Canadian Send-off...OHIO (15 May)

After yesterday's "Kirtland's madness" it was hard to see that I could get a better send off. Today, I flew out of Ohio, for a bizarre and long journey back home, (Cleveland-Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Miami-Quito!) However, with winds shaping the migration scene at Magee, and with very favourable conditions overnight, rather than sleep in before my marathon journey home, I was up and out early. I just had to have one more session in the field. After all, this was to be my final fling of the spring, until next year. I always leave with sadness at this, I simply love the ebb and flow of migration, and today was all about a significant flow. 

We (Scott Watson and I), arrived to see hordes of Blue Jays migrating overhead, (an under-appreciated migration phenomenon), and regular flocks of Cedar Waxwings (which had been near non-existent this spring at Magee until today) passing over too, with the odd party of Pine Siskins dropping in too. We had not left the parking lot and it was looking good. On top of that there were significant bursts of warbler song creating quite the dawn chorus, indicating that a new batch were in. After all, the singing Blackpolls were not around the day before. I had precious little time, and made precious little progress along the boardwalk but managed to find Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Prothonotary Warbler, Veery and absolutely loads of male American Redstarts which seemed to decorate every nook and cranny along the Magee boardwalk. I even managed to luck in on a male Mourning Warbler, if only briefly. My final bird of the spring was to be a classic one: Canada Warbler, of which I had seen very few this year, let alone photographed. 

This supremely tame male singing Canada provided the ultimate send-off, and I headed for the airport with a spring in my step, with my mind even now already turning towards the (very different) warblers of China, which I will be headed for next week!

K-K-K-K-Kirtland's!...OHIO (14 May)

I went out with Scott Watson with one clear objective in mind: find a Kirtland's Warbler. With weather favouring an arrival of birds, and the date being within the peak period of previous Kirtland's records in this area of Ohio, I was adamant the next few days would see one found at Magee/Ottawa NWR. So we began with a chilly walk around the South Woods behind Ottawa NWR, where small flurries of warblers brought us hope for the day to come. Small groups included Tennessee, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, and American Redstart. A Tufted Titmouse there was also the only one I have seen this year, due to limited birding in the US away from migrant traps. We moved on to Magee Marsh, where we ummed and ahhed over where we should try and find a Kirtland's Warbler: the classic spot, East Beach, or where an obliging bird performed for all last year, along the new Magee/Ottawa Crane Creek Estuary Trail?  

We chose the Estuary Trail, which was good again, as it has been all spring, proving to be a great addition to the Magee set up, and a great overflow area, when the boardwalk becomes jammed with birders. Cape Mays were prominent along the trail, but sadly, the Piping Plover which was present yesterday had moved on. I also managed to find an Orange-crowned Warbler hiding within the mix of migrants, and enjoyed a pair of grounded Sandhill Cranes, and a passing Northern Harrier. A muddy area also held a nice mix of shorebirds: Least, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers. 

Then, just when I was at the furthest point from East Beach, I got a call from Rebecca Hinkle informing me that a Kirtland's Warbler had been found on East Beach; and the rest is history! The bird stayed all day long, giving typically tame views, thrilling many hundreds of people through the day. I returned late afternoon/evening and enjoyed the bird in great light, with just a few people, which was when these photos were taken.

It was a great day all round with good warbler diversity (Canada, Wilson's and Northern Parula added to a list of some 22 species for me for the day, while Scott recorded 28 species out of more than 30 species available!) One of the undoubted highlights was seeing a Blackburnian Warbler sitting on the hand rail along the Magee boardwalk, and getting my first-of-season Philadelphia Vireo, which was stupidly tame like so many birds at Magee. 

Tomorrow is predicted to be even better, and with an afternoon flight taking me away from spring migration for another year, I am set to be out early and make the most of one more final spring fling...

Warblers & Plovers...OHIO (13 May)

With precious few days left of my US spring left (I must return and prepare for a Sichuan tour on Wednesday), I am making the most of it. OK, so there was little new in today in terms of songbirds. Probably what was around, warbler-wise, was essentially what was around the day before. But this was great, as once again the warblers ignored the high canopies available to them and foraged at low levels, much to the joy of a hardy crowd, once again braving the frosty conditions. Magnolia Warblers took the cake in terms of approachability, with one very nearly landing on Brian Zwiebel while we were talking on the Magee Marsh boardwalk, and later rumours came through of a male Yellow Warbler actually landing on a birder's shoulder. I was green with envy, if only it could have been my shoulder! Blackburnians dangled low, and Red-eyed Vireos had joined the mix in small numbers today too, with one even seen uncharacteristically feeding on the ground. Other changes were a clear hike in the numbers of flycatchers around, with substantially more Least Flycatchers than of late. Warbler-wise, yesterday's Louisiana Waterthrush became today's waterthrush, and continued to be both present, approachable, and photographable through the day. 

Bay-breasted Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, Northern Parulas, and Black-throated Green Warblers were some of the most conspicuous species, and even an Ovenbird or two got in to the warbler show, and joined the rest in coming in so close I had to back off in my attempts to photograph it! Although I only managed just one Prothonotary Warbler today, a species notable this spring, in its relative scarcity compared to recent Magee springs, it performed perfectly, foraging over the dark glassy waters of the pond, and shining bright yellow in the periods of warming sunshine. Late afternoon word came through (thanks Sherrie and Rebecca) of a Piping Plover along the new Magee/Ottawa Crane Creek Estuary Trail, and Scott and I raced over there to find it roosting on a shingle spit, with a flock of nine Black-bellied Plovers and a Ruddy Turnstone nearby too.

With the weather improving by the end of the end with typically spring like conditions returning to this corner of Ohio, we felt like spring was returning, and so the soothsayers of birding will have us believe. With notable movements of birds on the way over the coming few days. I for one have my fingers crossed for a "Special K" before I leave...Updates to come.

The Warbler "low down"...OHIO (12 May)

Today was Mother's Day stateside, and if you mother happened to be a bird photographer, and you gave her the gift of a visit to the Magee Marsh boardwalk today, you will surely be her favorite son/daughter today! Our hopes were not high for the day however, when we were greeted by the widely predicted chilled air and high winds. With this greeting us as we left the hotel, we half expected empty woods and seriously poor birding for the day. How very wrong we were; the woods were sprinkled with a heavy dusting of warblers and with the high winds they were feed low down, very low down. This was quite frankly my favorite day I have ever spent on the boardwalk, with people regularly pointing out warblers foraging just above my shoulder, or just beside me arm, or next to my leg etc.

I started on East Beach where a female Cape May Warbler set the tone for the day, preening in the early morning sunlight at arm's length, a Northern Parula flitted around the edges of the stunted vegetation, and dozens of Palm Warblers hopped around my feet on the open sand.  

Then I moved into the woods, and very nearly never left, as American Redstarts, Bay-breasted Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, Blackburnian Warblers, and Chestnut-sided, Wilson's and even Pine Warblers fed excitedly in the open to refuel in the wintery conditions, and prepare for another northern journey in the coming days. 

On top of that a good number of Northern Waterthrushes were in the woods, and perhaps expected, though the lone Louisiana Waterthrush, found by a visiting British birder (which was his very forst waterthrush of any species), was far from expected at this late stage in the migration season.

Chilly conditions are expected again tomorrow, and if this is what happens, I long for more of the same. Me, and my camera, will be ready. I have just 2 days more of the season to go...

MAG-nificent Day...OHIO (11 May)

The temperature dropped considerably in this northwestern corner of Ohio, with the visiting Texans, and me, in particular, wrapped up to the max. However, this did not stop us birding, and bird hard we did. Scott Watson, Andres Vasquez and I threw out a new challenge today, to have our very own Magee Big Day, confining ourselves to Ottawa NWR and Magee Marsh. I spent most of the morning on the great new "Crane Creek Estuary Trail" which yielded Blue-winged, Orange-crowned, and Blackpoll Warblers, and even a stray Audubon's Warbler in spanking breeding plumage. Aside from that some passing Cedar Waxwings were my only ones in Magee this spring season, while a Hooded Merganser on the lake was year bird/tick. By the end of the day, after a little chasing here and there, I managed to emerge with a healthy warbler list of some 22 species. However, in the battle of the Tropical Birding guides I only achieved mediocrity, with second place achieved, with Scott winning this three-way duel, and Andres having to accept, for tonight anyway, the beers were on him!

Above is a photo of a delightful Magnolia Warbler that dropped down below eye level and challenged us outright, by its behaviour, to shoot it...and so we did.

With temperatures set to drop further with a northerly airflow taking grip again, we are unpacking our thermals, for, frankly, nothing is going to stop me enjoying my final few days of spring. I am a proud migrant junkie, and that will never change; it is an avian drug that is hard to shake off!

World Series of Warblers...OHIO (9 May)

So the "birding soothsayers" had gazed into the crystal ball that is the weather map and all that means for migration, and put it out there that this was to be THE day of the week so far. Hopes were high, radar maps backed up their bold predictions, showing masses of birds on the move, after a week that had seen precious little migration in this part of the Midwest. So we were out early, ready for a day of rain, and migrants with it. As it turned out, barely a drop of rain was felt in this part of northwest Ohio for most of the day, despite an ominous sky looming overhead all day long. However, the other thing we were prepared for was migrants, and, of course, warblers in particular; and we got them, in spades! Before we had even made it to the famous Magee Marsh Wildlife Area boardwalk, the tweets were coming in, revealing a swathe of new individuals and species from the day before.

I decided to check out the now famous, new, Crane Creek Estuary Trail (which famously produced an all-day Kirtland's last year), but found it hard to make headway from the car park as Black-throated Blue, Canada, and Blue-winged Warblers blocked my path. Then, once I had made it on to the trail itself, a gorgeous Golden-winged Warbler stopped me in my tracks. It was clearly going to be one of those classic Magee days we all revel in. By the day's end I had bumped into a further 2 (at least) Golden-winged Warblers, Mourning Warbler (thanks Sherrie for the tip-off), and a super confiding

Northern Parula (that literally wowed the tower crowd all day long). This led to a heady total of TWENTY FIVE WARBLER SPECIES for the day (2 less than my all-time highest day total of 27), which was a total I shared with two other Tropical Birding guides-Cameron and Scott, who were competing with me in our own, grandly-titled, "World Series of Warblers". The loser was to pay for a round of drinks (no non-alcoholic drinks allowed), but in the end we were tied. Scott and I got Golden-winged up on Cameron, who spent his time at Cedar Point NWR, while he got a Yellow-throated Warbler up on us there at this closed area.

Other highlights included healthy numbers of Least Flycatchers, Veery, Swainson's, Hermit, and Wood Thrushes, a beach-combing Clay-colored Sparrow, a day-roosting Whip-poor-whill (why are all of them this year in non-photogenic conditions!?), and a super evening Prothonotary Warbler admiring its own reflection in the water, providing a final, magical moment of the day.

I have 3 days left to enjoy spring migration, and I intend to, whatever the weather and whatever the birds!...

The Biggest OWL Twitch...OHIO (9 May)

Well, high hopes were afoot after a depressingly slow day's birding at Magee Marsh the previous day. Early on, things looked positive for me, lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers adorned East Beach, along with a nuthatching Black-and-white Warbler, a Halloween male American Redstart, and a buzzing Black-throated Blue Warbler there too, before things fell quiet. It was actually a pretty slow day, although when the word went up that there was a LONG-EARED OWL ( a rare bird in this season), along the boardwalk, all thoughts of warblers were put on hold. I arrived to see grackles an robins taking a distinct objection to its presence, it's fierce eyes looking perturbed at being bothered, and its deep orange facial disk only lending to the impression of anger, and gave it a testy appearance. All too soon it upped sticks and took off, but thankfully dropped down just a few trees along in a great position, where it sat, glaring intently at the gathering crowd, which merely absorbed this wonderful bird in for a long, long time. Who needs warblers when you have owls I ask-my all-time favourite bird group!

Having said that, I hope the promise of a significant warbler drop in tomorrow comes to fruition, and I can post some colourful images of this soon?!...