Beaver was hereI have been sick for a week and Liam has been busy at school but we finally managed to get out and do a bit of local birding in the Cincinnati area. It was a chilly and very windy day and we didn't get out until early afternoon so the birds all seemed to be hunkered down for a siesta. A few BJ's fought the winds up high and we found a couple clusters of ducks on the water.
At the Kilby Rd Gravel pits there had been reported a Common Merganser or 2 so we went to check it out. 3 miles of hiking gave us a bunch of Ring-necked Ducks & Redheads, 1 American Wigeon, a couple of coots and grebes to include a new list bird Horned Grebe. It was a lame distant look and we know we will see them in full regalia in North Dakota later this year but at least we got to put something new on the list. We also stopped by the Miami Whitewater Forest wetlands and found 7 earlier reported Tundra Swans still present for our last new lister for the day.
We will be heading up to Sax-Zim Bog near Duluth, MN in February. We won't be able to officially take part in the birding festival but hope to be up there while it is going on and there is an influx of birders. As far as I can tell it is a real place and not just a made up Dr. Seuss place as I first suspected so visions of Great Grey and Hawk Owls are keeping me up at night! It would be cool to see some Sneetches though!
Hey Guys,
ReplyDeleteLooks like your off to a great start on your big year!
I'll be guiding the Sax-Zim Bog Festival this year and I urge you to try and participate. The communication between the guides ensures that there is a much greater chance of seeing some really great birds. There are also lots of great speakers and presentations. Best of luck to you both!