Christmas Bird Count—Cincinnati, Western Hamilton County

I went on the Cincinnati Western Hamilton County Christmas Bird count today. Although it was the first time for me, the Western Hamilton County CBC is in its 46th year. I'm so glad I went. I had a lot of fun and met several new birding friends! I was also introduced to west-side cuisine at the Sunshine Cafe during our lunch break--yum, I loved it! Highlights for me were Rusty Blackbirds, a Northern Harrier, and right at the end, in the glowing light of the fading sun, an immature American Bald Eagle...yeah!

A flock of about 20 Rusty Blackbirds was in the woods along the Great Miami River off 128 near the soccer fields.

I dig those rusty heads and bright eyes! I've never seen Rusties on the Little Miami river close to where I live. I'm going to have to look a little harder. They are really cool birds...

I was on the team with Paul, Joe and Judy. Paul just emailed me that the final tally was 87 species, 1 short of the record of 88. I had to leave before the tally to watch Rick and Matty play in a hockey tourney. Next year I'm staying for the tally. It sounds fun!

Two American Black Ducks flying past, their blue wing patches flashing brightly. (If you think the quality of this photo is bad, wait until you see what's coming...)

...a most excellent shot of a Northern Harrier. You can SORT-OF see his owlish face...and just a hint of his white rump feathers.

...and an even better shot of an immature American Bald Eagle (in the golden light of evening no less)! If you squint and think happy eagle thoughts, he will come to life right before your eyes.

...finally, a quick pencil sketch I did at home of the Brown Creeper we saw and heard by the river.

Thanks Paul, Joe and Judy for taking me along with you! I had a wonderful time! Next year I'm going to learn how to digiscope for these long-distance shots...

Christmas Bird Count…and BirdsEye—a really cool iPhone birding app!

Last Saturday on December 19 I participated in my first ever dawn-to-dusk Christmas Bird Count. I joined the Hamilton-Fairfield CBC team and birded areas in Butler County I had never been to, being introduced to Gilmore Ponds and spots along the Great Miami River (a lot different from my haunt, the Little Miami River). Our team leader, Mike (who has a blog of his own, "Everybody Funny"), knew where a few special birds were hiding, so along the way I tagged three life birds, seeing an American White Pelican (huge wingspan, huge bill, hugely cool!), a small flock of American Pipits (a sweet song rising up from the grass as they took to the wing), and a Least Sandpiper (tucked away on a tiny gravel island in the Great Miami, Mike had been staking out the bird for the past couple of weeks. I would never have seen him on my own because he blended in so well).

…early in the morning as I pulled out of my driveway the yard and trees were covered in snow. Large snowflakes were falling softly and the beauty and silence of the morning were so inviting I had to snap off a shot before driving on.

...our little band of birders.

Freshly fallen snow softened our footsteps as we walked the covered paths, and every now and then thick clumps of the white stuff would crash down on our heads, making us laugh, as the accumulated ice crystals began to melt and then slide off the branches above us.

...not much compares with the beauty of snow-frosted branches.

It snowed nonstop through the morning and early afternoon, eventually turning into a wet snow/rain mix. I was wearing my crazy-warm parka, so I never became chilled, but by the end of the day I was soaked through. I really enjoyed myself and am already looking forward to next year! Here is a list of the birds from our count (list supplied by our team leader, Mike):

American White Pelican 1
Snow Goose 1
Canada Goose 1978
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 4
American Black Duck 9

Mallard 933
Blue-winged Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 5
Northern Pintail 11
Green-winged Teal 3
Canvasback 16
Redhead 22
Ring-necked Duck 17
Lesser Scaup 6
Bufflehead 28
Common Goldeneye 4
Hooded Merganser 9
Ruddy Duck 45
Wild Turkey 2
Pied-billed Grebe 8
Great Blue Heron 20
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 19
American Kestrel 9
American Coot 135
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer 9
Least Sandpiper 1
Ring-billed Gull 16
Herring Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 1698
Mourning Dove 618
Great Horned Owl 2
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 9
Red-bellied Woodpecker 26
Yellow-belled Sapsucker 9
Downy Woodpecker 66
Hairy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 21
Pileated Woodpecker 14
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 3
Horned Lark 98
Carolina Chickadee 157
Tufted Titmouse 36
White-breasted Nuthatch 29
Brown Creeper 10
Carolina Wren 55
Winter Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 16
Eastern Bluebird 43
Hermit Thrush 7
American Robin 1846
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 7
European Starling 8833
American Pipit 10
Eastern Towhee 7
American Tree Sparrow 92
Field Sparrow 3
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 116
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 124
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco 77
Lapland Longspur 15
Northern Cardinal 180
Red-winged Blackbird 158
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
House Finch 107
American Goldfinch 133
House Sparrow 109

…this morning, waiting for me under the tree from Rick were two things that will really help me next year during the CBC--the iPhone birding app BirdsEye and a spotting scope (can you believe it? Now I can bird with the big kids!). BirdsEye is powered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird and works in real time letting you find out what birds are being reported in your area and when and where they were sighted (read Kenn Kaufman’s review on Birding with Kenn & Kimberly for more info). I can’t wait to use the spotting scope. We still have to get the eyepieces, though…Rick didn’t realize they were sold separately, but soon….soon….