Date: 2/2/26 2:33 pm From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Ottawa NWR Monthly Census
FEBRUARY 01, 2026 - OTTAWA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE MONTHLY CENSUS. ROUTES: East Side (except where snow drifts were too deep), Fox Unit (parking lot), Boss Unit (parking lot), West Side, Western Prairies & Henry Marsh in the morning; Wildlife Drive (except where snow drifts turned us back) in the afternoon. TIME: 7:45am - 11:40am; 12:40pm - 2:20pm TIME AFIELD: 5:35 TEMP.: 0 ~ 22 COND.: Frigid; slight N/NE wind; bright sun and blue skies; all ditches, canals, impoundments, Crane Creek, and Lake Erie completely frozen; maximum 4-inches of snow cover; some areas blown clear - other areas drifted. OBS. EAST, FOX UNIT & BOSS UNIT: Jim Koppin, Jim Reyda, Al & Betty Schlecht. OBS. WEST: Katie Clink, David Myles, George Novosel, Chris Pierce. OBS. WESTERN PRAIRIES & HENRY MARSH: Douglas W. Vogus. OBS. WILDLIFE DRIVE: Jim Koppin, Jim Reyda, Douglas W. Vogus.
I. MAMMALS: 4 SPECIES, 30 TOTAL. (Recorded since 04/07/2002)
1. Eastern Cottontail - 10 2. Eastern Fox Squirrel - 7 3. Striped Skunk - 1 (Second February Record on Census & Tied Census High from 03/2008, 09/2012, 05/2023, 07/2024 & 02/2025) 4. White-tailed Deer - 12 (10-pt. buck,8-pt. buck,8-pt. buck,6-pt. buck,8 does)
II. BIRDS: 46 SPECIES, 1,196 TOTAL. (Recorded since 03/02/1969)
1. Canada Goose - 19 2. Trumpeter Swan - 7 (one with yellow neckband "1A2") 3. Tundra Swan - 106 4. Common Goldeneye - 2 5. Ring-necked Pheasant - 5 (males - probable releases - at Boss Unit) 6. Mourning Dove - 38 7. Sandhill Crane - 82 8. Ring-billed Gull - 66 9. American Herring Gull - 3 10. Great Blue Heron - 4 11. Northern Harrier - 7 12. Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 (attempted to catch a Dark-eyed Junco but failed) 13. Cooper's Hawk - 2 14. Bald Eagle - 18 (14 adult,4 immature) 15. Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 (Fourth February Record on Census) 16. Red-tailed Hawk - 4 17. Rough-legged Hawk - 1 (light morph) (West Side - G. Novosel & C. Pierce) 18. Red-headed Woodpecker - 2 19. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6 20. Downy Woodpecker - 23 21. Hairy Woodpecker - 3 22. Northern Flicker - 2 23. Pileated Woodpecker - 1 (east side of North Woods - K. Clink & D. Myles - Third February Record on Census) 24. American Kestrel - 1 25. Blue Jay - 35 26. Black-capped Chickadee - 6 27. Tufted Titmouse - 1 28. Horned Lark - 17 29. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2 30. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 31. White-breasted Nuthatch - 10 32. Brown Creeper - 4 33. Carolina Wren - 5 34. European Starling - 247 35. Hermit Thrush - 1 (hedgerow north of Henry Marsh feeding on cedar berries - D. Vogus - First February Record on Census) 36. American Robin - 19 37. House Sparrow - 27 38. House Finch - 2 39. American Goldfinch - 17 40. Lapland Longspur - 30 (early morning fly-over at Grimm Prairie - J. Reyda & D. Vogus) 41. American Tree Sparrow - 222 42. Dark-eyed Junco - 25 43. White-throated Sparrow - 14 44. Song Sparrow - 18 45. Common Grackle - 1 (perched briefly in hardwood grove at corner of Stange Rd. & Krause Rd. then flew NW - D. Vogus) 46. Northern Cardinal - 79
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