Date: 7/4/25 4:59 am From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Cuyahoga Valley Towpath Census
JULY 03, 2025 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS. ROUTE: Red Lock Trailhead south to Merriman Valley, with stops at the Peninsula Coffee House and Szalay's Farm & Market. TIME: 6:40am - 4:30pm TIME AFIELD: 9:50 TEMP.: 67F ~ 86F COND.: Warm, muggy, and buggy early; turning sunny, hot, and humid with occasional light breezes. TRAIL COND.: Good, but with many new downed and cleared trees from two rounds of late June storms. RIVER COND.: Slightly above normal and turbid from recent storms. FT. MI.: 14.10 OBS.: John Henry and Douglas W. Vogus.
I. MAMMALS: 6 SPECIES, 58 TOTAL.
1. Eastern Cottontail - 5 2. Eastern Chipmunk - 32 3. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 6 (2 black morph) 4. Red Squirrel - 12 5. Coyote - 1 (First July Record on Census) 6. White-tailed Deer - 2 (doe)
II. BIRDS: 65 SPECIES, 609 TOTAL. *(Lowest July Total Species - tying July of 2015 & Lowest Total Birds - previous was 715 in July of 2024)* (NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed)
1. Canada Goose - 20 (8 juvenile) 2. Wood Duck - 21 (12 juvenile m,2f,7 juvenile f) 3. Mourning Dove - 16 4. Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 4 5. Chimney Swift - 5 6. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1 (m) 7. Spotted Sandpiper - 1 8. Green Heron - 4 9. Great Blue Heron - 7 (1 immature) 10. Turkey Vulture - 14 11. Red-tailed Hawk - 2 12. Belted Kingfisher - 3 (2?,1*) 13. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3 (1f,2*) 14. Downy Woodpecker - 5 (2?,3*) 15. Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (1f,1*) 16. Northern Flicker - 1 (*) 17. Pileated Woodpecker - 3 (1*,2 drumming) 18. Peregrine Falcon - 2 (1m,1 immature f) (male "Trailblazer" with a fresh kill with immature female following him and still begging to be fed) 19. Great Crested Flycatcher - 2 20. Eastern Wood-Pewee - 4 21. Acadian Flycatcher - 5 22. Eastern Phoebe - 4 23. Yellow-throated Vireo - 1 24. Warbling Vireo - 11 25. Red-eyed Vireo - 20 26. Blue Jay - 11 27. American Crow - 13 (2 immature) 28. Black-capped Chickadee - 10 (1 immature) 29. Tufted Titmouse - 13 (1 immature) 30. Tree Swallow - 14 (3 immature) 31. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 7 32. Barn Swallow - 6 33. Cliff Swallow - 1 (I noticed four - possibly old nests - under the north side of the I-271 bridge above the Towpath Trail. As we continued south I spotted a lone Cliff Swallow flying above the valley and followed it to a nest on the south side of the I-271 bridge, right above the Towpath Trail, and the bird landed on the entrance of the nest hole and appeared to feed some young and then departed. The nest is where the steel girder meets the concrete deck of the bridge where the large rivets are joining each girder. We did have a lone Cliff Swallow here in August of 2024. Assuming the four nests on the north side are old as one was missing the mud used to hold it together at the bottom of the nest structure. Fourth Record on Census & First July Record on Census) 34. Cedar Waxwing - 13 35. White-breasted Nuthatch - 7 (1m,6*) 36. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1 (*) 37. Carolina Wren - 11 38. Northern House Wren - 1 39. Gray Catbird - 20 40. European Starling - 36 41. Eastern Bluebird - 3 (1?,2*) 42. Veery - 1 43. Wood Thrush - 2 44. American Robin - 37 (1 immature, also1 dead juvenile along trail) 45. House Sparrow - 28 46. House Finch - 6 (1f,5*) 47. American Goldfinch - 15 (4m,1f,1?,9*) 48. Chipping Sparrow - 1 49. Song Sparrow - 35 50. Swamp Sparrow - 12 51. Eastern Towhee - 1 (m) 52. Baltimore Oriole - 2 (m) 53. Red-winged Blackbird - 29 (21m,8f) 54. Brown-headed Cowbird - 5 (2m,3f) 55. Common Grackle - 10 56. Blue-winged Warbler - 1 (m) (Third July Record on Census) 57. Common Yellowthroat - 30 (29m,1*) 58. Hooded Warbler - 6 (m) 59. American Redstart - 3 (2m,1f) 60. Northern Parula - 1 (m) 61. Yellow Warbler - 2 (m) 62. Yellow-throated Warbler - 1 (m) 63. Scarlet Tanager - 2 (1m,1f) 64. Northern Cardinal - 32 (20m,4f,6*,2 juvenile*) 65. Indigo Bunting - 11 (m)
Unidentified Passerines - 8
III. REPTILES: 4 SPECIES, 84 TOTAL.
1. Common Snapping Turtle - 15 2. Midland Painted Turtle - 66 3. Eastern Spiny Softshell - 2 4. Northern Water Snake - 1 (Third July Record on Census)
IV. AMPHIBIANS: 3 SPECIES, 43 TOTAL.
1. Northern Two-lined Salamander - 1 (Third Record on Census & First July Record on Census) 2. American Bullfrog - 2 3. Green Frog - 40 (4 seen,32 heard,4 tadpoles)
V. FISHES: 5 SPECIES, 82 TOTAL.
1. Central Mudminnow - 17 2. Creek Chub - 2 3. Bluntnose Minnow - 21 4. Largemouth Bass - 28 (21 fry) (New Census High - previous was 21 on 08/2017) 5. Bluegill - 14
VI. CRUSTACEANS: 1 SPECIES - DEAD. X. Crayfish - 1
VII. BUTTERFLIES: 12 SPECIES, 51 TOTAL.
1. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 2 2. Cabbage Butterfly - 32 3. Clouded Sulphur - 2 4. Summer Azure - 1 5. Great Spangled Fritillary - 1 6. Pearl Crescent - 1 7. Question Mark - 1 (Second July Record on Census) 8. Red Admiral - 1 9. Eyed Brown - 6 (Fourth July Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 4 on 07/2017) 10. Appalachian Brown - 1 (Fourth July Record on Census) 11. Monarch - 2 12. Least Skipper - 1 (Fourth July Record on Census)
VIII. MOTHS: 3 SPECIES, (2 NEW TO CENSUS), 4 TOTAL.
1. White-striped Black Moth - 2 (Second Record on Census, Second July Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 1 on 07/2024) 2. Smaller Parasa *(Parasa chloris)* - 1 (New Species on Census - currently at 46 Moth Species since 01/2010) 3. Common Gluphisia *(Gluphisia septentrionis)* - 1 (New Species on Census - currently at 47 Moth Species since 01/2010)
IX. DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES: 15 SPECIES, 241 TOTAL. *(Recorded since 05/2018)*
1. Common Green Darner - 2 (Fifth July Record on Census) 2. Swift River Cruiser - 1 (Fifth Record on Census & Third July Record on Census) 3. Eastern Pondhawk - 5 (Fifth July Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 4 on 07/2019) 4. Slaty Skimmer - 7 (Fifth July Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 6 on 07/2019 & 07/2022) 5. Widow Skimmer - 9 (New Census High - previous was 8 on 07/2022) 6. Twelve-spotted Skimmer - 2 7. Blue Dasher - 111 (New Census High - previous was 63 on 07/2019) 8. Eastern Amberwing - 6 (Fourth July Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 3 on 09/2020 & 07/2024) 9. Common Whitetail - 6 (New Census High - previous was 5 on 07/2018 & 07/2024) 10. Ruby Meadowhawk - 2 11. Black Saddlebags - 4 (Fourth July Record on Census) 12. Ebony Jewelwing - 25 13. Blue-fronted Dancer - 11 14. Blue-tipped Dancer - 42 (New Census High - previous was 14 on 08/2019) 15. Skimming Bluet - 8 (Third July Record on Census)
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