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Sightings
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Sightings
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Recent
Sightings in the
Oxbow
Date: Saturday, December 29, 2007
Location: Oxbow Area, Lost Bridge to Lawrenceburg
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Joe Bens
Area specific portion of the Christmas Count.
Canada Goose 175, Gadwall 287, American Wigeon 5, American Black Duck 372,
Mallard 2650, Northern Pintail 4, American Green-winged Teal 12,
Canvasback 4, Redhead 8, Ring-necked Duck 271, Hooded Merganser 4, Ruddy
Duck 2, Pied-billed Grebe 7, Great Blue Heron 25, Bald Eagle 1, Cooper's
Hawk 2, Red-tailed Hawk 9, American Kestrel 2, American Coot 2,
Ring-billed Gull 49, Rock Pigeon 15, Mourning Dove 73, Belted Kingfisher
1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 9, Yellow-bellied, Sapsucker 1, Downy Woodpecker
10, Hairy Woodpecker 2, Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker 8, Blue Jay 4,
American Crow 37, Carolina Chickadee 27, Tufted Titmouse 10,
White-breasted Nuthatch 6, Carolina Wren 7, American Robin 1, European
Starling 381, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 13, Eastern Towhee 2, Song
Sparrow 21, Swamp Sparrow 3, Northern Cardinal 19, Red-winged Blackbird 2,
Rusty Blackbird 1, House Finch 6, American Goldfinch 23
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2008
Location: Shawnee boat ramp entrance "area"
Reporter: Albert Scruggs
Other Birders: Julie Morris
Even in heavy fog, a good Woodpecker area to quickly beef up your
January list! Pileated, Hairy, Downy, R-B, and Yellow-Bellied sapsucker,
all there. 3 Golden-crowned kinglets by the bridge with many
white-throated sp.
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Rick Pope, Mike Hasty, Doug Shelton, Tim Mara
The Army Corp of Engineers were inspecting portions of the Oxbow and
the Lawrenceburg Conservancy District today with Oxbow Members. While
there I was only able to observe from the levee and the edge of Jackpot
Pond. This constitutes only the southwest corner of the Oxbow. Canada
Goose 1000 and Mallard 1500. In this vast flock I was able to pick out
with binocs an additional 10 Ring-necked Duck, 5 Northern Pintail, 2 Black
Duck, 1 American Widgeon. 1 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Great
Blue Heron. In the winter wheat fields 400 mixed blackbirds at a distance
and 4 additional Ring-billed Gull. Along the Conservation District 1
White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Cardinal, 3
Carolina Chickadee, 4 Tufted Titmouse, and 12 Purple Finch.
Also one gigantic red fox hunting the Conservancy District.
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Tom Uhlman
Large numbers of ducks and geese, same as what Jon saw plus 13 tundra
swans in the flooded field.
Date: Wednesday, December
19, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Rick Pope, Mike Hasty, Doug Shelton, Tim Mara
The Army Corp of Engineers were inspecting portions of the Oxbow and
the Lawrenceburg Conservancy District today with Oxbow Members. While
there I was only able to observe from the levee and the edge of Jackpot
Pond. This constitutes only the southwest corner of the Oxbow. Canada
Goose 1000 and Mallard 1500. In this vast flock I was able to pick out
with binocs an additional 10 Ring-necked Duck, 5 Northern Pintail, 2 Black
Duck, 1 American Widgeon. 1 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Great
Blue Heron. In the winter wheat fields 400 mixed blackbirds at a distance
and 4 additional Ring-billed Gull. Along the Conservation District 1
White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Cardinal, 3
Carolina Chickadee, 4 Tufted Titmouse, and 12 Purple Finch.
Also one gigantic red fox hunting the Conservancy District. Date: Saturday, November 17, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Wayne Wauligman
Other Birders: Mike Miller, Jim Stinchcomb, John Cunningham and the
Tristate Hiking Club
On this scheduled Oxbow Inc. 9-1 hike, the Tristate Hiking Club had
about 30 members present. A complete list of birds seen and heard is: 10
Green-winged Teal, 25 Canada Geese, 15 Mallard including several
domestics, 10 Great Blue Heron, 1 Black Vulture, 1 Turkey Vulture, 1
Cooper's Hawk, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 11 Killdeer, 16 Ring-billed Gulls, 40
Mourning Doves, 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 5 Downys, 1 Hairy, 5 Flickers, 2
Crows, 1 Horned Lark flyover, 14 Carolina Chickadees, 6 Tufted Titmouse, 1
Brown Creeper, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 Eastern Bluebird flyover, 3
Robin, 1500 Starlings, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2 Eastern Towhee, 18 Song
Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrow, 2 Juncos, 60 Red-winged Blackbird, 9
House Finch, and 26 American Goldfinch
Date: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Peter Kavouras
10:00am-11:45am.
I saw a total of 8 ducks, no shorebirds, and no geese. I can't believe
how low the lake is. There was a small flock of about 14 American
Pipits on the mud flats at the end of the lake. I would swear I saw a
Vesper Sparrow on the west side of the lake along the road. How
unlikely is that? I was in a hurry at the end, so I didn't see much in
the woods near the parking area.
List: Red-Tailed Hawk, Mallard, Ruddy Duck (1 pair), Turkey Vulture,
Chickadee, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Cardinal, American Pipit, Vesper
Sparrow(?), Starling
Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Happy Halloween. I went out to the Oxbow after being on vacation for a
while to see what was haunting the Oxbow today. I was not
disappointed. 1 Bald Eagle (second year plumage), 1 Northern Harrier,
15 Turkey Vulture, 2 Black Vulture, 11 Great Blue Heron, 1 Killdeer, 3
Wood Duck, 120 Green-winged Teal, 17 Mallard, 65 Canada Goose, 14
American Coots,7 American Crow, small birds were present most noticeably
a flock of 30 Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Location: Oxbow area
Reporter: Jo Hudgins
Other Birders: My husband (We were there from 4:30 till 5:30 p.m)
1 palm warbler, 8 great egrets, 5 great blue herons, 12 killdeer, 4
goldfinch, 2 cardinals, flock of mourning doves
The sight of the big fish in that shallow water at Oxbow Lake was
something else. Hopefully they'll get some rain this week to help them
out.
Date: Monday, October 22, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Susan Williams
About 40 green-winged teals; Too many killdeer (loudmouths!); Huge flock
of Canada geese; A pair of Northern shovelers; greater yellowlegs; Purple
finch
Date: Sunday, October 21, 2007
Location: Shawnee Lookout, Hamilton Co., OH
Reporter: Neill Cade
Elizabethtown Bridge - 20+ Great Blue and 2 Black-crowned Night
Herons; 1 Great Egret; 4 Double-crested Cormorants; 18 Horned Larks; 7
American Pipits; 3 Palm Warblers; 18 White-crowned, 4 Field, 3 Swamp, 15
Song, and 3 Savannah Sparrows; 850 Red-winged and 35 Rusty Blackbirds.
Boat Ramp - 1 Peregrine Falcon; 1 Pileated Woodpecker; 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet; 2 Black-throated Green, 1 Orange-crowned, and 18+
Yellow-rumped Warblers; 12+ Pine Siskins; 90+ American Goldfinch; 600+
Red-winged Blackbirds.
Springhouse School Area (beyond playground) - 2 Sharp-shinned and 2
Red-shouldered Hawks; 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers; 2 Pileated Woodpeckers;
150+ Cedar Waxwings; 3 Black-throated Green, 2 Palm, 1 Orange-crowned, and
25+ Yellow rumped Warblers; 70+ White-throated Sparrows; 1 Rose-breasted
Grosbeak.
Date: Monday, October 15, 2007
Location: Muscatatuck NWR & the Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Jack Stenger & Joe Bens
A quick drive through the Oxbow on our return home yielded nothing that we
didn’t see last Saturday. The one remaining pool in Oxbow Lake has
shrunk even further since Saturday. Making the best of the minimal water
available were 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, many Killdeer and 40+ Green-winged
Teal. Around 20 Great Egrets were at Osprey Lake. We kicked up many
sparrows as we drove along. Those we managed to identify were mostly
White-crowned (at least 20) some Field Sparrows and 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow.
There were around 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees around the Oxbow
Overlook.
Date: Saturday, October 13, 2007
Location: Shawnee Lookout & the Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Jack Stenger
Jack and I birded the Shawnee Lookout boat ramp and the Great Miami River
bottoms this morning and then moved over to the west side of the river and
birded the Oxbow until about 2:30
pm. Our best birds were 2 Orange-crowned Warblers and 7 Lincoln’s
Sparrows in the Shawnee Lookout bottoms and a Merlin at the Oxbow. Sparrow
migration is well under way and we saw many at both locations. As we drove
around the Oxbow we saw several flocks numbering well over a hundred
sparrows, many of which were left unidentified.
During 25 years of birding in the Oxbow
I have never seen the water level in Oxbow Lake so low. In fact the lake
is virtually dried up except for a relatively small and very shallow pool
in the center of the lakebed that might be a couple of inches deep. There
are still many birds present (mostly dabbling ducks) and many turtles
jammed into what little water remains. A few of the smallest species of
minnows may remain, but 99.99% of all the fish in the lake have perished,
which is probably why we saw only a couple of herons on Oxbow Lake. There
were still 21 Great Egrets on Jackpot Pond, but even the water levels
there are receding very quickly. Of course conditions in the Oxbow will
return to normal the next time the Ohio
River reaches 35 feet, at which point it will food into Oxbow Lake,
replenish its fishery and restore water levels to normal pool.
Some of the species we found in the Shawnee Lookout river bottoms today
included: Great Blue Heron 6, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 2,
Greater Yellowlegs 1, Lesser Yellowlegs 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Pileated
Woodpecker 2, Eastern Phoebe 2, White-eyed Vireo 1, Horned Lark 2
(overhead), Tree Swallow 6, N Rough-winged Swallow 8, Gray Catbird 1,
Cedar Waxwing 4, Tennessee Warbler 7, Orange-crowned Warbler 2, Nashville
Warbler 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, Palm Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 2,
Eastern Towhee 2, Field Sparrow 6, Song Sparrow 5, Lincoln’s Sparrow 7,
Swamp Sparrow 25+, White-throated Sparrow 40+, White-crowned Sparrow 18,
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2, Indigo Bunting 2 and Red-winged Blackbird 400+.
Some of the species we found at the Oxbow today included: Canada Goose 28,
Wood Duck 11, Mallard 15. Blue-winged Teal 55, Northern Shoveler 3,
Green-winged Teal 22, Double-crested Cormorant 7, Great Blue Heron 9,
Great Egret 21, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Merlin 1 (patrolling Oxbow Lake),
Killdeer 35, Greater Yellowlegs 6, Lesser Yellowlegs 1, Yellow-belied
Sapsucker, Horned Lark 2, Tree Swallow 20~, N Rough-winged Swallow 30,
Yellow-rumped Warbler 30+, Palm Warbler 2, Common Yellowthroat, Field
Sparrow 35+, Song Sparrow 10, Swamp Sparrow 10~, White-throated Sparrow
15+, White-crowned Sparrow 40+, Indigo Bunting 5 and House Finch 40+.
Date:
Tuesday, October
2, 2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon
Seymour
Other Birders:
Bob and Lynn
Peterson
No counts today
unless it was
easy. 1 American
Kestrel, 1
Greater
Yellowlegs, 60+
Blue-winged
Teal, 30+
Mallard, 20+
Killdeer, 15+
Double-crested
Cormorants, 1
Belted
Kingfisher,
15-20 Great Blue
Heron, 2 Turkey
Vulture
Date:
Monday, October
1, 2007
Location:
Shawnee Lookout
& the Oxbow
Reporter: Jay
Stenger
Other Birders:
Joe Bens
Joe and I birded
around the
Shawnee Lookout
Park boat ramp
and out to the
Great Miami
River for a
couple of hours
on Sunday
morning
September 30th.
From there we
went over to the
Oxbow were we
pretty much saw
what Steve
Pelikan and Jon
Seymour already
reported. We did
not find much in
the way of
migrant
warblers, but
some other
migrants were
seen, including
26 Rose-breasted
Grosbeaks. They
were everywhere
and Joe and I
wondered just
how many were
actually moving
along the river
if so many were
around just this
one fairly small
spot. When we
saw Steve later
that day, he
told us he had
about 25
Rode-breasted
Grosbeaks along
the trees of
Oxbow Lake the
day before.
Some of the
birds we found
around the
Shawnee boat
ramp included;
Wild Turkey 3,
Double-crested
Cormorant 8,
Great Blue Heron
6, Great Egret,
Black Vulture 6,
Osprey 1,
Sharp-shinned
Hawk 2,
Cooper’s Hawk
2,
Red-shouldered
Hawk 2,
Red-tailed Hawk,
Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Chimney
Swift 5,
Northern Flicker
6, Pileated
Woodpecker 3,
Eastern
Wood-Pewee,
Least Flycatcher
2, White-eyed
Vireo 1,
Philadelphia
Vireo, Tree
Swallow 15, Barn
Swallow 4, N.
Rough-winged
Swallow 12,
Red-breasted
Nuthatch, House
Wren, Tennessee
Warbler,
Bay-breasted
Warbler, Common
Yellowthroat,
Eastern Towhee,
Rose-breasted
Grosbeak 26,
Indigo Bunting
15 &
Red-winged
Blackbird 1500.
Others have
already posted
from the Oxbow
on Sunday and
our list was
similar to
those. Ours
included; Wood
Duck 20,
Blue-winged Teal
40, Northern
Pintail 3,
Green-winged
Teal 30 (Steve
had more),
Double-crested
Cormorant 12,
Great Blue Heron
24, Great Egret
2, Red-tailed
Hawk 2, Greater
Yellowlegs 3,
Lesser
Yellowlegs 6,
Tree Swallow
100~, N.
Rough-winged
Swallow 40~,
Gray Catbird 3,
Yellow-rumped
Warbler 4,
Black-throated
Green Warbler 3,
Palm Warbler 2,
Eastern Towhee,
and 15 Indigo
Buntings.
Date: Sunday, September 30, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Great Outdoor Weekend Participants
In addition to those mentioned by Steve we saw three Great Egrets
on the 29th and 5 on the 30th. Double-crested cormorants were present
in small numbers 5-10. An Osprey did a flyover on Sunday the 30th. An
immature Red-tailed Hawk was present on the 29th. Great Blue Heron
were present both days in numbers of about 20. It was a great weekend
to be in the Oxbow.
Date: Sunday, September 30, 2007
Location: Oxbow Lake
Reporter: Steve Pelikan
Other Birders: Great Outdorr Weekend Participants
Saturday and Sunday were great days to visit the Oxbow.
Saturday we saw Green-winged Teal, Stilt Sandpipers, Pectoral
Sandpipers, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs and American Wigeons.
New birds on Sunday were Pintail, Red-breasted Nuthatch(!).
Warblers this weekend included Nashville, Tennessee, Black-throated
Green, Myrtle, Palm, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Common Yellowthroat.
Butterflies included Dainty Sulphurs (!)(present in good numbers),
Sleepy Oranges(!), Cloudless Sulphurs, 3 species of Swallowtail, 4
species of Skippers, Variegated Fritillaries.
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Location: The Oxbow
Reporter: Susan Williams
Visited the Oxbow from 10 am to 12 pm today. Seeing all the dead and
dying fish is pretty depressing.
The south end of Oxbow Lake was a good mix of birds: Mutt mallards;
Black vultures, chasing off crows for dibs to the fish
Spotted sandpipers; Least sandpiper; I'd like to say that I saw a
Baird's sandpiper, but I don't want to stick my neck out on that one;
The ever present great blue herons; Double crested cormorants;
Worm-Eating warbler; "Peep"; A zillion killdeer
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Frank Frick
Red-necked Phalarope still there at 5:15pm
alone with two American Golden-plovers. They had dark tails and
almost no white on upper wing also small bills. They were a long
way off and that's my excuse if they turn out to be Black-bellieds.
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Arrived at the Oxbow at 6:30 and did not find the red-necked
phalarope or the plovers. Did not count everything so some of the
following are best estimates and the rest are actual counts. 26
Great Blue Heron, 49 Great Egret (they all came in while I was
sitting there), 25 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1
Solitary Sandpiper, 30 Semipalmated Sanpiper, 5 Least Sandpiper, 1
Semipalmated Plover, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, 4 Pectoral
Sandpiper, 60 Killdeer,5 Ring-billed Gull, 3 American Crow, 125
Wood Duck, 75 Mallard, 40 Blue-winged Teal. No report on the small
birds. Oxbow Lake is nearly dry and the trapped carp should bring
back the vultures if it drops any lower.
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Location: Oxbow Lake
Reporter: Steve Pelikan
Sorry I wasn't clear. The Phalarope was there when we left and very
likely to stay there for a while --- it seemed happy.
Also, we found Dainty Sulphurs while walking the road on the high side
of the lake. These were a new butterfly for the Oxbow list, as I
understand it.
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Location: Oxbow Lake
Reporter: Steve Pelikan
Other Birders: Charlie Saunders, Jim Lundburg
We found an immature Red-necked Phalarope in the main Oxbow Lake
this morning. It was easily visible from the overlook parkinglot on
the high side of the lake.
It was present from about 7:45 when we got to the Oxbow to about 11:00
when we left. It was mixed in with several Stilt Sandpipers,
Yellowlegs, and Pectoral Sandpipers; feeding actively and preening
frequently.
Date: Saturday, September 15, 2007
Location: Shawnee Lookout & the Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Seventeen CBC field trip participants
The seventeen participants of this Cincinnati Bird Club
field trip appreciated a beautiful sunny day and the first
cool fall temperatures of the season. The north winds of the
cold front that moved through overnight apparently brought
many migrants. We started the day off at 7:30 am in the
Shawnee Lookout boat ramp parking lot, always a very
“birdy” place, and ended up staying there until after 9:00
AM, as the birding was excellent. We then walked the park road
at Shawnee, where things slowed considerably and ended up at
the Oxbow until we broke up about 1:30 PM. As a group we had
14 species of warblers and totaled 90 species for the day, an
excellent number for the fall. Many other birds went
unidentified as often happens at peak times. We did not see
the American White Pelican that has recently been present in
the Oxbow. For the most part the numbers below are my
estimates, although in some cases they are actual counts.
Because of the size of our group and the abundant bird
activity it is quite possible I have missed something or
under-represented a particular species. Our trip list
included: Canada Goose 40~, Wood Duck 40+, Mallard 80+,
Blue-winged Teal 90, Green-winged Teal 10, Wild Turkey 3,
Double-crested Cormorant 50~, Great Blue Heron 85, Great Egret
37 (21 were on the Great Miami), Turkey Vulture 60~ (curiously
we saw no Black Vultures today), Cooper’s Hawk 3, Red-tailed
Hawk 2, Killdeer 50+, Spotted Sandpiper 1, Greater Yellowlegs
3, Lesser Yellowlegs 8, Semipalmated Sandpiper 2, Least
Sandpiper 4, Baird’s Sandpiper 1 (north end mudflat Oxbow
Lake), Pectoral Sandpiper 10, Stilt Sandpiper 2, Caspian Tern
1, Rock Pigeon +, Mourning Dove ++, Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1,
Chimney Swift +, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3, Belted
Kingfisher 2, Red-bellied Woodpecker +, Downy Woodpecker +,
Northern Flicker +, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Eastern Wood-Pewee
15+, Least Flycatcher 1, empidonax flycatcher sp. 3, Eastern
Phoebe 1, Great Crested Flycatcher 1, White-eyed Vireo 2,
Yellow-throated Vireo 2, Warbling Vireo 2, Philadelphia Vireo
1, Red-eyed Vireo 5, Blue Jay 60+, American Crow 25, Tree
Swallow 70~, N. Rough-winged Swallow 25~, Barn Swallow 15~,
Carolina Chickadee ++, Tufted Titmouse +, Red-breasted
Nuthatch 1, White-breasted Nuthatch +, Carolina Wren +, House
Wren 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Eastern Bluebird 3,
Swainson’s Thrush 15+, Wood Thrush 2, American Robin ++,
Gray Catbird 2, Northern Mockingbird 1, European Starling
100+, Cedar Waxwing 65~, Tennessee Warbler 12, Nashville
Warbler 3, Northern Parula 2, Chestnut-sided Warbler 5,
Magnolia Warbler 7, Black-throated Green Warbler 2+,
Blackburnian Warbler 1, Bay-breasted Warbler 5, Blackpoll
Warbler 3+, Black-and-White Warbler 3, American Redstart 6,
Ovenbird 1, Common Yellowthroat 4, Wilson’s Warbler 1,
Summer Tanager 2, Scarlet Tanager 1, Eastern Towhee 4,
Chipping Sparrow +, Field Sparrow +, Savannah Sparrow 2, Song
Sparrow +, Northern Cardinal ++, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6+,
Indigo Bunting ++, Red-winged Blackbird 300+, Common Grackle
++, Brown-headed Cowbird ++, American Goldfinch ++, and House
Sparrow +.
Date: Thursday, September 13, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Allan Claybon
Watched the American White Pelican for about an hour at
noon today as it fed on the far South end of Oxbow Lake.
Pictures at www.pbase.com/nsxbirder/oxbow
Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Location: The Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: J.J. Stenger, Dana Owens & Jim Mundy
Dana, J.J. and I ran into Jim at the Oxbow this late afternoon
and the four of us did a quick tour of the Oxbow together from
about 5:00 to 6:15 pm. The American White Pelican was right where
Jon left it on Oxbow Lake and it stayed put the entire time we
were there. As I often say, it always amazes me how quickly birds
turnover in hotspots like the Oxbow, particularly during
migration. We missed the Baird’s Sandpipers but much of what we
saw was similar to Jon’s observations earlier in the day with
just a few differences.
Some of the species we saw included: Wood Duck 100~, Mallard 150,
Blue-winged Teal 30, Green-winged Teal 12, Pied-billed Grebe 1,
American White Pelican 1, Double-crested Cormorant 50+, Great Blue
Heron 60, Great Egret 35, Black Vulture 15, Spotted Sandpiper 2,
Solitary Sandpiper 1, Greater Yellowlegs 5, Lesser Yellowlegs 15,
Least Sandpiper 10, Pectoral Sandpiper 6, and Palm Warbler 2.
Foraging over the large soybean fields on the east side of Oxbow
Lake near Mercer Pond were 250 or more Tree Swallows around 6:00
pm. Mixed in were Barn (30~) and N. Rough-winged (20~) Swallows.
Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Dropped by the Oxbow today for a leisurely peek. I had decided
going in that I would basically do a big sit for a couple of hours
at the Oxbow Lake overlook. From 10:30 to 12:30 I observed the
Oxbow Lake from the overlook. Three other birders dropped by
during that period. I am always happy to see other folks out
enjoying the Oxbow. After reading Jay Stenger's exciting accounts
of the Oxbow on Saturday and Sunday, I wondered what my day would
be like. It was very different. There were only 41 Great Blue
Heron on the Oxbow Lake (+21 in other areas along the road going
in and out), no great egret, (I only found 7 in the Conservancy
District as I left). There were the the following 350 Wood Duck,
150 Mallard, 8 Green-winged Teal, and 1 Northern Shoveler. The
south end was a mass of ducks and there were Wood Duch everywhere.
Nothing exciting seemed to be around so I started to try to pick
out the shorebirds. 9 Greater Yellowlegs, 15 Lesser Yellowlegs, 30
Killdeer, 7 Semi-palmated Sandpiper, 2 Pectoral Sandpiper, 2
Baird's Sandpipers. When I turned around there was a single
American White Pelican feeding near the center of the lake.
Overhead 400-500 Rough-winged Swallow were staging. I saw a couple
of Chimney Swift in the mix and a single Bank Swallow. There were
2 Belted Kingfisher working the lake. While I sat on the bench 3
Carolina Chickadee came by and a pair of Carolina Wrens. The best
part was a beautiful female American Redstart that slipped along
the trees and since I was sitting on the high bank she was at eye
level and up close. 4 Double-crested Cormorant, 9 American Crow, 2
Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 2 Northern Cardinal, 3 Indigo
Bunting, 2 Song Sparrow, 3 Mourning Dove, 15 Turkey Vulture, and 3
Black Vulture. Not bad for just sitting and letting the wildlife
come to you. Real Relaxing!
Date: Sunday, September 9, 2007
Location: The Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Joe Bens
Joe and I had a few hours free this late afternoon and early evening
and decided to visit the Oxbow. It always amazes me how productive
good spots like this can change on a daily (or even hourly) basis.
Having been there just yesterday, we had a few different species and
numbers. Our highlights were 2 WHITE-RUMPED and 5 BAIRD’S
SANDPIPERS, Bald Eagle, staging Barn Swallows and migrating
nighthawks. We also had what I believe is an Oxbow high record and
probably the second highest regional number of Great Blue Herons. We
counted 226 and felt that was a conservative number. We didn’t even
check Mercer Pond, and now I wish we had, as there are always many
Great Blues there. The water level in Oxbow Lake is as low now as I
have seen it since about 20 years ago when we experienced another late
summer drought.
Some of the species we found this evening in the Oxbow included: Wood
Duck 75, Mallard 35, Blue-winged Teal 65, Green-winged Teal 10,
Double-crested Cormorant 20~ (must have all been on Mercer Pond),
Great Blue Heron 226, Great Egret 50+, Black Vulture 30, Turkey
Vulture 10, Bald Eagle 1 (1st or 2nd year bird), Cooper’s Hawk 1,
Red-tailed Hawk 2, Killdeer 40+, Semipalmated Plover 4, Solitary
Sandpiper 2, Greater Yellowlegs 3, Lesser Yellowlegs 20, Semipalmated
Sandpiper 3, Least Sandpiper 12, White-rumped Sandpiper 2, Baird’s
Sandpiper 5, Stilt Sandpiper 3, Short-billed Dowitcher 1, Common
Nighthawk 75+ and Belted Kingfisher 2. We saw at least 20 Indigo
Buntings and Barn Swallows were staging all over the agricultural
fields in the Oxbow and the best we came up with was 250 (the second
highest total recorded in the Oxbow), but I’m sure a more thorough
check would have produced many more. We only looked at the Great Miami
at Lost Bridge from the car and didn’t see much, but at least 2
Cliff Swallows were still present and we saw a Savannah Sparrow near
the bridge.
We saw almost all the shore birds on the mudflats either on the north
end or the south end mudflats on Oxbow Lake. The 2 White-rumped
Sandpipers and 3 of the Baird’s were seen on the north mudflat and 2
other Baird’s were on the south mudflat. We were able to see the
shorebirds on the north mudflat from very close range. Between
yesterday and today there were 13 species of shorebirds seen on Oxbow
Lake. Nothing terribly rare yet, but the Oxbow should be checked often
over the next several weeks. We only saw Killdeer on Osprey Lake but a
decent mudflat is beginning to form there. On two occasions while we
were there, about an hour apart, the immature eagle made passes over
the lake and scattered many of the birds. One of those times we saw a
flock of Wood Ducks panic and take flight. As they flew away from the
lake, a juvenile hit a power line and was killed for its panic. As we
were leaving we saw a flock of crows making life miserable for the
perched eagle.
Date: Saturday, September 8, 2007
Location: The Oxbow Area
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Ten field trip participants
The hoped for, no make that the expected, waves of migrant warblers
and songbirds failed to materialize for the ten of us who participated
on the Oxbow Inc. field trip this morning. But there’s always
something to see in the Oxbow area. We met in the Oxbow at 8:00 AM and
were at Shawnee Lookout by 9:00. We birded the boat ramp and a ¾ mile
stretch of the park road until about 10:30 AM. We checked Lost Bridge
and then returned to bird the Oxbow until 2:00 PM. We did manage to
find 11 species of shorebirds although in low numbers. Our highlight
was a MERLIN seen harassing a Peregrine Falcon. Some of the birds we
found today included:
At Shawnee Lookout: Eastern Wood-Pewee 3, White-eyed Vireo 2, Warbling
Vireo 3, Gray Catbird 2, Magnolia Warbler 1, Black-throated Green
Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, and a few Indigo Buntings.
At Lost Bridge: Double-crested Cormorant 4, Great Blue Heron 7,
Semipalmated Plover 2, Spotted Sandpiper 3, Lesser Yellowlegs 1,
Semipalmated Sandpiper 4, Short-billed Dowitcher 1, COMMON TERN 1
(working the river, good look), N. Rough-winged and Barn Swallows, a
fairly late Cliff Swallow and a large mixed flock of Red-winged
Blackbirds 400, Common Grackles 100 and Brown-headed Cowbirds 100 at
7:45 AM.
At the Oxbow: We were apparently the first people there at 8:15 AM and
witnessed a very large gathering of herons and egrets, which were
spread out in the very shallow Oxbow Lake from the mid-way overlook
down to the south end. Wood Duck 30+, Blue-winged Teal 3, Pied-billed
Grebe 2, Double-crested Cormorant 120+, Great Blue Heron 140, Great
Egret 110+, Black Vulture 65, Turkey Vulture 20, Cooper’s Hawk 1,
Peregrine Falcon 1, MERLIN 1, Killdeer 50+, Spotted Sandpiper 5,
Solitary Sandpiper 2, Greater Yellowlegs 1, Lesser Yellowlegs 14,
Least Sandpiper 5, Pectoral Sandpiper 2, Stilt Sandpiper 1,
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, a fairly late Willow Flycatcher 1, Palm
Warbler 1, and a fairly early Swamp Sparrow.
From the mid-way overlook around 1:30 PM., we were watching a
Peregrine patrolling over the Oxbow Lake, when out of nowhere a Merlin
came blazing in and starts mobbing and diving on the Peregrine. This
went on for a couple of minutes until the Peregrine finally remembered
who was really in charge (and 4 times heavier), regrouped, turned the
tables and gave aggressive chase to the Merlin. The Merlin, who
apparently enjoyed this game, decided it had had enough and went
streaking off to the north, leaving the Peregrine to go on about its
business. Merlin’s are way cool.
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Oxbow Lake Rd and Lawrenceburg Conservancy District (LCD). 77 Great
Blue Heron, 29 Great Egret, 20 Turkey Vultures, 15 Black Vultures, 1
Red-tailed Hawk, 20 American Crow, 35 Double-crested Cormorants, 15 Wood
Duck, 20 Mallard, 45 Lesser Yellowlegs, 32 Killdeer, and 1 Palm Warbler
Date: Sunday, August 26, 2007
Location: Brookville, Hueston & the Oxbow
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Joe Bens
Joe and I visited the Oxbow, Brookville Lake and Hueston Woods this
afternoon looking for shorebirds and terns. We did not find Black Terns
anywhere, although we didn’t look at most of Brookville Lake. So my hope
of yesterdays Black Tern fall out extending into today did not pan out, at
least in the places we checked.
The only shorebirds we found at the Oxbow were a couple of Spotted
Sandpipers, 29 Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Pectoral Sandpipers and 4 distant
“peeps”. It remains heron and egret city.
Date: Saturday, August 25, 2007
Location: Lost Bridge, Shawnee Boat Ramp and Oxbow
Reporter: Eric Burkholder
Other Birders: Kirk Westendorf, Gayle Wulker and Brian Wulker
Kirk and I checked the Lost Bridge twice this morning and early
afternoon but saw No shorebirds, not even a Killdeer.
We also checked Shawnee Boat Ramp and found nothing special.
At the Oxbow we found one Black Tern flying over the lake and many
Black and Turkey Vultures eating the many dead Carp. We saw a few
shorebirds but they were too far for us to I.D. with binoculars. At
Jackpot Pond we found 36 Great Egrets in the trees and the lake. There is
a freshly killed Great Blue Heron in the road on the West side of Oxbow
Lake. It looks in perfect shape and we wonder if it flew into the
electrical lines above the road. Close up they look small and fragile.
Kirk and I were checking the N end of Oxbow Lake when Gayle and Brian
Wulker showed up. We took them to the S of Oxbow Lake to see the Black
Tern when a flock of 9 Black Terns appeared from the N. We got good looks
of them flying up and down the lake. They were still there when we left
around 1:00 p.m. Then Brian found a single Caspian Tern flying around the
S end of Oxbow Lake. The Wulkers are always prepared and brought along
their spotting scope. We were able to I.D. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,
Least Sandpipers and Killdeer on the mudflats in the S corner of the Oxbow
Lake. There may have been other species of shorebirds present but none of
us have a lot of experience with shorebirds. We were able to find a
Spotted Sandpiper in Osprey Lake.
Date: Friday, August 24, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: David Carr
I was down at the Oxbow this morning from about 10 AM – noon. In
addition to the species that Jon Seymour mentioned, I can add that there
was a flock of 18 Black Terns skimming over the water at the south end of
the Oxbow. Also at the far end of the lake, there was a pair of Greater
Yellowlegs among about a 20 Lessers. I also saw an immature Red-shouldered
Hawk.
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Location: Lost Bridge/Shawnee boat ramp
Reporter: Brian Wulker
Other Birders: Gale Wulker
Lost Bridge : 1 Kingfisher, 15 Killdeer, 8 Spotted Sandpiper, 6 Pectoral
Sandpiper, 12 Least Sandpiper, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher juv, 11 Great Blue
Heron, 2 Green Heron, 1 Cliff Swallow, 20 Barn Swallow, 5 Bank Swallow, 15
Northern Rough Winged Swallow.
Shawnee Lookout: 1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 Yellow Throated Warbler, 5 House
Wren, 3 Indigo Bunting
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2007
Location: The Oxbow Area
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Jack Stenger
My son Jack and I began a pretty good day of birding by first visiting the
Oxbow area this morning. We could not relocate the previously reported
Baird’s Sandpiper at Lost Bridge but we did find 14 Stilt Sandpipers at
Oxbow Lake. There may have been fewer birds present on the sandbars in the
Great Miami River at Lost Bridge (Lawrenceburg Rd.) this morning than
there were on Friday, but there are still many there, but they are hard to
see well, even with a scope, as they blend in so well with the sand and
gravel.
Some of the birds we saw at Lost Bridge included: Great Blue Herons, Green
Heron 4, a fly-by Osprey, many Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper 5, Solitary
Sandpiper 2, Semipalmated Sandpiper 2, Least Sandpiper 25, Pectoral
Sandpiper 12, Short-billed Dowitcher 1, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern
Kingbird and 20 Cedar Waxwings.
Still lots of exposed mudflats at Oxbow Lake and even Osprey Lakes water
level is coming down and looks like it might have a good mudflat in the
near future. Shorebirds were better today than Friday but still less than
expected considering the available habitat. On the mudflats at the extreme
south end of Oxbow Lake we found 14 Stilt Sandpipers, 4 Spotted
Sandpipers, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, 15 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Pectoral
Sandpipers and many Killdeer. Other birds included 100+ Great Blue Herons,
35 Great Egrets, a Green Heron (flushed from the exact same spot we
flushed a Least Bittern on Friday), 30 Wood Ducks, and 50+ Black Vultures
and many Turkey Vultures (attending an all you can eat dead carp buffet).
Date: Friday, August 17, 2007
Location: The Oxbow Area
Reporter: Jay Stenger
Other Birders: Jack Stenger
Jack and I spent the late morning and afternoon looking for shorebirds
along the lower Great Miami River today. Oxbow Lake has
considerable exposed shoreline but had relatively few shorebirds. Our best
bird there was a good look at a LEAST BITTERN. The best concentration of
shorebirds we found today was on the sandbars of the Great Miami at Lost
Bridge. We saw 10 species of shorebirds there including a BAIRD’S
SANDPIPER and a Short-billed Dowitcher. There were around 65 individual
shorebirds present excluding Killdeer.
Some of the birds seen at Lost Bridge included: Killdeer 25,
Spotted Sandpiper 9, Solitary Sandpiper 6, Greater Yellowlegs 3, Lesser
Yellowlegs 7, Semipalmated Sandpiper 4, Least Sandpiper 20, Baird’s
Sandpiper 1, Pectoral Sandpiper 15, Short-billed Dowitcher 1, Wood Ducks,
Mallards 20 (all the males in dark eclipse plumage), Green-winged Teal 2,
Wild Turkey 7 (2 hens and 5 almost fully grown poults bathing at the edge
of the river), Double-crested Cormorant 12, Great Blue Heron 10, Green
Heron 2, Black Vulture 1, Red-tailed Hawk 3, Ruby-throated Hummingbird,
Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, Cliff Swallow 5 and a Yellow Warbler.
Two Peregrine Falcons were seen perched on the nest box at the Miami Fort
Plant.
Some of the birds seen in the Oxbow included: Wood Duck 15, Mallard 20,
Double-crested Cormorant 50+, Least Bittern 1, Great Blue Heron 130, Great
Egret 55, Red-tailed Hawk 3, American Kestrel, Killdeer 15, Greater
Yellowlegs 1, and 6 Lesser Yellowlegs. We saw around 60 Purple Martins
staging in Western Hamilton County on our way home.
The Least Bittern was quite a surprise. We were at the midway overlook on
the west bank of Oxbow Lake for about 15 minutes, right at the waters
edge. Just as we were about to leave, a Least Bittern flushed, literally
at our feet, from a sparse patch of poison ivy right along the bank. The
bird had held tight the entire time we were there. If it could have held
out another minute we would never have seen it. As it was, we had great
looks at it as it flew out over the water, turned north flying along the
shore, reversed its direction and came back towards us before then flying
directly across the lake, were it disappeared into the shoreline
vegetation. After looking at the sparse patch it had been hiding in, we
agreed that had we known it was there we would easily have seen the bird.
But by remaining motionless and relying on its camouflaged plumage it
remained concealed to our eyes even though we were no more than 5 feet
from it the entire time! It’s no wonder that so many of this species
goes undetected.
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
A quick stop at the Oxbow to count heron and egret. Counting only on
the west side (Jackpot and Juno ponds, Oxbow and Osprey lakes, I found
101 Great Blue Heron and 38 Great Egret. I was not counting the
numerous Wood Duck and Double-crested Cormorants. I found no
Black-crowned Night Heron or green Heron. I had a nice fly by of two
blue-winged Teal. My first of the year.
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Location: sand bar in G. Miami at lost bridge
Reporter: Frank Frick
finally some shorebirds.On the graval and sand islands on the up river
side of lost bridge in the Great Miami,15 Least Sandpipers,1
Semipalmated Sandpiper, 4 Solitary Sandpipers, 5 Spotted Sandpipers,2
Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Wilsons Snipe, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher.
Date: Monday, August 13, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Miami University Masters Class in Environmental Studies
Stayed on the west side of Oxbow Lake. 51 Great Blue Heron, 41 Great
Egret, 3 Black-crowned Night Heron, 50 Canada Goose, 21 Killdeer, 4
Solitary Sandpipers, 12 Greater Yellowlegs, a flock of peeps?, 25 Wood
Duck including a mom with six new ones, 5 Mallard, 2 Black Duck, 22
Double-crested Cormorants, 15 Turkey Vulture, 12 Black Vulture,5 American
Crow, 1 Peregrine Falcon, Assorted Goldfinches, Indigo Buntings,
Red-winged Blackbirds, Mourning Doves, Robins and Cardinals.
Date: Friday, August 10, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceberg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Seems that 100 degree heat keeps birders inside. Have not seen many
postings this week. In today's cold snap ( 90 degrees and low humidity) I
thought a trip to the Oxbow would be good. A Green Heron was under the RR
bridge on the Great Miami. Oxbow Lake had an interesting mix of birds. 90
Great Blue Heron, 31 Great Egret, 20 Black Vulture, 15 Turkey Vulture, 5
Crow, 6 Double-crested Cormorant, 8 Canada Geese, 12 Wood Duck, 4
Killdeer, and 2 Solitary Sandpipers.
Date: Monday, July 30, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Jim Wilgenbusch
Had a nice long look at a resting Osprey at Mercer Pond. Heron count
for the day 2:00 to 4:00 pm. 54 Great Blue Heron and 29 Great Egret. No
Pelican today. Wonder where he is hiding. Others of interest are 33 Canada
Geese, 15 Wood Duck, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 10 Killdeer and 1 Solitary
Sandpiper.
Date: Saturday, July 28, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Other Birders: Kani Meyer, Denis Conover
A muddy 3.5 mile hike through the Oxbow was concentrated on plant species.
For birds there was a notable collection at Oxbow Lake at about 1:00 pm.
Sighted on or beside the Lake were 115 Great Blue Heron, 37 Great Egret, 1
Black-crowned Night Heron, 2 Green Heron, 1 American White Pelican, 12
Double-crested Cormorant, 4 Turkey Vultures, 6 American Crow, 4 Wood Duck,
and 1 Belted Kingfisher.
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Location: Oxbow, Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon Seymour
Did my first survey at about 3pm of heron/egret species for 2007. I did
not have my scope so some may have escaped notice. 67 Great Blue Heron, 29
Great Egret, 1 Green Heron. Other birds of interest were the American
White Pelican (still with us), 15 Double-crested Cormorants, 20 Wood Duck,
15 Canada Goose and two Solitary Sandpiper. There were other shorebirds
but too far off for proper ID.
Date: Friday, July 20, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Chandra Mattingly
Other Birders: spouse, Dan Boone & plant people
The group enjoying the Oxbow plant I.D. outing led by Daniel Boone saw
one immature and one mature bald eagle, several egrets and a couple blue
herons, and a kingfisher at or from the near end of the Oxbow, among other
birds, plus a little green heron and various swallows near the canoe/kayak
launch site at Shawnee Lookout.
Date: Monday,
July 16, 2007
Location: Oxbow,
Shawnee, Boat Ramp
Reporter: Don
Martin
At Oxbow: 1 Solitary
Sandpiper, 2 adult
and 1 juvenile BC
Night Heron, 10+ GB
Heron, 2 Warbling
Vireo, 6 Great
Egret, 2 Carolina
Wren, and 1
patroling security
guard (Keep up the
good work!).
At Shawnee: 1
Warbling Vireo, 1
scarlet tanager, 3
Wood Thrush.
At Boat Ramp: Imm.
N. Oriole, 1
Solitary Sandpiper,
2 GB Heron, 2
Louisiana
Waterthrush, 2
Carolina Wren.
Tanner's Creek Lane:
Couldn't locate
Dickcissels due to
construction of new
road.
Date: Sunday, July 15, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Paul Krusling
Other Birders: Joe Kappa, Matt Revicki
Joe, Matt and I went to the Oxbow this morning to check out the
American White Pelican, which afforded us excellent views. We also saw
most of what Erich saw in the previous post with a couple of notable
additions, including an out of place Lesser Scaup and a possible
Red-necked Grebe. Both were in the South end of Oxbow Lake, which was
where all the herons, egrets and pelican were. The grebe was seen through
a scope swimming rapidly acrross the lake. It had a long thick bill and a
long neck. Attempts to find it from other, closer, vantage points were
unsuccessful.
Date:
Saturday, July 14,
2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Erich
Baumgardner
After not
finding Lark
Sparrows on Blue
Rock, I decided to
go to the Oxbow -
and was pleased with
my decision. I
walked the NE side
of the lake toward
the river. On the
first few views I
found a BC
Nightheron, a few GB
herons, some
Killdeer, a
Dowitcher, and a
Solitary Sandpiper.
Walking toward the
east (end) of the
lake I saw 6 Great
Egrets flying toward
that end along the
tree line with the
Ohio River. Cutting
through the weeds
and willow I broke
through to the end
of the lake - to
find 20+ Great
Egrets, 60+ GB
Herons, 3 more BC
Nightherons and the
White Pelican. I've
never walked to the
end of the lake from
this side - it was
well worth the time.
Met another birder
heading that way on
my way out - sorry I
didn't introduce
myself. Hope you
found my 'path' and
located the pelican.
Date: Friday,
July 13, 2007
Location: Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon
Seymour
The American White
Pelican was still in
the Oxbow at 3:30 pm
today. It was
hanging out at the
Southeast end of
Oxbow Lake. Easily
visible from the
Overlook. Other
denizens were 25
Great Blue Heron, 6
Great Egret, and 3
Double-crested
Cormorants.
Date:
Wednesday, July 11,
2007
Location: Oxbow
Reporter: Frank
Frick
I found a White
Pelican at the oxbow
today. It was seen
from the pulloff
that has the park
bench (the back end
of oxbow lake).
There was one
reported here on
july 2 and I don't
know if this is the
same one. This bird
seems to be an imm.
It has a little gray
in the wings and the
bill is a
pink-orange rather
then orange. Stokes
guide says they can
keep their imm.
plumage for two to
three years.
Date: Monday,
July 9, 2007
Location: Oxbow
Lake
Reporter: Joe
Kappa
Took a quick ride
around the circle
and saw the
following: 15
Mallards, 12 Wood
Ducks, 1 Cormorant,
1 Red-tailed Hawk
(on the platform),
25 Great Egrets, 1
adult Black-Crowned
Night Heron, 7
Great-Blue Herons.
Also stopped at the
Lost Bridge and saw
many Cliff Swallows
circling the bridge.
Date:
Wednesday, July 4,
2007
Location:
Tanners Creek Boat
Ramp
Reporter: Jay
Stenger
Other Birders:
Jack Stenger
Jack and I saw
several and heard
at least 11
singing
Dickcissels in the
weedy fields along
both sides of
Tanners Creek Lane
this afternoon.
Tanners Creek Lane
leads down to the
Tanners Creek Boat
Ramp and is
located in
Lawrenceburg,
Indiana on the
south side of US
50, about a mile
west of the
Tanners Creek
Bridge. There is a
McDonalds
restaurant on the
southwest corner
of US 50 and
Tanners Creek Lane
that can be used
as a landmark.
We also saw 17
Great Egrets in
the Oxbow this
afternoon.
Date:
Monday, July 2,
2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg, IN
Reporter: Jon
Seymour
Other Birders:
Ben Miller,
Nathan Miller
Working in
the Oxbow with
binoculars at
hand. A trip to
Mercer Pond
yielded 9 Common
Egrets, 4 Great
Blue Heron, 11
Double-crested
Cormorant, 3
Mallard, 2
Indigo Bunting,
5 Horned Lark,
and 1 AMERICAN
WHITE PELICAN.
The bird was
first seen on
the opposite
side of Mercer
Pond near the
hunter's blind.
While we were
watching it flew
up, circled a
couple of times,
and flew right
at us before
starting to
circle and gain
altitude. Ben
was able to take
several photos
as the bird flew
over us. Other
additional birds
in the Oxbow
this morning
were
6 Great Blue
Heron, 50 Tree
Swallows, 4
Mallards, 21
Canada Goose, 6
Double-crested
Cormorants, 2
Indigo Bunting,
2 Red-eyed
Vireo, 1
Warbling Vireo,
1 Prothonatary
Warbler, 15
Common Grackle,
1 White-breasted
Nuthatch, 9
American Robin,
2 Turkey
Vulture, 1
Red-tailed Hawk
(juvenile).
Date:
Sunday, July
1, 2007
Location:
Mt. Nebo
gravel pit
Reporter: Ned
Keller
Other Birders:
Kathy McDonald
Jay Stenger
told me about
having seen
Blue Grosbeaks
here back in
May, and I
wanted to try
to get them
for the
breeding bird
atlas. It took
me about 5
seconds this
morning to
find a male,
and about 30
seconds to
find a pair;
seeing the
female
carrying food
took about 15
minutes. Other
more expected
summer birds
that were
probable
nesters
included
Northern
Mockingbird,
Brown
Thrasher,
White-eyed
Vireo, Common
Yellowthroat,
and Field
Sparrow.
The location
is on Mt. Nebo
road, east of
Lawrenceburg
Road, near
Lost Bridge.
The grosbeaks
are at the
east end of
the active
gravel pit on
the left side
of the road,
not far past
the sign (on
the right) for
the model
airplane club.
Date:
Saturday,
June 16,
2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg,
IN
Reporter: Don
Martin
20+
Indigo
Buntings,
1
Prothonotary
Warbler,
1
Immature
Male
Orchard
Oriole,
1
Northern
Oriole,
3
Double-Crested
Cormorants,
12+
Great
Blue
Heron, 1
Black
Crowned
Night
Heron, 8
Great
Egrets,
3 Wood
Ducks
(and 6
babies),
6
Killdeer
(2
fledglings),
I
also saw many of
the following
"common"
birds: Eastern
Kingbird,Goldfinch,
Robin, Red Winged
Blackbird,
Grackle, Cowbird,
Canada Goose,
Mallard, Barn
Swallows, Cliff
Swallows,
Cardinals,
Titmouse,
Chickadee,
Chipping Sparrow,
House Sparrow,
Carolina Wren,
Downy Woodpecker,
Crow, Turkey
Vulture
Date:
Saturday,
June 16,
2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg,
IN
Reporter:
Jon
Seymour
Trip List:
Canada
Goose 25,
Wood Duck
2, Mallard
3,
Double-crested
Cormorant
5, Great
Blue Heron
12, Great
Egret 5,
Black-crowned
Night-Heron
1, Turkey
Vulture 3,
Killdeer
2, Spotted
Sandpiper
2,
Mourning
Dove 2,
Warbling
Vireo 2,
Blue Jay
1,
American
Crow 3,
Horned
Lark 3,
Tree
Swallow 6,
Northern
Rough-winged
Swallow
20, Barn
Swallow 2,
Carolina
Chickadee
1, Tufted
Titmouse
3,
Carolina
Wren 1,
House Wren
1,
Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher
5,
American
Robin 20,
Prothonotary
Warbler 7,
Common
Yellowthroat
2, Song
Sparrow 8,
Northern
Cardinal
11, Indigo
Bunting 8,
Red-winged
Blackbird
5, Eastern
Meadowlark
1, Common
Grackle
25,
Brown-headed
Cowbird 3,
Orchard
Oriole 2,
Baltimore
Oriole 1,
American
Goldfinch
2
Date:
Friday, June
15, 2007
Location:
Shawnee
Lookout Park
Boat Ramp
Reporter: Paul
Krusling
While I was
checking the
beach North of
the boat ramp
for softshell
turtle
activity, a
boat went
roaring up
river erasing
any turtle
sign with its
wake! While I
was muttering
under my
breath, the
boat flushed a
mature bald
eagle which
flew across
the river and
landed in some
tree out of
sight.
Date:
Friday, June
1, 2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg,
IN
Reporter: Jon
Seymour
Other Birders:
Jackie Seymour
Quick Stop:
15 Great-Blue
Heron, 1 Green
Heron, 25
Canada Goose,
6 Mallard, 18
Wood Duck (a
mother with 13
new hatchlings
- first family
of the year
for me), 3
warbling
vireo, 5 Song
Sparrow, 2
Turkey
vultures, 3
Northern
Cardinal, 2
Double-crested
Cormorants, 5
Indigo
Bunting, 3
American Crow.
Date:
Tuesday, May
29, 2007
Location:
Oxbow,
Lawrenceburg,
IN
Reporter: Jon
Seymour
Other Birders:
none
Picking up
some weekend
trash. 25
Canada Geese,
5 Great Blue
Heron, 4
Mallard, 3
Turkey
Vulture, 3
Indigo
Bunting, 2
Tufted
Titmouse, 15
Red-winged
Blackbird, 2
Carolina Wren,
1 House Wren,
3 Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers,
8 Northern
Cardinal, 3
Mourning Dove,
9 Rough-winged
Swallows, 1
Barn Swallow,
3 Warbling
Vireo, 3
Killdeer and 2
Spotted
Sandpipers.
The Osprey
Lake is
dropping even
faster than
last year. I
suspect the
machine
pounded cap
under the lake
is breaking up
and water is
draining to
the water
table faster
than ever.
Should be good
for shorebirds
beginning in
July.
Date:
Monday, May 21,
2007
Location:
Oxbow Lake
Reporter: Joe
Kappa
Other Birders:
Paul Krusling
Paul and I took
a canoe around
the edge of the
lake and saw the
following high
points:
2 Great Egrets,
10+ Great Blue
Herons, 1 imm
Black Crowned
NH, 3+ DC
Cormorants, 40+
Wood Ducks, 2
FORSTER'S TERNS,
3 Semipalmated
Plovers, 1 Sora
Rail (see story
below), 2
Solitary
Sandpipers, 2
Spotted
Sandpipers, 1
DUNLIN, 3
Pectoral
Sandpipers, 1
Semipalmated
Sandpiper, 10+
Least
Sandpipers, 3
Prothonotary
Warblers, 1
Red-headed
Woodpecker.
Note: The Sora
was being
hammered by
three grackles.
We watched for
several minutes
as the grackles
systematically
dive bombed the
Sora forcing it
into deeper
water. We
eventually
approached to
within 5 feet of
the Sora and the
grackles flew to
a nearby tree.
The Sora barelly
made it to a
tree branch
sticking out of
the water. We
observed at
close range for
nearly 10
minutes (took
some good
pictures). The
Sora didn't seem
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