2009 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s eastern Midwest tour produced a wide variety and good quantity of migrants. Crane Creek was particularly noteworthy with large numbers of eastern warblers, many of them literally at arm’s reach. In the end we recorded 36 species of warblers, missing only the scarce Connecticut, and had all of the eastern flycatchers. We had good views of Kirtland’s Warblers near Mio, but also found a female Kirtland’s at Crane Creek, Ohio. Our day in southern Ohio produced the usual southern species of warblers, plus good views of Henslow’s Sparrows and Blue Grosbeaks. A White-faced Ibis east of Bay City, Michigan, was certainly noteworthy. Also noteworthy, but under the exotic category, were an adult Whooping Crane east of Bay City and a well-documented female Linnet on 20 May at Tawas Point. Two immature Rough-legged Hawks were exceptionally late.
In Detail: Our tour began with a late afternoon trip to the Voice of America site in Butler County, Ohio. Here we searched for Henslow’s Sparrow without success, but did see many male Bobolinks at close range, many of which were in display flight. Several Eastern Meadowlarks were also well seen. A briefly seen adult male Blue Grosbeak was a bit north of the known breeding range.
We departed early the next morning for Adams and Scioto Counties in extreme southern Ohio. We started off in a weedy field owned by The Nature Conservancy, where we had good scope views of Henslow’s Sparrows, a scarce and very local species. Among numerous ticks (of the non-avian variety!), we also had Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Field Sparrow, and Blue Grosbeak. A singing male Wilson’s Warbler was a migrant. Nearby, we encountered Black Vultures and had point-blank views of a singing Grasshopper Sparrow. We found another pair of Blue Grosbeaks at the Nature Conservancy headquarters, then headed east to Shawnee Forest in Scioto County, where we added several more eastern breeding warblers, including Blue-winged, Yellow-throated, Pine, Cerulean (several gorgeous singing males seen at close range), Kentucky, and Louisiana Waterthrush. That evening in Portsmouth, an old steel town, we listened to Common Nighthawks in the darkness overhead.
The next morning we birded a bit at Scioto Trails, where called in a Worm-eating Warbler. Later in the morning we watched a couple of nesting Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in a posh neighborhood in Columbus. After lunch we headed straight for the boardwalk at Magee Marsh (Crane Creek) and had our first experience in seeing many warblers at arm’s reach. Over the next few days we spent most of our time here, recording nearly all of the remaining eastern warblers, nearly all of which were just a few feet away and giving exceptional views. Notable daily concentrations included 30 Chestnut-sideds, 50 Magnolias, 15 Black-throated Blues, 40 Bay-breasts, 18 Blackpolls including a female with male-like characters, and 20 Canadas. Several Mourning Warblers were well seen, as were a couple of Prothonotary Warblers, several pairs of which were nesting here. Very late was a Louisiana Waterthrush. Our best sighting was a female Kirtland’s Warbler that turned up behind the state park headquarters. Migrant Kirtland’s are only very rarely seen, but Ohio and Pt. Pelee have most of the migrant records—and it’s worth remembering that the species was described to science from a migrant collected in northeast Ohio.
Other highlights at Crane Creek included both species of cuckoo and good studies of Yellow-bellied and Acadian Flycatchers, the latter species rare as a migrant this far north. Our visit to Oak Openings produced several Lark Sparrows, here at the eastern end of their breeding range, and a pair of Summer Tanagers. After a final morning in northern Ohio, where we recorded the arrival of Willow Flycatcher and were able to see the Kirtland’s Warbler noted above, we headed to Leamington, Ontario.
With north winds, Pt. Pelee was much slower, and we saw only a fraction of the migrants we had at Crane Creek. But the trails were lovely, and we did see a good scattering of migrants, including our only Olive-sided Flycatcher, a rare migrant in the East. Most of the birder attention there was centered on the Black Swift, which had appeared for some 20 minutes the day before our arrival. This, and another at Long Point to the east, were the first documented records for eastern North America.
We did spend one evening at De Laurier, where we watched displaying American Woodcocks and finally saw Common Nighthawk. We won’t soon forget the many Wild Turkeys that have recently become established on their own here. At nearby Hillman’s Marsh, we saw a large number of shorebirds, including hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers, many of the males stunning in their full breeding plumage. An immature Little Gull was also notable.
After a final early morning at Pt. Pelee, we departed west and then north for Tawas Point. Migrants were more numerous than at Pelee, and we had an enjoyable eveing walk. Two of us briefly saw a Gull-billed Tern, which would be a second state record and to my knowledge a first spring record for interior eastern North America. I’ve added the sighting to the list on a provisional basis, pending review and acceptance by the Michigan records committee.
Returning past the lighthouse, we ran into a local birder who alerted us to a rare possible longspur. We refound the bird, which to our surprise was a female Linnet, a European species whose northern populations are migratory. The bird was unbanded and appeared to be in fresh plumage. With only one record from Iceland and none from Greenland or elsewhere (to my knowledge) in North America, it would seem that it came out of a cage, but still—one wonders.
Over the next few days we recorded many species at Tawas, including our only Orange-crowned Warbler, an immature female. Other species in the area included Clay-colored Sparrow and a gorgeous male Golden-winged Warbler, which gave all of us a superb view. Later we watched the eastern subspecies of Whip-poor-will, a male of which was perched on a log and singing full-tilt. At such close range, we were even able to hear the guttural “uck” between the whistled “whip-poor-will” phrases.
After our last morning at Tawas Point, we detoured south to chase a White-faced Ibis at Fish Point W.A. We stopped west of Au Gres, where we saw an exceptionally late immature Rough-legged Hawk; I had never seen this species so late in spring in the lower 48, but we found another at Fish Point W.A., where we easily found the breeding-plumaged adult White-faced Ibis, a casual species in the East. Here with several Sandhill Cranes there was also a banded adult Whooping Crane, apparently of the introduced population that breeds in Wisconsin and winters in Florida. Also present were numerous singing Marsh Wrens. Ducks at some nearby ponds included Redhead, Lesser and Greater Scaup, and a female Bufflehead. That evening, a few of us ventured out to an area southeast of Mio, where we watched a displaying American Woodcock at close range and also saw two more Whip-poor-wills.
On our final day we connected with Kirtland’s Warbler and had good views of a singing male. Later, closer to Grayling, we found a single Upland Sandpiper and a Vesper Sparrow, and at Hartwick Pines State Park we had good views of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a male Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a lovely male Evening Grosbeak. At the edge of Wigwam Bay, we watched a large flock of Whimbrels fly by and also had fine views of singing Sedge Wrens.
Our last stop was at Nayanquing Point W.A., where we had good views of numerous territorial male Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Here we also called in a Virginia Rail and saw several American Bitterns and a single calling Willow Flycatcher. After a final dinner near Flint, an evening drive to Romulus, and a final checklist session over wine, we concluded a very long day and a productive tour. We ended up seeing virtually every species of the eastern Neotropical migrants, missing only the always difficult Connecticut and Swainson’s Warbler, which breeds as far north as east-central Kentucky—at sites to be included in our 2011 itinerary.
- Jon L. Dunn
Updated: June 2009