Our Fall Birding Blitz began Friday, October 2, at Hueston Woods State Park in the southwest corner of the state. A few lucky campers arrived early at Group Camp B to set up for the weekend. Our site was located right by an inlet from Lake Acton. Others arrived after dark, thankful for their headlamps as tents were set up and sleeping bags unrolled.

It was so quiet that evening that every single Cub Scout camping several group sites away could be heard! And, going to bed early was not on the scouts’ agenda. Finally, as sleep overtook the scouts, our campers were able to listen to nature. There seemed to be a ruckus that night; we could hear the geese and Great Blue Herons being rousted and having to relocate. One of the possible explanations involved coyotes roaming around the lakeshore.

Night lists included:

Canadian Geese
Ducks
Great Blue Herons
Screech Owls
Barred Owl
Great Horned Owl

Early Saturday morning, we headed over to the Hueston Room at the marina for breakfast. It was really nice meeting our fellow campers, birders, and club members. We had over 45 participants on this field trip! The best part was finally meeting OYBC members from other parts of the state with whom we may have chatted or emailed. Breakfast was great (Thanks Kathy and Ned), but we didn’t hang around long—plenty to do!

Bird Banding - The location of our first big adventure was below Lake Acton’s dam. Drs. Jill and Dave Russell, along with their cast of characters, set up banding nets before we arrived. The Russell’s established the Avian Research and Education Institute back in 2004. AREI is a non-profit organization (501C3) dedicated to enhancing the preservation of avian populations. Their mission is to protect and conserve avian populations through research, education, and advocacy ( http://www.avianinstitute.com/ ).

We were treated to a wonderful demonstration of bird banding. Dave and Jill explained that, depending upon weather, mist nets are opened shortly before sunrise and closed at midday most days, year-round. Birds captured in the nets are carefully removed on a frequent basis, placed in bags, and returned to a centrally located banding station. The group was able to watch the birds being removed from the mist nets and put into lingerie bags to keep them safe until banding. Because it was cool out that morning, the birds waiting to be banded were put in the warm car or put in the laps and coats of our banders.

Jill and Dave also explained the banding process step by step as the birds were banded. We learned that at the banding station, the birds are identified; banded (marked with uniquely numbered USGS aluminum leg band) or reprocessed, if they were banded previously; and information about their age, sex, wing length, fat deposits, body mass, and other data are carefully recorded. Individual feathers are taken at this time for stable isotope and genetic studies. The whole process of collecting data for each captured bird takes less than a minute, after which the bird is released unharmed.

Our group also learned how to identify “hatch-year” versus “after-hatch-year” birds. We were able to locate fat on a bird and learned why fat is so important. We also learned which species do not like to cooperate with the banding process and a bit about Dragonflies (Common Green Darner) that were captured in the mist nets. Some of us helped to log the information collected, and we all learned why recaptures are so important. Finally, we were able to hold and photograph the amazing birds.

After banding, it was time for lunch back at the Hueston Room. The cheese coneys were the best! Thanks, Cindy Beckman! Again, it was a treat to meet and get to know our fellow birders. We came from many places and are of different ages. Some of us are tried and true birders, whereas others are just learning. A few high school students, working on extra credit for an AP Environmental Science class, were also in attendance.

Birds of Prey — Next on our agenda was a tour of the Birds of Prey program at the park raptor center. We were treated to a behind-the-scenes visit with some beautiful and interesting creatures. Each resident has a story as to how they ended up at the center: some were hit by cars, some shot, and others found injured. There were vultures, hawks, owls, eagles, and Eddie. Yes, Eddie . . .

Eddie is a Turkey Vulture that has been at the center for years. He is unable to fly and is a very curious bird. It is obvious that Eddie is a favorite with his caretakers. He followed us around during the tour, making sure we all stayed where we needed to. Eddie even hung out while we watched the cougar, bobcat, and eagles being fed.

Bird Walk — After our tour, we had a small amount of time to bird the harbor/marina area. We went to the bird blind near the marina to check out waterfowl, where we set up scopes and shared binoculars. We were also able to sneak in a short walk and attempt to spot and identify sparrows and other songbirds. Dr. Dave Russell shared his knowledge of entomology when the birds were hiding. He helped us identify several butterflies and a wooly bear, as well as beetles and dragonflies.

Sparrow Identification — Our 3 p.m. program was awesome! Dr. Dave Russell introduced us to sparrow identification techniques that work great in the field. We learned that sparrows come in many shapes and colors. Some are secretive and some are bold. There may be subtle or overstated differences in eye lines or eye rings, crowns, wing bars, coverts, throat, breast, or belly feathers. Winter plumage differs from breeding, or summer, plumage. Hatch-year birds differ from after-hatch-year birds and some sparrows are only seen during migration. Whew! Not to worry, the next morning we all got to try out those techniques at Miami Whitewater.

All that learning created quite an appetite. A feast of pizza, salad, and dessert followed. Thanks again to all those who took care of our needs—especially feeding the teenagers!

Birds of Taiwan — Dr. Herman Mays, Curator of Zoology at the Cincinnati Museum Center, which includes the Greier Collections and Research Center at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Dr. Mays started his session by presenting an interesting slideshow about birds he researched and photographed in Taiwan. His photos are just beautiful! The birds are so different, and even more amazing were some of the names of species: Common Tailorbird, Red-whiskered Bulbul, and Chinese Bulbuls. We learned that the White-browed Robin is considered a common bird in Taiwan, much like our American Robin is here. We also learned that few birds are common to both United States and Taiwan. Dr. Mays explained that the Northern Shoveler is an example of one such bird. Arctic ducks and shorebirds are species that can be found in both countries. Dr. Mays also facilitated a lively discussion regarding careers in ornithology and zoology. He shared his professional journey, education, and the hard work he completed to reach his current position. He invited Dr. Russell to share his journey, too.

Hands-on Bird Skinning — Dr. Mays continued his session with bird-skinning demonstrations and infromation about ornithology research taking place at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Helping with the demonstrations were Debra Hausrath and Loree Celebrezze. We gathered around three tables at which three different birds were processed. Each bird can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours to be processed. Dr. Mays explained that the skill of the person skinning usually determines the time.

As Debra and Loree skinned each bird, they talked about some of the new research taking place and different ways of skinning. We learned that the Cincinnati Museum Center is a participant in the Consortium for the Barcode of Life. Dr. May’s Blog, http://cincyevolution.blogspot.com/ can better explain the research than we can; DNA barcoding means sequencing a gene that is common to most of life. He explains that these sequences can be used alongside traditional characteristics as a mark of species identity. There are large barcode databases that allow for unknown specimens, including those that are hard to identify, to be compared against known sequences. This leads to species-level identification. The DNA barcoding can also provide data that may lead to unrecognized evolutionary lineages. Dr. Mays explained that this will prompt more detailed research projects on new species.

The Museum Center would be a great field trip all by itself. We learned that the Ornithology Collection comprises over 20,000 study skins, 2,000 fluid-preserved specimens, 1,000 skeletons, 5,500 frozen tissue samples, 2,000 eggs and 3,300 teaching specimens and mounts. About 1,700 species are represented.

Campfire Activities — Next, we went back to the campground for some night adventures. Waiting for us: a nice big bonfire with Lester Peyton, bat netting with Jeff Brown, and an owl walk with Susan Williams.

Lester Peyton was our bonfire guy. Lester is also a bird bander, monarch butterfly tagger, and volunteer educator. We chatted and swapped many birding stories. The kids loved the fire! Adults relaxed around it. It was hard to tear ourselves away for the bat banding and owl walk.

In the meantime, Jeff Brown had set up two bat banding mist nets. The net in the water measured 20 feet high by 60 feet wide. The second net was on land and measured 30 feet high by 42 feet wide. The nets are stacked on a pulley system, which makes it easier to set up and take down in the field. Jeff explained that at this time of year we were targeting red bats and hoary bats that were migrating. Due to weather conditions (a bit windy and a little too cold), we were not successful.

Up until this year, there was not a lot of bat banding in Ohio. Every state has its own banding requirements. One would expect to capture Big Brown bats, Little Brown Bats, Northern Bats, Red bats, and Eastern Pipistrelle. Hoary and Silver Hairs can be around, too. If you have the appropriate habitat, you might see an Indiana bat, which is endangered.

Bats are nocturnal; eat insects; and roost in caves, tunnels, crevices, hollow trees, and buildings. They can range in size from the tiny bumble-bee bat to a vulture-sized bat. Their diet consists primarily of insects. Some bats eat nectar and fruits. The vampire bats drink the blood of other animals. Some bats in the tropics eat frogs and fish.

We learned that bats are probably most known for echolocation, which is their incredible ability to navigate in total darkness using sonar. As they fly, they give off various supersonic sounds that reflect off objects and are then picked up by the supersensitive ears of the bat.

Bats roost hanging head-down by their hind feet. They have special valves in their circulatory system to keep blood from rushing to their heads as they hang upside down. Their hand is formed into a wing with a double membrane of skin stretched between the fingers, side of the body, and hind legs. Bats do bite; it is not wise to handle bats without proper training and immunization.

Jeff is a senior biologist at Stantec Consulting and has been doing bat banding and research for 15 years. Thanks, Jeff!

Owl Walk — Susan Williams, Director of Education, Raptor, Inc. We learned that Raptor, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of birds of prey through rehabilitation, education, and conservation. Raptor's goals are two-fold: education of the public on the importance of raptors and the preservation of their native habitat and rehabilitation and return of injured raptors to their natural environment (http://www.raptorinc.org/).

Susan took our group down the camp road to a quiet area. We stood silently, without our lights, and waited. We could hear dogs, campers at a Halloween party a mile away, music, and a few cars. It is hard to imagine what was really out there. But, after playing a few owl vocalizations, we were treated to several fly-bys. One was a gray morph screech owl You almost couldn’t hear them, but instead felt them as they flew by. It was amazing—right over our heads! We did manage to locate them with our flashlights. They seemed as curious about us as we were about them. What a terrific end to a fantastic day! Thank you, Susan!

Bird Banding — Sunday morning found us at Shaker Trace Wetlands at the crack of dawn. Dave and Jill Russell and volunteers were already there with mist nets set up. The nets they use are 12 meters long by 2.6 meters high, placed singly or in a series in different vegetation zones and along habitat edges, mostly where the adjacent vegetation is not much higher than the nets themselves. The locations for most of the mists nets change little over the years to maintain statistical relevance.

We offer a special thanks to Julie and Emily for their tremendous efforts handling and banding birds. Dave reported that they doubled their previous all-time high for birds banded in a morning at Shaker Trace! In a little more than four hours they banded 274 and recaptured 12 previously banded, for a total of 286 birds! Of that total, 173 were American Goldfinches that hit the nets after about 10:30. They banded 57 Song Sparrows, 19 Savannah Sparrows, 7 Swamp Sparrows, 2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and an American Woodcock, among the 12 species for the day. We also caught our first Palm Warbler of the year. Interesting birds seen and heard but not banded included a Peregrine Falcon blasting over at dawn, a singing Henslow’s Sparrow, and a couple Sedge Wrens.

Oxbow Trip — Jon Seymour visited Shaker Trace and led a small group to the Oxbow floodplain near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Jon is the President of Oxbow, Inc., which is a conservation group preserving the Oxbow. Before heading to the wetland, we visited Oxbow, Inc.’s comfortable office and meeting room, located in a small downtown Lawrenceburg building.

At the Oxbow floodplain, Jon explained the history of the Oxbow wetland and the formation of the group to preserve it. The oxbow-shaped lake formed in 1847 when a major flood caused the Great Miami River to change its course. Development plans in the mid-1980s caused concerned citizens to form Oxbow, Inc. to save the wetland.

During our tour of this interesting geographical area, we made multiple stops to view birds, insects, and plants. We learned that native ragweed grows 12 to 20 feet high, but because it’s a native plant, it does not cause allergic reactions. You can learn more about Oxbow by visiting the group’s Website at http://oxbowinc.org/.

We really want to thank all our volunteers and Raptor, Inc., Oxbow, Inc., Audubon of Ohio, AREI, and Cincinnati Bird Club for sponsoring this awesome event. We could not have done it without all of you.