Date: 5/3/24 9:27 pm From: Robert Thorn <robthorn6...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Inland Rare Birds, Apr 27 - May 3
Migration of waterbirds has almost entirely shifted from waterfowl & gulls
over to shorebirds, rails, and herons. Landbird migration is full steam
now, with unusual records popping up all over the area. Lots of bird
species seem to be making early appearances, and the vegetation is surely
leafing out earlier, which may have mixed consequences for migrants. We’re
also seeing some of the southern strays that overshoot or wander, both
waterbirds and passerines.
Snow Goose – still stragglers in northwestern areas: Champaign IL 4-27 thru
5-01, Springfield IL 5-01, NW of Peoria IL 5-01 thru 5-03
Ross’s Goose – the only close one is north of us, at Lake Erie MetroPark (S
of Detroit) thru 5-02
Gr.White-fronted Goose – still some in the western regions, with birds at
Pontiac IL 4-28, Chubb Lake IN 5-01, and Springfield IL 5-01
Black-bellied Whistling Duck – true to their unpredictable nature, there
was an upsurge in reports, with birds near Perryville KY 4-26&27, Champaign
IL 4-27, Springfield IL 5-01, Wooster OH 5-01, near Baltimore OH 5-02, and
around Evansville IN 5-01&03 and nearby Henderson KY 5-03
Surf & White-winged Scoters – still a few hanging around Pt Pelee and Long
Point in Ontario, but none in our area.
Common Mergansers – a spate of sightings in the hills of southern OH, IN,
and KY between 4-27 and 5-01. Quite possibly these are breeding in the more
isolated hill areas.
Horned Grebes – surprising late lingerers/migrants, with birds from
multiple locations: Marysville Reservoir OH, Mohawk Dam (Coshocton Co) OH,
both 5-01, Atwood lake (east) OH and Robertson Nature Preserve (near
Wooster) OH both 5-02, and many around shores of Lake Erie
Eared Grebe – the only one was at Edinboro Lake south of Erie PA 5-01.
Red-necked Grebes – none inland, but 1 was at Whiskey Island, Cleveland OH
5-01
Western Grebe – none in our area, but 1 has been on the Toronto waterfront
through 5-02
King Rail – the Pickerington Ponds (Columbus ) OH bird was calling through
4-29
Yellow Rails – multiple reports of this elusive species: Goose Pond IN
5-01, Mentor Lagoon (Lake Erie NE of Cleveland) 4-29 thru 5-02, and even up
in Portage Lake (near Ann Arbor) MI 5-01 & 02
Common Gallinules – many reports now, mostly around northern OH and Lake
Erie
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – many reports from KY and southern OH & IN
Black-billed Cuckoo – multiple records, almost all from forested areas of
southern IN & OH
White-winged Dove – none in our area, with the closest in a western suburb
of St. Louis
Chuck-wills-widow – 1 was around Champaign IL 4-28, another was at Lynx
Prairie Preserve (near West Union) OH 5-01 & 02
American Avocet – large wave of migrants/strays to our area, starting 4-28,
often in small flocks
Piping Plover – no inland migrants currently, but singles remain at Presque
Isle State Park PA and Montrose Sanctuary in Chicago IL
Black-bellied Plover - a few inland records – Hovey Lake FWA (southwest) IN
5-01, Big Island WA (Marion) OH 5-01, 2 near Ashland OH 5-02 – along with
multiple records from Lake Erie and Chicago area.
Upland Sandpiper – scattered records: S of Indianapolis Airport 4-28,
Jasper Co IN 4-29 & 30, near Heyworth IL 5-01, near Lexington IL 5-02,
Pymatuning WMA PA 5-01
Marbled Godwit – a dropoff in sightings, with 4-5 S of Normal IL 4-27 the
last sighting
Hudsonian Godwit – multiple early records from the western Great Plains,
but nothing in our area yet.
Willets – lots of inland records now, usually of small flocks, as they
rocket back north to breed.
Stilt Sandpipers – Eagle Slough (Evansville) IN 4-28 heralded a cluster of
early May records from southwest IN/western KY (Hovey Lake FWA, Sloughs WMA)
Wilson’s Phalarope – loads of early records on Great Plains, but we only
had birds at Kankakee FWA IN 4-29 and Erie Marsh MI 4-28 thru 30
Lesser Black-backed Gulls – 7 strayed to Alum Creek State Park beach (N of
Columbus) OH 4-30. Otherwise, there are still several around Lake Erie and
lower Lake Michigan.
Franklin’s Gulls – many on the Great Plains, but our only close strays were
at Illinois Beach St.Park (N of Chicago) 4-28, and near Muskegon Wastewater
Plant MI 4-27
Laughing Gull – a stray to Lake Monroe IN 4-28 and Kinderhook St.Park MI
4-26 – 28, but nothing more recent
Common Tern – lots of Lake Erie (and a few Lake Michigan) records now, but
a few seen inland: Mosquito Lake OH 5-02, Alum Creek St.Park beach OH 5-03
Least Tern – 1 of these little cuties popped in at Eagle Slough
(Evansville) IN 5-01
Black Tern – several records from Lake Erie now, all since 4-30
Pacific Loon – the celebrity bird at Nimisila Reservoir (near Akron) OH was
still being found thru 5-02
Little Blue Herons – strays in our area dropped off, but there’s a cluster
of sightings in the St. Louis area now
Snowy Egrets – a small burst of strays, with birds at O’Shaughnessy
Reservoir (Columbus) OH 4-28, Clinton Lake (W of Champaign) IL 4-28, Cave
Run Lake (near Morehead) KY 4-30 thru 5-03, and Pennant Bar Openlands (far
south) IL 5-02.
Yellow-cr. Night Heron – very few, with strays at Stump Lake (west) IL 4-28
and near Taylor Farms wetland (Columbus) OH 5-01
Cattle Egrets – a few, with 1 NE of Louisville KY 4-30, another near
Monticello (W of Champaign) IL 5-01, and another west of Land Between the
Lakes KY 5-02
Least Bitterns – many early sightings from around Lake Erie, but inland
records rarer: 1 was calling at Battelle Darby MetroPark wetlands (SW of
Columbus) OH 5-01, while another was NE of Evansville IN 5-02
Glossy ibis – an explosion of strays, with multiple records from northern
OH and central IL, even at Goose Pond IN, all in the 4-28 thru 5-01 date
range
White-faced Ibis – strangely absent, compared to the Glossy invasion, with
birds over the western edge, at St. Louis, NW of Chicago, and even Escanaba
MI!
Mississippi Kite – a species to watch for in this Cicada brood year, 1 was
at Lake Cumberland Refuge (near Somerset) KY 5-02, while another was around
Bowling Green KY 5-01 & 02. Also at Lincoln St.Park (southern) IN 5-02 and
NE of Evansville IN 5-03.
Rough-legged Hawks – very late birds were at Ottawa NWR (near Toledo) OH
5-01,02
Barn Owl – the bird at Pickerington Ponds (SE of Columbus) OH was still
being seen thru 5-02, while another off-and-on bird was on at Emiquon
Preserve Visitors Center (SW of Peoria) IL 5-01
Olive-sided Flycatcher – the first wave of records for this boreal migrant,
including an early one at Eagle Creek Lake (Indianapolis) 4-26 and a series
of records on 5-01: Sharon Woods Park (Cincinnati) OH , Highbanks MetroPark
(N of Columbus) OH, Vinton Furnace State Forest (far S) OH, and Lincoln
Park (Chicago) IL. Many more records followed on 5-02.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – another boreal neotropical migrant, with early
birds at SW of Pittsburgh PA and around Chicago IL 5-01
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – a much sought-after stray, birds graced Oberlin
Reservoir OH 4-26, Painesville Township Park (Lake Erie NE of Cleveland)
4-27 thru29, and SW of Bowling Green KY 4-30
Western Kingbird – the bird at Granite City IL continued thru 5-02, while
another appeared at the Evansville Airport IN 5-03
Loggerhead Shrike – all of our current strays are Lake birds: W of
Pt.Mouille MI 5-01, S lakeshore of Chicago 5-01, and Mentor Marsh (NE of
Cleveland) OH 5-02
Bell’s Vireo – the vanguard of this scarce resident arrived, with birds S
of Indianapolis Airport IN 4-29, SW of Bowling Green KY 4-30, and W of
Columbus OH 5-01
Philadelphia Vireo – another boreal migrant, with multiple records between
4-28 and 5-02, mostly in KY, southern OH & IN
Black-billed Magpie – a classic rare western stray, 1 was along Lake Erie
(Headlands beach NE of Cleveland) 4-27, while another (possibly the same
bird) has been near Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario 5-01 & 02
Fish Crows – records from many locations – pretty much expected in southern
IN – western KY now, but also seen regularly around Indianapolis IN and
Columbus OH
Common Raven – 1 had strayed west to near Chillicothe OH 4-28, while
another reached Dover OH 5-01
Sedge Wren – still around the Mansfield OH retention pond thru 4-28,
another was at Eagle Marsh (Ft. Wayne) IN 5-01, while multiple records came
from the Chicago area from 4-30 on
Red Crossbill – scarce now, with a few reports: flock near Giant City St.
Park (southern) IL 4-28, another in Zaleski St.Forest (near Athens) OH
4-29, and Kellogg Forest (Kalamazoo) MI 5-01
American Tree Sparrow – unusual cluster of very late records: Purdue
Univ.Wildlife Area IN 4-28, Zaleski St.Forest OH 4-29, several near Chicago
5-01, and several around Ottawa NWR & Magee Marsh WA OH 5-02&03
Clay-colored Sparrow – lots of records around Lake Michigan, some around
lake Erie, and a few inland: Louisville KY 4-27, Springfield IL 4-30, and
Celery Big NA (W.Lafayette) IN 5-01
Lincoln’s Sparrow –many records all over area now, as this boreal migrant
goes through
LeConte’s Sparrow – still the only bird near us is at Montrose Sanctuary on
the Chicago lakefront
Lark Sparrow – multiple records in IN, IL, with a few strays to OH – Oak
Glen (Cincinnati) OH 4-26 thru 28, Oak Openings (Toledo) OH 4-27 – 5-03,
and Taylor Farms (Columbus) OH 5-01
Harris’s Sparrow – at the very western edges, with birds at Mackinaw SWA
(Peoria) IL 5-01&02, and at Riverlands Sanctuary (N of St. Louis) 5-02&03
Fox Sparrow – another cluster of unusually late reports, with birds at
California Woods Preserve (Cincinnati) 5-01, Meander reservoir (near
Youngstown) OH 5-01, Mill Creek Park (Youngstown) OH 5-02 & 03, and
multiple sightings along western basin of Lake Erie
Western Meadowlark – scattering of records from prairie areas of IL, IN: 2
were S of Bloomington IL 4-27,28, 3 were at Lexington IL 5-01, 1 was at
Kankakee Sands IN 5-02, and 1 was near St.Joseph IN 5-01 & 03
Brewer’s Blackbirds – nothing in the Ohio River Valley, but still a string
of records from Chicago area and nearby NW Indiana
Yellow-headed Blackbirds – birds have shown up at the expected western Lake
Erie locations: Howard Marsh OH and Point Mouille MI starting 4-30
Worm-eating Warbler – lots of overshoots from their stronghold in the
forests of KY and southern OH & IN, reaching Chicago and northern IN & OH
in numbers 4-29 thru 5-02
Swainson’s Warbler –singing birds were around the Crown City WA (near
Gallipolis) OH 4-28&29, near Morgantown WV 5-01, multiple areas around the
Red River Gorge KY 5-01 thru 03, and W of Land Between the Lakes KY 5-02
Mourning Warbler – a typical late migrant, but early birds were around
Eagle Creek Park (Indianapolis) IN 5-01&02, Tuscarawas County OH 5-01, and
near Wooster OH 5-03
Connecticut Warbler – only 1 early bird so far, at Alexandria (northern) KY
5-01
Western Tanager – 1 was a stray to Headlands Beach SNP (NE of Cleveland) OH
4-27
Blue Grosbeak – many records from central IL, IN & OH now, with birds
reaching north to Chicago IL and Oak Openings (Toledo) OH. They’re not that
rare anymore, but still cool to find.
Dickcissel – lots of records in IL and western IN, with strays east to Twin
Creeks MetroPark (Dayton) OH 4-29, north Dayton OH 5-02, and S of Fort
Wayne IN 5-01&02
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