Date: 9/6/26 9:17 am From: Peter Burke <peterburke...> Subject: [cobirds] COBC Report from the Washington Wallopers
We came. We saw. We Walloped.
Well, maybe not a full-on, old-fashioned ass-walloping, but there were some challenges. Dove hunting season for one. Prewitt Reservoir was as busy as Times Square with camouflaged shotgunners stalking every field, fenceline and forest. The near-constant bang-bang-bangs kept birds and birders on edge.
Heat was another factor, though more for us birders than the birds I suspect. Water levels at the reservoir were quite low, necessitating a 1/2-mile slog on baked mud to reach the birds.
Once in place, we had a great time sorting through large shorebird flocks, with high numbers of Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers, but surprisingly few peeps and no dowitchers. We managed to hear a single Greater Yellowlegs and one Black-bellied Plover thanks to Carl Bendorf's acute hearing.
We dipped on Red-winged Blackbird! Nearly missed Bald Eagle until a sharp-eyed Gary Witt noticed an all-brown first year bird pretending to be a Golden Eagle.
Later in the day it was heat shimmer that made identifying distant ducks a challenge.
Our penultimate species of the day was special. We drove home through the town of Akron, population 1,722, founded as a railroad camp in 1882 and today the Washington County seat. Our hope was to see a Mississippi Kite. We cruised past the small City Park that was full of kids playing in the godawful heat. But no birds.
A few blocks beyond the park we stopped when we heard what turned out to be a wailing juvenile kite perched in a snag. Soaring above, its parents were doing their best to feed their starving child. We stopped to take some photos and were fortunate to see one adult swoop in with a fresh dragonfly.
A woman emerged from the house next door and asked in an earnest whisper, "Are you birders?"
"Why, yes ma'am, we sure are!" No, I didn't say that, but I may have thought it. Anyway, I began to explain that we were looking at a Mississippi Kite, but she already knew that because she had downloaded the Merlin app and had been watching this family raise their chick all summer. She did appreciate the scope views though.
We ended our day with a solid, below-par 69 species. As we brainstormed a list of all the easy birds we had failed to see, a lone Turkey Vulture floated by, raising our final tally to an even 70. At least we didn't dip on Turkey Vulture!
Thanks to all our generous donors! Carl, Gary and I had a great time walloping in Washington County!
You can review our eBird Trip Report here: ebird.org/tripreport/566741
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