Posted on October 16, 2019
Warm days, now noticeably shorter, are giving way to colder nights with the landscape increasingly graced with the colors of autumn in Ohio.
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During the past couple of weeks we’ve made a concerted effort to look for birds passing through Griggs Reservoir Park on their southern migration. We’ve avoiding the temptation to travel further afield thinking it would be fun just to see what is or isn’t passing through our “neighborhood”. There have been reports of birds that have eluded us, such as the Blackpoll and Yellow-throated Warbler, but all in all the effort has been rewarding.
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The Black-throated Green Warblers were very cooperative:
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Only one Cape May Warbler was seen:
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A fair number of Northern Parula Warblers were spotted:
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This Yellow-throated Vireo is not sure he wants to eat a stink bug:
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We had only one sighting of a Black-throated Blue Warbler:
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The fairly common Yellow-rumped Warblers are often seen eating poising ivy berries:
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A Nashville Warbler was also part of the mix:
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One Ruby-crowned Kinglet tries it’s best to hide while another jumps right out and poses. To date more kinglets have been heard than seen.
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Contrasting with last year, this has not been a good year for seeing Black-crowned Herons on the reservoir. However, on a resent paddle we were rewarded:
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While looking for warblers a group of very active Blue Birds was hard to ignore:
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A young male Wood Duck has been hanging around the park for the last couple of weeks. By it’s association with a group of mallards it appears to think it’s one:
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We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge some of the other birds that have fascinated us while we looked for fall migrants.
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It’s a dark gray rainy morning as I finish writing this so it’s hard to imagine what nature will offer in the coming days and this is the time of year when things tend to wind down. However, if past experience is any indication, it will only take another walk in the woods to again experience the magic. Thanks for stopping by.
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Category: Birding in Ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, Griggs Reservoir Park Tagged: Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Cape May Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Great Blue Heron, Nashville Warbler, Northern Flicker, Northern Parula Warbler, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Duck, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo
Posted on September 26, 2016
The last few days found us paddling Griggs Reservoir. This time of year we always hope that staying close to the shoreline will result in warbler sightings and perhaps a few pictures. With warblers and other migrants moving through it’s a good time of year. In recent days on the reservoir we’ve even seen Mink along the banks and while walking just south of the dam my wife caught the tail end of a Bald Eagle as it flew overhead.
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A number of immature Black-crowned Night Herons have also been seen, encouraging because of our recent discovery of one that had met it’s demise at the business end of a abandoned fishing line.
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Other things were also seen as we made our way along the shore.
Two Wood Ducks seemingly amused by a Painted Turtle or is it the other way around, Griggs reservoir.
Painted Turtles enjoy posing for the camera much more than some of the other species we encounter, (Donna)
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Walking Griggs Park has been more productive for seeing as well as photographing warblers and other small birds mostly because of the difficulty in controlling and positioning the canoe in the pursuit of small active birds.
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If the warblers aren’t cooperating there may be a butterfly, not always rare, but one we’ve not noticed before.
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Fishing is also getting better as the weather cools with time taken off between casts to do a little house keeping along the shore. What can I say, it’s always there, but as those who read this blog already know, it makes me feel better to pick it up.
Unlike fish that are always returned to the water, the trash covering the bottom of the canoe is not “Catch and Release”!
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But recently real magic was discovered within the world of the very small when we spotted countless damselflies mating on fallen autumn leaves floating on the reservoir’s calm surface as we paddled back to our launch site during the warmth of the day. We’d never seen anything like that before.
The bigger the leaf the more damselflies. Sometimes, as we got close, they would swarm over the canoe.
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That’s about it for this post. For us living in northern regions autumn is a great time to be out in nature. A feeling borne from the knowledge that this fleeting time will not last. Thanks for stopping by.
xxx
Should you wish, various prints from this and other posts may be purchased at Purchase a Photo. and Donna’s 2017 Birds of Griggs Park calendar is available at Calendar.
Category: Birding in Ohio, Central Ohio Nature, fishing in central ohio, Griggs Reservoir, Ohio Nature, Scioto River Tagged: Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue Bird, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm, Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Checked Skipper, Chipping Sparrow, Dusky Dancer, Eastern Phoebe, Great Blue Heron, Painted Turtle, Panasonic ZS50, Red-tailed Hawk, Smallmouth Bass, Wood Duck
Posted on May 9, 2016
In the last few days we’ve been on hikes with friends as well as dedicated birding trips to various parks in Columbus and central Ohio and even when we weren’t trying real hard we’ve seen some amazing things. Hope you enjoy this early May photographic journey through spring in central Ohio.
Hobblebush, Glenn Echo Ravine, “the shrub forms large clusters of white to pink flowers in May–June. Flowers provide nectar for the Spring Azure butterfly. The large showy flowers along the edge of the cluster are sterile, while the small inner flowers have both male and female parts”.
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Large flowered Valerian, “habitats include floodplain woodlands along streams or rivers, shaded ravines, and bottoms of rocky canyons. This species is found in high quality habitats that are moist and shady”. Kiwanis Riverway Park.
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I apologize that some of the bird pics aren’t up to “bird photography” standards, severe crops and adverse lighting, but hopefully they still tell the story.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Category: Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, Birding in Ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, Glen Echo Ravine, Hiking in Ohio, nature, Ohio Nature, photography, Scioto River, Wildflowers Tagged: Barred Owl, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, bullfrog, Canon 3ti 18-135mm lens, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm, Fleaband, Green Heron, Hobblebush, Jack in The Pulpit, Large Flowered Valerian, Mayapple, Northern Flicker, Northern Parula Warbler, Palm Warbler, Panasonic FZ200, Red-eyed Vireo, Solomon's Seal, Spiderwort, Swainson's Thrush, Swamp Sparrow, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler
Posted on May 5, 2016
In the last few days the number of migrating and non-migrating birds seen by us and other birders in central Ohio has been incredible. We are trying to remember back to last year but nothing approaching the last few days comes to mind. Were we just not paying attention? We’ve visited our usual areas along Griggs Reservoir, but also got over to Hoover Nature Preserve and adjacent areas at the north end of Hoover Reservoir as well as Glenn Echo Ravine in Clintonville. Wherever we went there were birds. Only a few of those seen are documented below either because they were a little too far away, moving around too much, or the light just wasn’t favorable for a picture. For more info on birds in central Ohio along with some wonderful pictures visit Central Ohio Birders Facebook page.
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Some other notable birds seen but not photographed;Â Â Hoover Nature Preserve north end of the lake: a number of Red-headed Woodpeckers, Wood Ducks, Yellow Warblers, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Hoover Nature Preserve Meadows Area: American Redstarts, Nashville Warbler, Glen Echo Ravine: Great Crested Flycatcher, Black Headed Blue Warbler, Northern Parula Warbler, Black and White Warblers, Baltimore Oriole, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers.
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So here are some of the birds seen.
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If there wasn’t a bird to look at there were other things.
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In the back of our minds we know that one day not too far in the future the spring celebration will be over. It’s a good time to be in the moment.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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XXX
Category: Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, flowers in central ohio, Glen Echo Ravine, Griggs Reservoir, Hoover Nature Preserve, Kiwanis Riverway Park, Ohio Nature, Scioto River, Wildflowers Tagged: Baltimore Oriole, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canon T3i with Sigma 150-500mm, Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, Great Egret, Indigo Bunting, Jack in The Pulpit, Marsh Marigold, Mayapple, Northern Waterthrush, Panasonic FZ200, Pearl Crescent, Pileated Woodpecker, Prothonotary Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Tree Swallow, Wild Geranium, Yellow Warbler
Posted on October 5, 2012
It was one of those cool clear early autumn mornings when we found ourselves at Prairie Oaks looking for migrating warblers. We walked along a row of trees bordering a field with the trees being warmed by the early morning sunlight. To our delight we observed about eleven different species of warblers feeding in these trees. The birds, which included kinglets and gnatcatchers were very active and my efforts to photograph them were met with limited success, my son Ben did much better.
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