Prelude to The Biggest Week! - 20 Apr 2014

Happy Easter everyone!  I drove down to Magee Marsh to check out some of the action occurring just 2 weeks before The Biggest Week in American Birding.  And the theme of the morning was, "We're here! We're Waiting For You!".

I found this American Robin advertising the Magee Marsh causeway when I drove in just before 8:30 am.  The marsh is active with singing Swamp Sparrows, Song Sparrows, foraging Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and nesting Trumpeter Swans, Tree Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds.  I kept an eye open for the Short-eared Owl that has been roaming the marsh in the evenings, but saw nothing 'owly'.

The Magee Marsh Boardwalk has had some work on it, and looks really nice with whole new sections here and there, and parts of the tower repaired/replaced.  I was disappointed that they didn't put in a passing lane, though....

Common Grackles and Tree Swallows were the main show this morning, but handfuls of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers and Hermit Thrushes made the walk interesting.  I did see several Palm Warblers, and a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. A pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows sat high enough in the trees to warrant some digiscoping. A pair of Bald Eagles are nesting next to the parking lot, so part of it is roped off.  Please be considerate and give them plenty of space.  I digiscoped the nesting adult from the lot next to the lake and was plenty close enough.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - washing up for company!

The bird of the morning, for me, was this White-eyed Vireo near the west entrance to the boardwalk. I thought I had heard its "Chick-burrio-chick" call several times while walking the trail, and followed the call out to the parking lot before finally seeing it high in the trees.

Things will pick up shortly as weather warms and winds shift to the south. Check out Kenn Kaufmann's forecasts at the BSBO Blogsite!

See you all in a couple of weeks!

Magee Marsh--Boardwalk, Lucas, Ohio, US
Apr 20, 2014 8:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Happy Easter!
15 species

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S101306962

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)