Counting down to time on the Lake

I'm getting anxious for the Midwest Birding Symposium. As I write, it's just a few hours over being 9 days away. I can't believe it will be here so soon! And trust me, I really cannot wait!

This year I hope to spend a little more time out in the field looking for birds, and to that end we'll be heading up a little early to check out places like Magee Marsh and the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Don't get me wrong, there will be birding field trips going on during the symposium, but I learned my lesson at the last symposium 2 years ago: allow extra time for exploring on my own!

While I hope to pick up some new water and shore birds while I'm there, I will also welcome opportunities to see the more common birds, like the ever-present gulls and herons.

Lone gull flying over Lake Erie

Gull silhouette

Gull wanna cracker?

Great Blue Heron in early morning light
Yes, the birds are the main draw for this event, but don't forget the sights, too. And local businesses!

We love this place for the food and the atmosphere. They will be seeing plenty of us.

Be sure to check out the Marblehead lighthouse.

And make time to enjoy as many Lake Erie sunsets as you can.
There's STILL time to sign up for the World's Friendliest Birding Event, AKA, the Midwest Birding Symposium.

If you've already signed up, please come join myself and the other Official MBS Bloggers in the Den of Blogniquity in the north end of Wesley Lodge. We'd love it if you would stop by and say "hi!"

When nesting is over, then what?

One thing that I have really enjoyed about taking part in Ohio's 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas is the fact that it's gotten me out exploring other habitats. I live in the woods - my house is in the woods, and our "neighborhood" is heavily wooded, with some bits of open field here and there. As a result, I have become very familiar over the last 6 or so years with woodland birds, and also those birds who prefer what is known as "edge" habitat (the edge between woods and open areas). I am not so familiar with birds of more open areas, nor of birds that like moderately wet places. Due to my work with the Breeding Bird Atlas, though, I have taken the first steps to learning more about the areas beyond my backyard. I have gained a better appreciation and understanding for what birds are likely to be found together in these surroundings that are new to me. I am far, far away from the flat lands of the upper 2/3rds of the state, though, so there are still many things I need to see and learn about all types of different habitats that just don't exist down here in the hilly, unglaciated portions of Ohio.

There is one place to learn about VERY different habitat from what I'm used to, and that's up along the northern border of the state, in a very special town called Lakeside. In just a couple of months, this quaint little town that juts out into Lake Erie, just south of Put-In-Bay and Kelleys Island and a few miles west of Marblehead, will became a haven for birders. We will be gathering for a very special weekend, where we will look, listen, learn, and laugh, and leave our cares behind for a few days on a mini birding vacation. I'm really looking forward to it. This little getaway takes place in the form of the Midwest Birding Symposium.

I went to my first Midwest Birding Symposium 2 years ago, and had a wonderful time. It was where I met a lot of my blogging friends for the first time, and I'm looking forward to meeting even more of you at this year's symposium! Don't get me wrong - you don't have to be a blogger to attend, but there will be a good number of us there. If you'd like more information about the symposium, you can get to the homepage right from my blog! See that little badge in the upper right-hand corner, the one that's got rotating images, just above my photo? Click on it and you'll find all the nitty-gritty details about this awesome event, including how to register!

Quoting from the homepage of the event, it's "the highlight of the birding year!" It will be the highlight of my fall, that's for sure. What with breeding season wrapping up pretty much by August, I'm sure I'll be going through a little birding withdrawal after having spent so much time intently looking for breeding evidence in this little corner of the state. The symposium will be the perfect cure for those blues.There will be many fabulous programs to attend, and wonderful things to see and do.


Gulls, terns and cormorants are commonplace up along Lake Erie, but for a "country girl" like me, all these waterbirds are still new and novel. They are waiting to welcome you to the symposium!

You can watch bird banding at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. The folks there would love to see you!

The town of Lakeside is small, peaceful and quaint. Don't you want to come see it for youself?

Here's the entrance to the pier. Can you smell the lakeside air yet?

You'll likely see some folks fishing out on the pier...

... and you can enjoy a wonderful Lake Erie sunset from there.

Here's the auditorium. We all gather together here at various times throughout the symposium.

One of those seats is waiting for you. Won't you come join us?

The weekend birder

After a weekend of intense nature play, whether it be birding, botanizing, or simply investigating what's going on in my back yard, the reality of going back to work can often be a shock to my system. The world that I was so deeply immersed in for a day or two seems like a distant memory after plunging back into the world of customer service and problem solving that is my day job. This is not to say that I don't like my job, but there are times when making that transition can be difficult and almost painful. A little bit of my own Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I suppose.

Was it a dream that I saw more Rough-legged Hawks in one day than I'll probably ever see again in a year? Was it my imagination that I watched them soar and hover, glide and hang, showing off their magnificent hunting prowess? Raptors that were tiny blips in my binoculars, invisible to the naked eye, became clear within the focus of a borrowed spotting scope*. Will I be able to retain the memory of these beauties, so that if perchance I see one again I will be able to identify it? Yes, I and my birding friends watched these hawks steer with their wings and stall with their tails, their heads constantly in motion, scanning the ground below for prey. Yes, I pondered the fact that we needed high-powered magnification devices to be able to see them well from afar, to make out their field marks and their coloring, all the while knowing that the eyesight of these avian masterpieces was probably far better than any of our scopes.

Light-morph Rough-legged Hawk hunting over open field near the Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio. Black "wrist" patches are the diagnostic field mark of this raptor.
The wind and the cold of the day was real - yes, I remember that. And we all stood outside and endured it, dashing from one location to the next, hopping in and out of our cars, all for the chance to see something as wonderful as a Bald Eagle, for the faintest hope of seeing a Golden Eagle. Being that it was my second Bald Eagle sighting in a week, it made up for missing out on the Golden. Sweet little Bluebirds brightened the dreary landscape, of that I am sure. Later, a Northern Shrike echoed the slate gray sky. How gratifying that the last bird seen on this trip was an addition to my life list, a wonderful way to close out the day.

Birders braving the cold - hardy souls, every one of them. A total of 120 such hardy souls gathered together on this day.
Birding Saturday morphed into Birding Sunday when I awoke to fill the feeders and stood outside for thirty-plus minutes, listening to the birds wake up. The songs of Tufted Titmice and Eastern Towhees rang clear and strong, and White-breasted Nuthatches surrounded me on all sides. It had the faintest feel of a summer dawn chorus, and reminded me that I should get up early more often. A Carolina Wren approached me cautiously, curiously, wanting to sample the bird dough that I had just put out, but not quite trusting enough to come to it while I was standing so close at hand.

Out the door I went after lunch, down the road to help a friend with his work at banding his feeder birds*. We recorded data that will contribute to his ongoing research, and I got to learn about aging and sexing Goldfinches, the proper way to release a bird, and how cranky birds can get when they get caught in a mist net, among other things.

The crankiest of them all still seems like a figment of my imagination. Her high-pitched squeals of displeasure echo in my mind, a sound I'll not soon forget.

Getting toes untangled. Who's foot could this be?

One unhappy Pileated Woodpecker, cursing the net that caught her
One thing I already knew to be true, without anyone having to teach it to me - the experience of a bird in the hand is priceless, no matter how fleeting.

American Goldfinch and Dark-eyed Junco being held in "photographer's pose."

* My heartfelt thanks go out to Julie Z. for letting me use her extra scope whilst birding at the Wilds, and to Bob P. for letting me observe and participate in his weekly banding effort. And thanks to ALL of my birding friends who are helping nature become a bigger and better part of my life.

The season of counting has begun!

When I was a young'un, one of my favorite things to do this time of year was leaf through the Service Merchandise catalog (and maybe the JCPenny catalog, too) and look at all the toys that I could ask Santa to bring me for Christmas. I could easily spend hours looking at the same pages over and over, memorizing all the Barbie cars and houses, and cataloging all of the Star Wars action figures that I hadn't collected yet.

Once Christmas was over, though, that was it. I had some new toys to play with, but winter would drag on without much new to look at, and those toy catalogs were gone from my mind by December 26th.

Now, as a grown-up kid, I have a hobby that takes the place of poring over those pages and pages of toys. And it lasts way beyond the holiday season - in fact, it lasts almost until spring! I'm talking about Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab or Ornithology citizen science project that got me hooked on birding. This winter marks my 6th season of watching and counting birds and reporting my findings to the Lab. It's so much fun, and it really gives me something to look forward to in the winter. I'm quite prone to the winter "blahs," so having this incentive to look out the window and interact with the natural world is really a wonderful thing.


FeederWatching can be addictive, and may cause you to spend hours watching your feeders. If you're not careful, you might burn a dinner or two because you're otherwise occupied watching the fighting going on between the Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches on the thistle feeder. (Not that I would know anything about birds distracting me from cooking!)


A rare moment when Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches are eating quietly side by side. How many of each bird can you find in this picture?
FeederWatching is easy. Just pick 2 consecutive days out of the week that are convenient for you, and count for as long as you are able. Wait at least 5 days, and then count again for 2 more consecutive days. Lather, rinse and repeat from now until April 8, 2011, reporting your observations to Cornell along the way. My counting schedule is always a 1-2 punch of Saturday and Sunday, simply because those are the 2 days per week when I can spend the greatest number of daylight hours watching my feeders.


This winter I expect to see old friends for sure, and hopefully a few new ones, too. All of our 3 common woodpecker species (Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied) were accounted for this past weekend, and the two common "flocking" species at our feeders (Mourning Dove and American Goldfinch) came out with relatively strong numbers.

The Winter Finch Forecast by Ron Pittaway (hosted on eBird) has given me some idea of specific finch species to look for. One species I could expect to see this winter that I haven't seen before is the Common Redpoll. This would not only be a new feeder bird, but a life bird, as well. According to Pittaway's article, Common Redpolls could "irrupt" (defined as: to increase rapidly and irregularly in number) into the northern U.S. this year for 2 reasons: their food source in northern Canada is scarce this year, and it was an exceptionally good breeding year for the species, with double- and triple-broods reported in parts of Canada, so competition for food will be even greater than usual. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for this species! BULLETIN: I was just alerted to a map on RareBird.org that is tracking the movements of certain species, such as the Common Redpoll, into Ohio for the 2010-2011 winter season, and they have already been spotted in some of the northern-most counties. (Thanks for the tip, Jim!)

Another finch species of interest is the Purple Finch, which is also expected to be plentiful in the northern U.S. this winter, again because their major food source up north is not in great supply. I don't usually see them until late December or January, if they show up at my feeders at all, but I spotted a male Purple Finch dining on sunflower seeds at my feeder a little over a week ago, which is super early for me. I hope he comes back soon so I can count him for FeederWatch.



I am now confident that I will be seeing Pine Siskins at the feeders this winter.  My first encounter with this species was during the 2008-2009 FeederWatch season, but they were not present during last season's count. Even though Pittaway's article doesn't predict them coming down into the northern U.S. (food sources up north are excellent), I have heard "chatter" suggesting that they are already working their way into Ohio for the season. The above-mentioned map on RareBird.org shows that they are already farther south by this point in November than they were for the entire season in 2009-2010. Apparently they have been spotted in Athens county already.  So riddle me this:  If their food source is abundant up in Canada, what could possibly make them want to come down this way for the winter?  Hmmmmm...


"Hey, Heather says she's got plenty of thistle and black-oil sunflower seeds at her place! Maybe we should go see her!"


"What's that, you say? Party at Heather's? Well, I'll get my sassy little self right on over there!"

So if you are looking for something cool and fun to do this winter, something that will engage you with life right outside your door, consider counting birds and contributing valuable data as a citizen scientist.


This Tufted Titmouse says, "We will stand and be counted!"

Join Project FeederWatch today!

Birding the Wilds

Yesterday was the Winter Extravaganza at the Wilds, sponsored by the Ohio Ornithological Society. The temps were mild for January, and lots of folks showed up, but our group did not see a whole lot of birds. There was apparently a Golden Eagle spotted in the area, but it was not meant to be for us to see it.


It wasn't for lack of trying, that's for sure. We made many stops on roads close to the Wilds (roads that are actually on land owned by American Electric Power), and searched and searched, but we just didn't see much bird action at all. We did spot a Horned Lark (quite a few, actually), which was a life bird for me. I did a little boogie for it.


This guy. He's awesome. I tell him, "so we're gonna have to leave at, like, 6 a.m. to get there on time." "Okay," he says. Look at him in his Midwest Bird Symposium hat and Bird Watcher's Digest binocular harness. I'm so glad he came to the Wilds to go birding with me!



There were lots of spotting scopes around yesterday, a necessary tool of the trade. Especially when trying to pin down a bird that's somewhere out in the middle of huge expanses of grassland and hills like this...




Before lunch, our group saw Horned Lark, American Kestrel, Eastern Bluebird, European Starling, Blue Jay, Trumpeter Swan, Rough-legged Hawk (dark morph) (AND lifer!), Red-tailed Hawk, and Downy Woodpecker. Folks were hoping for more raptors, but there just wasn't much activity.


What're y'all lookin' at?


There are lots of lakes of varying sizes around the Wilds, but there seemed to be only one that had some unfrozen water, and of course that's where all the waterfowl went. Accordingly, all the scopes were lined up after lunch to observe said water and waterfowl. I could only identify the Canada Geese and Trumpter Swans. Even through a scope, they were still pretty far away, so it was difficult for me to know what else I was seeing (this girl's no good with her waterfowl ID!). I heard folks say there were Ruddy Ducks, Ring-neck Ducks, some kind of Merganser, Mallards, and perhaps a Green-winged Teal.


Oh look, I managed to get photos of some birds! Two Trumpeter Swans, and if you notice the road behind them, there are some Canada Geese to the right of that road. I know... booooring.

Aside from seeing birds, we were able to get some good views of several of the species of mammals that are managed by the Wilds, including a meeting with a very special southern white rhino. Here's a sneak peek:


Stay tuned!

Looking forward

Happy 2010, everyone, and best wishes for a healthy and happy new year! Before I say anything else, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who have read Heather of the Hills throughout 2009, and I hope to offer you more glimpses into the natural world that I love so much into 2010 and beyond!

I'm already looking ahead to several great events that I will be attending early in 2010, all of which will be wonderful learning opportunities.

Wilds Winter Extravaganza at the Wilds (sponsored by OOS), January 16, 2010
Oh how I love the Wilds. While it is my understanding that most time spent at this event will be driving along the outskirts of the Wilds' property, we traveled several of these roads during the Birding by Ear event last May, and they make for good birding! Can't wait to add some new raptors to my life list, and perhaps some new waterfowl, too. Plus, I look forward to seeing old and new birding friends!

Flora-Quest, May 1-2, 2010
Here I will have a chance to spread my naturalist wings a bit by boosting my botanizing skills. Remember those 4000+ flower photos I took in 2009? I bet I'll take 1000+ just during this one weekend in 2010! In addition, I'm very excited that I will finally be visiting the Shawnee State Forest and the Edge of Appalachia preserve. I've heard so many amazing things about the diverse flora and fauna that calls this part of the state home, and it's really ridiculous that I haven't visited this patch of forest that's only a few hours west of where I call home. I guess the allure of the Hocking Hills along with my home-body nature keeps me from feeling too compelled to seek out beauty elsewhere in this great state of Ohio.

Biggest Week in American Birding, May 6-16
"Warblers are dripping from the trees, right at eye level." That's one description I have heard of spring migration along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh in northwest Ohio. I've been wanting to make the spring pilgrimage up there for years, so when I heard about this inaugural festival during the Midwest Birding Symposium last September, I figured this was the "excuse" I needed to get my butt and my bins up there and see this warbler mania firsthand. LOTS of great activities are planned. Among other things, this will be a good chance for me to visit Oak Openings, another popular natural area in Ohio that I have heard great things about. One thing is for sure: I've got to start studying my warblers, both visually and auditorally (is that a word?), so I will know what the heck I'm seeing and hearing!

As I ponder what the new year holds, it's not just about naturalist events. I also hope to do more with creative writing (which I will, of course, share on these pages), expand my photographic skills, and to continue connecting with nature on meaningful levels. There will also be opportunities, I am sure, for meeting up with friends (old and new), and for making fun new recipes in the kitchen! I still have a pile of books that were purchased months ago that tell me I really need to read them (yes, they say to me in a zombie-like voice: "Read less on computer screen...more on paper pages....", and they are actually starting to win me over!). Hubby and I need to go on a camping trip this year (we didn't camp at all last year - so sad). I want to ride my bicycle and paddle my kayak more this year. And as the days grow longer, I will look forward to the first calls of the Eastern Pheobe around March 15th, hoping they will nest on the side of our house again. And all the cycles will continue on, and I will love every minute of it.

What are YOU looking forward to in 2010?

Looking back...

It's hard to believe 2009 is in its last days. We all say it: where does the time go?!

Here are some random highlights from 2009

Birding by ear at the Wilds, May 2009
-16 birds added to my life list, including the Bobolink (aka Dennis Rodman bird) and Grasshopper Sparrow (my first bird in the hand - SUCH an amazing experience!). Not to mention the learning of lots of new bird songs.




Oops - I incorrectly identified this as a Savannah Sparrow on my post about the Birding by Ear weekend back in May (it's a Grasshopper Sparrow)!


Making friends with a Grasshopper Sparrow
Met fellow bloggers.
I had the good fortune to meet up with several of my blogging friends in person throughout the year. I met Jim McCormac during the aforementioned birding weekend at the Wilds. Then I met Kelly (aka Peanut) of Red and the Peanut, with whom I spent a whole day birding in the beautiful Hocking Hills region in July. Several days later I met Shelley of Birding in Michigan on our way to vacation in northern Michigan. I almost met Tom of the Ohio Nature Blog while he was working at the ODNR Natural Resources Park at the Ohio State Fair, but our timing didn't quite work out. Maybe in '10, Tom! In September, Dave and I made our way up to Lakeside, OH, for the Midwest Birding Symposium. There I met Nina (Nature Remains), Julie Zickefoose, Bill of the Birds, and Mike Bergin, founder of 10,000 Birds and creator of the Nature Blog Network. It was really good to make face-to-face contact with all these folks with whom I had only had virtual conversations for so long.

Added Athens County to the state map
...for the presence of several moths (Polyphemus and Hummingbird Clearwing) to Butterflies and Moths of North America. Hooray for citizen science!


Polyphemus moth


Hummingbird Clearwing moth
Took a record number of flora photos.
I took more pictures of flowers in 2009 than in any other year since I got my Nikon D50 (653 flower photos in 2006, 131 in 2007, 784 in 2008, and 4,117 in 2009). Among them, new finds on the property, such as...


Lily-leafed Twayblade and Jack-in-the-Pulpit.
Started another blog
Yes, in a fit of madness I decided that I needed another blog by which to convey my photographs. Thus, Photography of the Hills was born. No descriptions or writing there, just images meant to evoke some emotion. That blog has been languishing a bit as of late, but I hope to revive it in the new year. It's possible that I will discuss photography a bit on that blog in the future, but we'll see how it develops. I'm crafting in my mind a "Looking back" post for that blog as I write this, so check it out. Also, as a part of the creation of the photo blog, I learned just enough HTML to enable me to jazz up both of the blogs a little beyond the simple Blogger-provided templates.


Midwest Birding Symposium, September 2009
I knew the MBS would be interesting and educational, but who knew it would be so much fun, too? I went into it knowing I would see quite a few of my blogging friends, most for the first time, which made it that much more special.

Whilst attending the symposium I got to attend a bird banding demo, where I saw so many birds up close and personal, like the Swainson's Thrush (lifer!) and Brown Thrasher.




One thing I learned while at the symposium: when going to a new, interesting location that has lots of natural attractions around, try to add a few extra days to the trip outside of the scheduled symposium/festival/workshop days. I did NOT do that, and I really feel like I missed out on seeing lots of cool stuff in this area of northwest Ohio.

In my next post, I'll tell you what I'm looking forward to in 2010!