OOS at The Wilds: The big surprise

This post won't have many words. And, soon, you will see why not. The special treat for OOS members who attended The Wilds winter raptor event? A behind the scenes tour of the white rhinoceros building, including the new baby, 3 month old Anan, born on Halloween. And, we even got to touch them!

A mother rhino and her year-old offspring.Coming in for a closer look.

Mother is alert for possible dangers, like veterinarians.

"That's close enough, lady. Back off."

"Yes, Ma'am!" (She actually came up to me and bumped my arm with the base of that horn. I backed up.)

"Aw, shucks, Maw - I wanted to play with her!"Who knew a rhino could sit like a dog?Or, that they had such cool feet?Or ears?

I thought watching a rhino take a mud bath was the best.Until I saw one playing chasing games with her baby.

Nothing is cuter than a baby, especially a baby rhino.

Sweet-faced Anan nuzzles a visitor's leg, like a puppy.

OOS at The Wilds: Year 2

Blogging had become something of a chore, rather than a pleasure, so I took a little un-announced leave of absence. Thanks to gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) nudges from loyal fans, I have been encouraged to get back on board. Here is a tale of the Ohio Ornithological Society's 2010 trip to The Wilds.

The Wilds, in case you have forgotten, is an area of Muskingum County, Ohio that was destroyed by surface mining for coal in the 60's and 70's. In surface mining, aka strip mining, huge machines were used to strip all the vegetation and top soil off shallow coal deposits. Mining companies kept the coal and trashed the rest of what used to be beautiful rolling hills. See my post here about The Wilds, a home for endangered animals, that is breathing new life into this once barren land.Nest boxes for American Kestrels, provided by the OOS, dot the property around The Wilds.

Every year, the OOS sponsors a trip to The Wilds to look for its other form of wildlife, wintering raptors. The target species are Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, and Short-eared Owls. If you are lucky, you might even find a Merlin or a Golden Eagle spending their winters in this unique Ohio habitat. Non-raptor species are here, too - Horned Larks, American Tree Sparrows, and the elusive Northern Shrike could be around the next corner or over the next field.Last January was my first winter field trip to The Wilds. Regular blog readers will remember that it was cold. How cold? DARNED COLD, as in -18 F in the morning, even without the bitter, cutting wind that constantly blows across the landscape. I swore never to return. I'm glad I didn't keep that resolution.

The weatherman predicted temps in the 30's for the weekend of Jan. 16-17. "Remember," Julie said, "Thirty degrees at The Wilds is like ten degrees anywhere else." Who cares? I was going birding with friends - Julie Zickefoose and Bill Thompson III, Nina of Nature Remains and her husband, Tony, fellow OOS'ers like Anne Oliver, Jim McCormac, Peter King, Marc Nolls, Cheryl Harner, and many more. Plus, the announcement promised a special treat this year. Who could resist?Mad birders line the roads, scanning the horizon for raptors. Do you see the Golden Eagle? Neither did we.

We did see plenty of Rough-legged Hawks. Here are a couple of ID tips for you, courtesy of trip leader extraordinaire, Mr. BT3.

One: Long wings, a long tail, and dark "wrist patches." This bird is a light morph - they also have a darker form.Two: Since Rough-legged Hawks are birds of the tundra, where they nest on the ground and don't see many trees, they have tiny feet. They can perch on much smaller branches than a hawk like the Red-tailed. So, when trying to distinguish between the two, the hawk perched on skinny branches at the tip of the tree is more likely to be a Rough-legged; one on a large branch near the trunk of a tree is a Red-tailed.We also saw lots and lots of White-tailed Deer. They seem to know they are safe from hunters within The Wilds' perimeter fence, and are abundant here.
This protected little spot, with its rivulets of melted ice and snow, was full of bathing American Tree Sparrows. At first, I thought they were the Horned Larks we were seeking, and was embarrassed by missing the ID. Later, a much more experienced birder than I made the same mistake. Whew! I'm not alone in making bad calls.
Cow fields. "The place" for Horned Larks, promised Bill, and he was right, as usual.
Lucky us, we had a way to direct everyone in our group to the birds. The White Cow was our official landmark. She must have been the most popular cow in Muskingum County that day.
The Horned Larks are to the left and behind the White Cow. Honest.

In contrast to last year's low of -18, the temps this year started out in the upper 20's and we hit a high of 52 degrees. That's 70 degrees warmer than Jan., 2009 - and no wind! Ohio weather is just like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get.

In between looking for birds, we found other amusements. Like, trying to take a photo of a camera-shy blogger. Gotcha, Nina!
Other bloggers are much less concerned about having their picture taken. Guess who?An unofficial hat contest broke out, the contestants vying for the honor of looking like Elmer Fudd.
Bored children threw slush balls and built slush-men. (The snow was melting too quickly for a true snowball fight to break out.)Later groups, passing this spot, would announce on their walkie-talkies: "Looks like Phoebe and Liam have been here!"

As the afternoon turned into evening, dozens of hopeful birders gathered at the birding station at Jeffery Point, hoping for Short-eared Owls at twilight. No owls deigned to appear.
Oh, and that promised surprise? Come back in a day or two - all will be revealed.

Crazy, page two

Well, I'm back from The Wilds of southeastern Ohio. I survived the fourth annual "Winter Birding at The Wilds" trip, cosponsored by the Ohio Ornithological Society. If I were asked to describe this adventure in five words, they would be:

Very cold.
Crazy fun.
Disappointing.

To elaborate:

Very cold: The morning started out bitterly cold and it didn't warm much throughout the day. According to those with car thermometers, it was -12 degrees F at 9am when 115 or so intrepid souls gathered for a full day of birding. The wind chill factor must have made it feel at least 20 degrees colder. Our high was a balmy 18 degrees, "real feel" still around zero.


Nearly 200 were registered for this trip. The smartest ones bowed out. As for the rest, well, you have heard Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, right? The (fool)hardy ones who made the trip were bundled up to the eyeballs in all varieties of foul weather gear, from Carharts to Columbia to a mish-mash of every warm thing in the closet.

brave birders huddle for warmth

your blogger, looking her best

All the rest save one, that is. Jim McCormac spent most of the day sans hat, scarf, or gloves, with his coat unzipped. He was wearing blue jeans and regular shoes. I can't believe he didn't freeze solid before the day was out.

"A hat interferes with my hearing."

What about boots, gloves, and a scarf, Jim?

Birding group one, lined up along Zion Ridge Rd., working the terrain for a Golden Eagle.

What are they all looking at?

This barren landscape, which looks empty, held native White-tailed Deer as well as The Wilds exotic cervine residents, Sika and Pere David's deer.


The skies were filled with raptors, including Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels, not that you can see any here.


To get these birds required work, and a lot of it. This is not a birding trip for the faint of heart. A few intrepid and energetic folks hiked this hill for a better view.

birders scouting along a ridge

Coming back down, Troy did a face-plant in the snow, and came up birding. Now, that's dedication!

His vision was temporarily obscured in the aftermath.

This was an IBA (Important Bird Area)


so off we went down the hill to find out why.

This wetland was more like an Iceland, but held the only Swamp Sparrow of the day.


Crazy fun: The most fun was sharing the day with a collection of lunatic birders. The craziest one of the bunch was OOS President Jim McCormac, here seen optimistically trying to pod in a Common Yellowthroat.

(for the record, he didn't get it)

Best of all was meeting and birding with the owners of this vehicle:


The famous and funny Rondeau Ric and his wife,the lovely Lady Anne.

my chauffeur for the day
"Thanks for the lift, Ric!"

Anne waves while Ric obligingly does the stereotypical "birder point" pose.


Other OOS'ers I saw were Ethan Kistler, Brad Wilkinson, Ann Oliver (no photo) and Hugh and Judy-Kolo Rose (below.) A brief "hello" at the lunch break was all I could manage.


Jimmy Mac eats his lunch while conducting the morning's count.

"Anybody get a Prairie Falcon?
No? How about a Barnacle Goose?"

Cheryl Harner tunes Jim out while scanning for raptors.


The other extra special part of the day was when Troy, an educator/naturalist at The Wilds, took us on a little detour. We were permitted a rare look at one of the park's resident carnivore species.

African Wild Dogs

They have a family group of 8; 2 parents and their 6 children, nearly two years old and ready to strike out on their own.

It wasn't clear who was watching whom.

Disappointment: No birds. I never drove so far or worked so hard for such a short Trip List. I had such high hopes for this trip, including my first Ohio Golden Eagle and my Life Northern Shrike. I was aiming to up my January totals by adding Eastern Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, or maybe even Lapland Longspurs, but no joy. While others saw the Golden Eagle (not our group) or a Merlin or waterfowl or passerine species, I missed all of those.

There was very little open water, and the one lake which held a collection of waterfowl was only visible through two windows looking out of the visitor center. With the number of bundled up people crowding around, and their tripods spraddled about, I could never get a decent view. I was afforded one quick scan with my binoculars, enough to see the Trumpeter Swans, but was not able to see, let alone study, the rest of the birds.

I did see many Red-tailed Hawks, including a lovely leucistic bird, with a snowy-white body and white wings marked by dark brown bars, bearing the classic reddish tail. I saw some gorgeous Northern Harriers and a couple American Kestrels. I got an all-day clinic on identifying Rough-legged Hawks, which I had previously recorded in my Life List as an "unconfirmed bird." There were Rough-leggeds everywhere, and I got many terrific looks at them flying, perching, soaring, and even kiting (hanging in the air, like a kite on a string.) Beautiful!

But, no eagle and no owls, despite trying really hard for both.

This is one of three evergreen groves we tromped through, looking for Long-eared Owls.


One of the many trees where I did not see Long-eared Owls.


This is the Birding Station at Jeffery Point, where I didn't see Short-eared Owls.


My total trip list was a measly 12* species.

Mallard
Trumpeter Swan*
American Kestrel
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Crow
Downy Woodpecker
Golden-crowned Kinglet (heard only)
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow

*The swans are technically "not countable" since they are part of the breeding program here and considered captive birds.

One final photo, for Susan Who Loves Dead Things. This Mourning Dove body dump. My guess? A dove hunter who bagged more than his limit and discarded the bodies to avoid a fine. Such a waste!


Edit, Jan. 19: It has been pointed out to me by someone who knows that dove hunting season is over. Has been for a long time, thus the above work is that of a poacher, not a hunter. This is a very important distinction to responsible hunters who follow the rules regarding hunting seasons, bag limits, legal species/gender/size, etc. I apologize to him and other responsible hunters, and wish infestations of chiggers on the bad guys (and gals) who break the rules.