The Wilds
January 21, 2006
1/21/06 Trip to The Wilds and Blue Rock State Park
Fourteen members of the Greater Mohican and Western Cuyahoga Audubon Societies
--Tim Leslie, Gary Cowell, Cheryl Harner, Hugh & Judy Rose, Bill Deininger, Dave Graskemper, Claudia Anders, Jan Holkenborg, Nancy & Don Howell, Dave Lewis, Laurie Boylan, and I met at The Wilds parking lot at 10:30AM on Saturday, January 21, 2006.
We spent most of the remainder of the morning at the Jeffrey Point bird platform to look for a couple of rumored Golden Eagles. No eagles, though we did try to turn a far-off Great Blue Heron into one. We spotted Northern Harriers and both light and dark phase Rough-legged Hawks. On the pond we saw a family group of 5 Trumpeter Swans with American Black Ducks and Mallards. It was actually pretty warm for January, but very windy.
At our next stop, we found a few Horned Larks, which were life birds for a couple in the group. At another pond, we found 2 male Green-winged Teal—a rare January find. We then stopped to eat our lunch in the local church and cemetery. After lunch we said good-bye to Dave L. & Laurie and the rest of us tried Jeffrey Point again for the Golden Eagles. Again no eagles, but two of the group saw a probable Merlin. We also scoped out some of the animals grazing at The Wilds, including Bison and Wild Asses.
Then, on a whim, we decided to take a side trip to nearby Blue Rock State Park. We drove along a 7-mile scenic, hilly, narrow, dirt road until we got to the park and walked around a little. Among the birds we found here were Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Belted Kingfisher, and Gary Cowell got a Barred Owl to answer his call. It had actually warmed up near 50 and the sun was shining—and turned into a pleasant day.
Back at The Wilds we found 12 Ring-necked Ducks and a way off probable Bald Eagle. Then we drove to a spot that Hugh recommended for Short-eared Owls. Here, we got some great looks at 2 male Harriers “Gray Ghosts”. No owls appeared, but we found the bird-of-the-day, a beautiful Northern Shrike—a rare Ohio bird. We stayed until after dark and said our good-byes around 6:00.
--Su Snyder
For more pictures and details check Greater Mohican Audubon Society's website too. Click Here.
Trip list at The Wilds and Blue Rock State Park 1/21/06
Canada Goose American Black Duck Mallard Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle—probable Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Merlin—probable American Coot Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike Blue Jay American Crow Horned Lark Carolina Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird American Robin European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler American Tree Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Eastern Meadowlark House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow
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Welcome to the Wilds © Cheryl Harner |
Trumpter Swans © Dave Lewis |
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Dark-eyed Junco © Dave Lewis |
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Short-eared Owl © Dave Lewis |
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Dave, Judy, Tim, & Su © Cheryl Harner |
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Hugh, Dave, Tim, Nancy & Don © Cheryl Harner |
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Lunch © Cheryl Harner |
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Jan © Cheryl Harner |
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Hugh & Judy © Cheryl Harner |