Date: 1/2/26 3:18 pm From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Cuyahoga Valley Towpath Census
JANUARY 01, 2026 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS. ROUTE: Red Lock Trailhead south to Merriman Valley. TIME: 8:10am - 5:35pm TIME AFIELD: 9:25 TEMP.: 12F ~ 18F ~ 17F COND.: Very cold in the morning and mostly cloudy; then partly sunny by 12:40pm; turning mostly sunny with bright blue skies until 3:40pm, then clouding back up until dusk. TRAIL COND.: Four inches of freshly fallen overnight snow on the trail, diminishing to about three inches from Peninsula to end of census route; trail trampled and packed from Peninsula to the Ira Trailhead; back to powdered snow from the Ira Trailhead to the Akron Compost Facility, then packed down again from foot traffic from Akron Compost Facility to Merriman Valley. RIVER COND.: Slightly above normal and swift; all creeks and runs mostly frozen, Indigo Lake and Ira Beaver Marsh had no open water. FT. MI.: 14.60 OBS.: John Henry (Red Lock Trailhead to Hunt Farm Trailhead), Douglas W. Vogus (entire route).
I. MAMMALS: 6 SPECIES, 31 TOTAL.
1. Eastern Cottontail - 2 (Third January Record on Census) 2. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 6 (3 black morph) 3. Eastern Fox Squirrel - 3 4. Red Squirrel - 8 5. Coyote - 1 (Fourth January Record on Census) 6. White-tailed Deer - 11 (6-pt. buck,6 does,4 yearlings)
II. BIRDS: 49 SPECIES, 1 ESCAPE/EXOTIC, 2,444 TOTAL. (NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed)
1. Canada Goose - 608 2. American Black Duck - 2 (?) 3. Mallard - 97 (54m,40f,2?,1*) 4. Hooded Merganser - 4 (3m,1f) (Second January Record on Census) 5. Common Merganser - 4 (2m,2f) 6. Pied-billed Grebe - 1 (Fifth January Record on Census) 7. Rock Pigeon - 3 8. Mourning Dove - 24 9. Ring-billed Gull - 518 10. American Herring Gull - 12 11. Great Blue Heron - 4 12. Cooper's Hawk - 1 (immature m) 13. Bald Eagle - 5 (2 adult,3 immature) 14. Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 15. Red-tailed Hawk - 9 (1 immature) 16. Belted Kingfisher - 2 (m) 17. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 21 (9m,2f,1?,9*) 18. Downy Woodpecker - 14 (7m,5f,2*) 19. Hairy Woodpecker - 6 (1m,2f,1?,2*) 20. Northern Flicker - 1 (m) 21. Pileated Woodpecker - 5 (1m,1?,3*) 22. American Kestrel - 1 (m) (Fourth January Record on Census) 23. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (m) 24. Blue Jay - 17 25. American Crow - 243 26. Black-capped Chickadee - 12 27. Tufted Titmouse - 13 28. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 (f) 29. Cedar Waxwing - 1 30. White-breasted Nuthatch - 20 (8m,2f,4?,6*) 31. Carolina Wren - 12 32. Winter Wren - 1 33. European Starling - 311 34. Eastern Bluebird - 7 (3m,3f,1*) 35. American Robin - 104 36. House Sparrow - 90 37. House Finch - 6 (3m,3f) 38. American Goldfinch - 49 39. Fox Sparrow - 1 (Second January Record on Census) 40. American Tree Sparrow - 53 41. Dark-eyed Junco - 34 (14m,15f,5?) (New Census High - previous was 26 on 02/2014) 42. White-throated Sparrow - 38 43. Song Sparrow - 16 44. Swamp Sparrow - 3 45. Eastern Towhee - 1 (*) 46. Red-winged Blackbird - 3 (f) 47. Brown-headed Cowbird - 2 (1m,1f) 48. Rusty Blackbird - 6 (?) 49. Northern Cardinal - 49 (25m,20f,4*)
E. Mallard X American Pekin Duck - 1 (Second Record on Census & First January Record on Census) ??. Unidentified Duck Species - 2 (fleeting glimpse of a pair dropping down into the Cuyahoga River) ??. Unidentified Sparrow Species - 1 (quick fly-by in fading light at end of census route) ??. Unidentified Passerines - 3
III. FISHES: 2 SPECIES, 1 UNKNOWN, 4 TOTAL.
1. Central Mudminnow - 3 2. Unknown Minnow - 1 (caught by male Belted Kingfisher from Yellow Creek)
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