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Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to participate on the Black Swamp Christmas Bird Count organized by Doug & Micki Dunakin. This both gave me an opportunity to meet a number of the birders in the area as well as more fully appreciate what the area has to offer, and yes it has much to offer. I was assigned a very birdy area along the north bank of the Maumee River (Paulding Co.) and the adjacent farm fields north to Mark Center and east to Sherwood in Defiance County; perhaps as much as 1/5th of the total circle. I was accompanied by local Defiance Co. birders Bob & Jo Ann Zabonick. The day dawned with light flurries, a little more than a dusting of snow cover, and a modest NW breeze which picked up some during the day. I am guessing wind chills may have approached single digits and walking was thankfully NOT a large part of my portion of the survey. We covered 59 miles in 6.5 hrs of effort with the bulk of the morning spent along the river. In short, I was pleasantly surprised (though perhaps I should not have been so surprised) to find both very good numbers and great diversity here on the frontier with Indiana. No super rarities as is appropriate of a census for the purpose of monitoring population trends of the more common birds, although the sight of 2 Killdeer flying NORTH at some altitude was unexpected. But what catches my eye in the data sample provided below are three things; the raptor concentration and diversity, the density of cavity nesters (keep in mind we're a long way from the Wayne Nat'l. Forest), and Brown Creepers ... ... I have been following the fortunes of Brown Creepers for some years, and what I know of them in Ohio did not prepare me for the frequency with which I detected here along the Maumee River on this day.
Canada Goose - 13 Mallard - 16 Northern Harrier - 14 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 20 Rough-legged Hawk - 1 American Kestrel - 12 Killdeer - 2 Rock Pigeon - 80 Mourning Dove - 59 Red-headed Woodpecker - 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 11 Downy Woodpecker - 22 Hairy Woodpecker - 5 Northern Flicker - 11 Blue Jay - 39 American Crow - 23 Horned Lark - 13 Black-capped Chickadee - 9 Tufted Titmouse - 24 White-breasted Nuthatch - 20 Brown Creeper - 19 Carolina Wren - 8 Eastern Bluebird - 4 American Robin - 1 European Starling - 60 American Tree Sparrow - 78 Song Sparrow - 14 White-throated Sparrow - 1 White-crowned Sparrow - 7 Dark-eyed Junco - 112 Northern Cardinal - 66 House Finch - 24 American Goldfinch - 100 House Sparrow - 624
cheers
Vic Fazio
Shaker Hts, OH