They are a parasitic species which feeds off nutrients acquired by underground mycorrhizal fungi that is present throughout the soil. In fact, these plants spend most of their life underground, and they only send up a flower every so often when conditions are right. This lifestyle is also leading to their decline. Disturbances to the soil will often result in the destruction of mycorrhizal fungi in the affected area. Of course, if the food source for the Spring Coralroot is destroyed, the Spring Coralroot won't be able to feed and will subsequently starve.

The star of the day was the rare, state-endangered White Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium candidum. This is not just rare in Ohio; this species is rare across its entire range in the US. It's a species of calcareous soils, such as the dolomite-based soils of the Adams County cedar glades. It's only been recorded in 10 counties in Ohio, but only 4 of those counties have records after 1980. This vast reduction is due to the destruction of our calcareous (alkaline) prairies and fens. Sadly those habitats aren't exactly coming back, and even if they did, orchids are notoriously difficult (and sometimes impossible) to reintroduce into an area. I'll be making a longer post about this species in a few days, so stay tuned for more!

These orchids were only a sliver of the awesome plants I was able to see over the course of the weekend. Southern Ohio is a treasure-trove for botany lovers, and for nature-lovers in general. Thanks for reading!

Exploring Low Tide

As you might know, I went on a road trip over my Winter Break. Much of it was spent exploring the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry. I spent 4 days of my time in the Lowcountry camping on Hunting Island State Park on the southern tip of South Carolina.

Driftwood on the beach at Hunting Island.

This isn't the first time I've been to Hunting Island State Park; the ornithology class I was taking last semester stayed here while on a birding trip (Link). It's an absolutely amazing place that I wanted to revisit, so I decided to come back on my break. I spent most of my time birding around the area, but whenever I wasn't birding, I was exploring the island's beach. First, some background on the setting. Hunting Island is a subtropical barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean. The natural beach is approximately 4 miles long. As with elsewhere, Hunting Island experiences 3 types of tidal cycles: daily, monthly, and annual. These are all caused by different types of interactions between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. The most obvious tidal cycle is the daily cycle. This cycle is caused by the interplay between the Earth's rotation and the Moon's gravity. This results in 2 daily high tides and 2 subsequent low tides. The tides can make the beach on Hunting Island go from only 10 or 20 yards wide during high tide to 100+ yards wide during low tide. I opted to explore during low tide, as many "goodies" are visible once the intertidal zone is exposed.

Until this trip, I've never had the chance to really explore a beach. I honestly didn't know what kinds of things to expect, especially in South Carolina. I was absolutely flabbergasted to see Sea Stars. One part of the beach during low tide had some rocky tide pools, and these tide pools were teeming with dozens of sea stars and various other life. All the sea stars were one species, the Forbes Sea Star (Asterias forbesi). The Forbes Sea Star can be found in Atlantic coast intertidal zones ranging from Maine down to the Gulf of Mexico. It has a characteristic orange madreporite. The madreporite (the round orange thing near the center) is a specialized opening which all sea stars have. The madreporite is essentially a valve which allows sea water into the specialized water vascular system which run throughout the sea star's body. Sea stars actually use sea water essentially as a means of locomotion in a rather complex process. You can read more about this process and the madreporite at The Echinoblog.

The Forbes Sea Star is a molluscivore, meaning it feeds on mollusks. Specifically, the Forbes Sea Star feeds on bivalve mollusks, which are mollusks that are enclosed by two shell parts which are attached by a hinge. Bivalves include commonly-known mollusks like clams, oysters, mussels, etc. The Forbes Sea Star tracks down bivalves by honing in on the chemical "smell" of bivalves. Once it senses a bivalve, the sea star will crawl toward it. Upon reaching it, the sea star will then grab the bivalve with its tube feet (which you can see in the photo above). The sea star then uses its tube feet to pry the bivalve's shell open, exposing the helpless mollusk inside. This is when things get a little strange. Instead of "swallowing" the squishy mollusk body like you might think it would, the Forbes Sea Star does things a bit differently. It pushes its stomach out of its body and up against the body of the mollusk where it then excretes digestive enzymes that begin to break the mollusk down. The stomach then absorbs the resulting nutrients before getting pulled back into the sea star's body. Pretty crazy, isn't it?

Another common sight in the tide pools I explored was the Warty Sea Anemone, Bunodosoma cavernata. Sea anemones are actually animals in the Order Actiniaria. The sea anemones are Cnidarians (Phylum Cnidaria), and as such they are related to jellyfish, corals, tube-anemones, and the like. The Warty Sea Anemone is a more southerly species in the US, ranging from North Carolina down throughout the Caribbean. The venom of the Warty Sea Anemone isn't toxic to humans like some other sea anemone venom can be, and so they pose essentially no threat to the beach goer. If you decide to gently poke one, you can witness their reactionary defensive behavior which consists of quickly pulling its tentacles in to a tight ball.

Sand Dollars, with a live individual on the left, and a dead individual on the right.

As I moved away from the tide pools and walked along the beach, I often came across individuals of a species of Sand Dollar called Mellita isometra. Common names for this species include the Keyhole Sand Dollar and the Five-Holed Sand Dollar. Sand Dollars are actually a type of sea urchin that have a flattened body which helps them easily burrow under sand. Mellita isometra is a species which can be found in soft intertidal zones to shallow depths of ~100 meters from Massachusetts down to Florida and the Bahamas. Most of the Sand Dollars that people find along the beach are actually the "skeletons" of dead individuals, called "tests." To see the difference between a live Sand Dollar and a dead one, look at the photo above. The Sand Dollar on the left is alive; notice its purple coloration and fuzzy appearance. On the right you have the test of a dead Sand Dollar. Notice how it's smooth and a pale creamy color; it's much different looking than a live individual!

Of course, one of the most common sights on the beach are various mollusk shells. There are, however, few shells in South Carolina as large and eye-catching as the Knobbed Whelk, Busycon carica. I was wading through a shallow channel on the north end of Hunting Island when I came across my lifer Knobbed Whelk. The large shell sitting in the sand easily grabbed my attention. Amazingly, this is a small Knobbed Whelk. A full grown adult will be between 5 and 12 inches long, while this one was only about 4 inches.

So what exactly is a whelk? A whelk is essentially just a type of sea snail. More specifically, they are sea snails in the family Buccinidae (the true whelks), but some sea snails in other families have "whelk" as part of their common name (which is one of the many issues with common names). The Knobbed Whelk can be found in near-shore environments ranging from the intertidal zone to 50 or so meters deep. Their range extends from Massachusetts to northern Florida, and in South Carolina they are the most common of the whelk species present (there are 4 total in South Carolina). They are a predatory snail that feeds on bivalves such as oysters and clams.

As with all creatures, Knobbed Whelks eventually die. After their soft body decomposes, a nice empty shell is left over. That shell makes for a great hermit crab home. In fact, the hermit crab in the photo above is using a small Knobbed Whelk shell as its temporary home. Hermit crabs are a type of crustacean, but they aren't actually true crabs. Hermit crabs are kind of their own thing. Most crustaceans have a completely hard body due to it being nearly all calcified, but the hermit crabs have a non-calcified, and subsequently soft, abdomen. This soft abdomen is a very big weak spot for the hermits, and they have come up with an easy fix: crawl into an empty shell! Most often a hermit crab will choose a snail shell of some sort, like the individual above. By using this shell as a mobile protected "home," the hermit crab can better prevent becoming an easy meal for a hungry predator.

There are several species of hermit crabs in South Carolina, and I have essentially no knowledge when it comes to identifying crustaceans. I think this is a Long-Clawed Hermit Crab, Pagurus longicarpus, however I could be totally wrong. Another common species is the Thinstripe Hermit Crab, but this individual lacks the characteristic pinstripes. Another possibility is the Broad-Clawed Hermit Crab, but its claw doesn't look nearly large enough. If anyone can help me positively ID this species, please leave a comment!

Of course, if I'm going to talk about hermit crabs, I should probably talk about the true crabs! This guy was a surprise find. I was in one of the tide pools looking around when I saw something just barely sticking out of the sand. At that point in time, all I could see was the outline of a round object. I thought it might be some sort of bivalve, so I put my hand under it and attempted to pull it out of the sand for a closer look. Suddenly, the object erupted in a flurry of movement, stirring up the sand and clouding the water. I jumped, and then felt a pinch on my hand. Oops, it was a crab. The sand settled to reveal the scene above - a now-obvious blue crab sitting half buried in the sand. My colleague Alayna Tokash identified this as the Atlantic Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, which is often just referred to as the "Blue Crab" (although there are several species of blue crabs in the Atlantic).


The Atlantic Blue Crab is a commonly consumed crab, and is also a very economically important species for the Atlantic Coast. However, there's some trouble. The Atlantic Blue Crab population has been declining for some time. It is estimated that the population declined from 900 million individuals to approximately 300 million individuals from the mid-1990's to 2004. In the Chesapeake Bay region, where the Atlantic Blue Crab is most heavily harvested, the population is estimated to have decreased by nearly 70% over the past few decades. Overharvesting is, as you might have guessed, a major problem, but several other factors, including diseases and habitat degradation, are to blame as well. These declining trends suggest an upcoming battle between conservationists advocating for the protection of the Atlantic Blue Crab and the crabbers who rely on this species to make a living. Hopefully it doesn't get to that point, but this is a scenario that is played out much too often nowadays...

I know this is a very different subject matter than what I normally get the chance to write about, so hopefully you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

An Exciting Snake on an Exciting Road

As I've mentioned in previous posts (here and here), I took a road trip over my Winter Break to South Carolina. I spent the first few days outside of Charleston exploring the vast Francis Marion National Forest. Francis Marion NF is a large reserve (258,864 acres) that contains a great example of the Middle Atlantic coastal forest ecoregion. Francis Marion NF is one of the most biologically and ecologically diverse parks in the southeastern United States, with swamps, freshwater marshes, salt marshes, upland Longleaf Pine savannas, and more.

Before we get to the exciting snake, I want to take a short history tangent. Nestled in the eastern side of Francis Marion NF, off US Route 17 and only about 2 miles from the Atlantic Coast, you can find an unassuming dirt road (pictured above). Now, there are many dirt roads like this throughout the park, but I made a trip to travel down this specific road. This road, now named Old Georgetown Road, has an incredibly long and incredible history. It started out as a trading path (named the Broad Path) used by the Sewee Native Americans. Then the British came. They founded Charleston in 1670, and there came an obvious need for a road to connect Charleston to the other colonies in the north. King Charles II ordered for a road to be created that connected Charleston, South Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts, to fulfill this need. In this part of South Carolina, the colonists chose to use the already-existing Sewee Broad Path that went up the coast. By the early 1700's, this 1,300 mile dirt/mud/sand road was finished, with Charleston and Boston connected. It was the road to use when traveling up and down the coast. For example, in 1791, then-president George Washington decided to travel to all of the new states. He, as you might have guessed, traveled to South Carolina via this road. Most of this 1,300 mile road was eventually paved and slightly rerouted, with the vast majority of it becoming US Route 17. What makes this specific section of the "King's Highway" special is the fact it was never paved over. This 6.6 mile stretch is one of the last remaining unpaved, original sections of the King's Highway (as it became called in the 1900's). In fact, it's one of the few remaining unpaved sections of colonial period roads still left in the US at all. As a history geek, this was one of the most exciting roads I've ever driven down!

The road became even more exciting when I saw a snake laying in the middle of it! As I got out of my car, I could tell it was a species of snake I've never seen before. Upon getting closer, I saw that it was a Corn Snake! Francis Marion National Forest is a treasure trove of reptiles, with the Corn Snake being just one of the 58 reptile species that call the park home. As an Ohioan, that's a stunning diversity of reptiles, as there are only 42 species of reptiles here in Ohio.

The Corn Snake, Pantherophis guttatus, is a species of non-venomous snake found throughout much of the Southeastern United States. They can be found in a variety of habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, palmetto flatwoods, and more urban areas such as around barns and sheds. Within a given habitat, the Corn Snake utilizes a range of space; it will climb trees, bask on rocks, explore underground mammal burrows to hunt, and visit everywhere in between. They feed primarily on rodents, so they can essentially be found wherever there are rodents.

Corn Snakes are very popular in the pet trade, and one of the reasons for that lies in their beauty. The "wild type" coloration (which is what this guy is) is a stunning orange, red, and yellow. This photo also shows their slight iridescence (which many other snake species exhibit). A large variety of other color types have been selectively bred for in the pet trade, but I still think that the wild type is the best.

In my opinion, the Corn Snake is one of the most beautiful species of snake in the United States. Even if you aren't a snake lover, you can't help but appreciate the stunning coloration on this species.

Thanks for reading!

Ross's Geese in Athens!

This February has shaped up to be one of the most spectacular migratory goose flights in Ohio in awhile. Beginning in the first week of the month, reports started pouring in from around the state on eBird, Birding Ohio, and other media reporting flocks of dozens to even hundreds of Snow Geese, Ross's Geese, and Greater White-Fronted Geese. These species of geese are pretty rare in Ohio, but each winter will often bring many scattered reports of one or two individuals mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese. The past 2 weeks, for some reason, has brought very large flocks of these rare geese throughout Ohio.

Luckily, Athens got to partake in what I've heard people calling "Goosapalooza." On February 12, Ohio University professor Phil Cantino reported 8 white geese on the western side of Athens near the Hocking River. These 8 white geese turned out to be Ross's Geese, and they continued hanging out for several days. Yesterday, on Feb. 15, a group of Ohio University students (including myself) went to see the individuals. It wasn't hard; we drove past a large group of Canada Geese hanging out at the Athens County Fairgrounds, and sure enough the 8 Ross's Geese were mixed in with the group of 150 or so Canada Geese.

The diminutive Ross's Goose is one of my favorite birds. As I mentioned previously, they are quite rare in Ohio, but they aren't globally rare, however. Their rarity in Ohio stems from their migration routes. The Ross's Goose breeds in northern Canada and overwinters in two distinct locations - California and the southern Great Plains. The populations which overwinter in the southern Great Plains migrate using the Central Flyway, which is pretty much 2 states west of Ohio. Since they utilize a migration flyway which doesn't come through Ohio, they don't really come through Ohio either. Occasionally something, whether it be a storm, individual mistake, etc., will cause one or a few individuals to veer off course and end up in places like Ohio. In the case of this giant flight into Ohio, weather is probably to blame.

Photo taken in Fairfield County, Ohio, back in December 2015. The Snow Goose is in the back, while the Ross's Goose is in front of the Snow Goose.

As you might have seen, I had a post on both Ross's Geese and Snow Geese back in December (which you can read at this link). The Snow Goose and the Ross's Goose superficially look the same, but there are a few differences to note. I'll use a nice comparison photo from the Fairfield County ones I chased back in December. In the photo above, the Snow Goose is the white goose in the back, while the Ross's Goose is the white goose in the front. First, take note of the black wingtips in both; this shows that the goose is either a Snow or Ross's goose, and not just a white domestic goose, which will lack any black in the wings. Now, how do you tell the difference between a Snow Goose and a Ross's? Essentially, a Ross's Goose is a miniature, duck-sized version of a Snow Goose. Size, however, can be deceiving. Another feature that can help, but can also be deceiving, is neck size; a Ross's Goose typically has a very short, stubby neck, while a Snow Goose typically has a much longer neck. However, this can be dependent on how the goose is holding its neck and it isn't a good feature to solely base an identification on. The best field mark to separate the two species is the bill. With a Snow Goose, the bill will be large and pretty long. The bill will also have a distinctive dark "mustache." A Ross's Goose will have a much smaller and more dainty bill, and it will lack that dark "mustache."

In the case of the flock of 8 white geese this time around, they were all tiny, short-necked geese with dainty bills. This identifies them all as Ross's Geese. This was pretty exciting; the Ross's Goose was one of the last rare goose species which I hadn't yet seen in Athens! When rare geese do show up in Ohio, it's typically in the northwestern part of Ohio or along Lake Erie. Southeastern Ohio isn't typically a hotspot for rare waterfowl. However, the past 2 winters have brought an array of rare geese, with Greater White-Fronted Geese and Cackling Geese and Snow Geese. Now I can add Ross's Geese to the list of interesting Hocking River visitors!

If you live in Ohio, keep your eyes out for the rest of the week for any unusual geese! You never know what you might find!