Ghost Turtles

Here is documentation of the fall migration as of October 4 at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Erie. Thanks to Douglas Vogus., who published the monthly census on the OHIO-BIRDS email list.

OCTOBER 04, 2015 – Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Monthly Census.ROUTES: Same usual east & west side routes in the morning; Afternoon coverage limited due to youth waterfowl huntingon the refuge; quick run through the back side & then census the perimeters of the refuge on the back side.TIME: 8:00am-12:30pm; 1:45pm-5:15pm TEMP.: 44-70-64 COND.: Overcast until 9:15am; then turning partly to mostlysunny until 11:15am; mostly cloudy from 11:15am on; winds E/NE at 5-10mph.OBS.: Katie Clink (morning only), Donna Kuhn, Dave & Kim Myles (morning only), Ed Pierce, Jim Reyda,Al & Betty Schlecht (morning only) & Douglas W. Vogus.

I. MAMMALS: 3 SPECIES.
– Woodchuck – 2
– Eastern Fox Squirrel – 6
– White-tailed Deer – 4 (doe)

II. BIRDS: 106 SPECIES.
– Canada Goose – 698
– Trumpeter Swan – 31 (8 immature)
– Wood Duck – 38
– American Wigeon – 352
– American Black Duck – 8
– Mallard – 278
– Blue-winged Teal – 4
– Northern Shoveler – 7
– Green-winged Teal – 5
– Pied-billed Grebe – 26
– Double-crested Cormorant – 64
– Great Blue Heron – 128
– Great Egret – 100
– Snowy Egret – 2
– Turkey Vulture – 1
– Bald Eagle – 8 (2 adult,6 immature)
– Northern Harrier – 3
– Cooper’s Hawk – 1
– Red-tailed Hawk – 5
– Sora – 1
– Common Gallinule – 3
– American Coot – 1
– Sandhill Crane – 4
– Semipalmated Plover – 4
– Killdeer – 31
– Greater Yellowlegs – 15
– Lesser Yellowlegs – 5
– Stilt Sandpiper – 2
– Dunlin – 5
– Baird’s Sandpiper – 1
– Least Sandpiper – 3
– Pectoral Sandpiper – 5
– Semipalmated Sandpiper – 1
– Western Sandpiper – 2
– Long-billed Dowitcher – 5
– Wilson’s Snipe – 5
– Bonaparte’s Gull – 79
– Ring-billed Gull – 615
– Herring Gull – 10
– Caspian Tern – 2
– Common Tern – 22
– Forster’s Tern – 1
– Mourning Dove – 54
– Eastern Screech-Owl – 2
– Great Horned Owl – 1
– Chimney Swift – 1
– Belted Kingfisher – 1
– Red-bellied Woodpecker – 8
– Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 2
– Downy Woodpecker – 18
– Hairy Woodpecker – 2
– Northern Flicker – 25
– American Kestrel – 1
– Peregrine Falcon – 1 (adult)
– Olive-sided Flycatcher – 1
– Eastern Wood-Pewee – 3
– Empidonax Flycatcher – 2
– Eastern Phoebe – 6
– White-eyed Vireo – 1
– Blue-headed Vireo – 5
– Red-eyed Vireo – 2
– Blue Jay – 47
– Horned Lark – 26
– Tree Swallow – 708
– Black-capped Chickadee – 6
– White-breasted Nuthatch – 11
– Brown Creeper – 1
– House Wren – 6
– Winter Wren – 2
– Marsh Wren – 3
– Golden-crowned Kinglet – 39
– Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 111
– Gray-cheeked Thrush – 2
– Swainson’s Thrush – 14
– Hermit Thrush – 1
– American Robin – 80
– Gray Catbird – 8
– Brown Thrasher – 2
– European Starling – 308
– Cedar Waxwing – 18
– Tennessee Warbler – 2
– Orange-crowned Warbler – 1
– Nashville Warbler – 1
– Common Yellowthroat – 2
– American Redstart – 1
– Palm Warbler – 3
– Pine Warbler – 1
– Yellow-rumped Warbler – 82
– Eastern Towhee – 1
– Savannah Sparrow – 1
– Song Sparrow – 18
– Lincoln’s Sparrow – 7
– Swamp Sparrow – 19
– White-throated Sparrow – 131
– White-crowned Sparrow – 27
– Dark-eyed Junco – 17
– Unidentified Sparrow – 8 (Adam Grimm Prairie & Stange Prairie – combined)
– Northern Cardinal – 18
– Indigo Bunting – 1
– Bobolink – 9 (5 in Adam Grimm Prairie & 4 in Stange Prairie)
– Red-winged Blackbird – 1,258
– Eastern Meadowlark – 1 (Adam Grimm Prairie)
– Rusty Blackbird – 5
– Common Grackle – 2,253
– Brown-headed Cowbird – 121
– American Goldfinch – 40
– House Sparrow – 22

III. REPTILES: 1 SPECIES.
– Midland Painted Turtle – 4

IV. AMPHIBIANS: 2 SPECIES.
– Bullfrog – 1
– Northern Leopard Frog – 6

V. BUTTERFLIES: 7 SPECIES.
– Cabbage Butterfly – 7
– Clouded Sulphur – 11
– Bronze Copper – 1 (Adam Grimm Prairie)
– Red Admiral – 2
– Buckeye – 1 (Adam Grimm Prairie)
– Viceroy – 1
– Monarch – 4

Douglas W. Vogus – Akron, Ohio.

Here is documentation of the fall migration as of September 6 at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Erie. Thanks to Douglas Vogus., who published the monthly census on the OHIO-BIRDS email list. I publish it here so I can marvel at the detail, especially the butterfly count!

SEPTEMBER 06, 2015 – Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Monthly Census. ROUTES: Same usual morning and afternoon routes. TIME: 8:00am-12:10pm; 1:40pm-6:50pm TEMP.: 68-89COND.: Warm early turning sunny, hot & humid.OBS.: Mike Edgington, Donna Kuhn, Dave & Kim Myles (morning only), Ed Pierce, Jim Reyda, Al & Betty Schlecht (morning only),Tony Szilagye (morning only) & Douglas W. Vogus.

I. MAMMALS: 5 SPECIES.
– Raccoon – 1
– Woodchuck – 1
– Eastern Fox Squirrel – 2
– Muskrat – 1
– White-tailed Deer – 3

II. BIRDS: 112 SPECIES.
– Canada Goose – 513
– Trumpeter Swan – 40 (neckbands: green “74M”; yellow “1A0”; yellow “9A0″)
– Wood Duck – 42
– American Wigeon – 4
– American Black Duck – 16
– Mallard – 217
– Blue-winged Teal – 198
– Northern Shoveler – 4
– Northern Pintail – 3
– Green-winged Teal – 23
– Hooded Merganser – 1 (female)
– Ruddy Duck – 1 (male)
– Pied-billed Grebe – 35
– Double-crested Cormorant – 52
– Least Bittern – 1
– Great Blue Heron – 77
– Great Egret – 231
– Snowy Egret – 6
– Green Heron – 4
– Black-crowned Night-Heron – 11
– Bald Eagle – 4 (2 adult,2 immature)
– Northern Harrier – 1
– Cooper’s Hawk – 1
– Red-tailed Hawk – 7
– Sora – 3
– Common Gallinule – 6
– Sandhill Crane – 5
– Semipalmated Plover – 2
– Killdeer – 44
– Spotted Sandpiper – 2
– Greater Yellowlegs – 12
– Lesser Yellowlegs – 23
– Stilt Sandpiper – 8
– Pectoral Sandpiper – 8
– Long-billed Dowitcher – 2
– Wilson’s Snipe – 1
– Red-necked Phalarope – 5 (all together in Moist Soil Unit 3 – no public access)
– Bonaparte’s Gull – 1
– Ring-billed Gull – 230
– Herring Gull – 8
– Caspian Tern – 31
– Common Tern – 5
– Mourning Dove – 110
– Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 1
– Great Horned Owl – 1
– Chimney Swift – 5
– Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 3
– Belted Kingfisher – 9
– Red-headed Woodpecker – 2 (1 adult,1 heard only)
– Red-bellied Woodpecker – 9
– Downy Woodpecker – 28
– Hairy Woodpecker – 1
– Northern Flicker – 11
– Pileated Woodpecker – 1 (only second record in history of monthly census)
– Eastern Wood-Pewee – 11
– Willow Flycatcher – 5
– Unidentified Empidonax Flycatcher – 2
– Eastern Phoebe – 1
– Great Crested Flycatcher – 2
– Eastern KIngbird – 10
– Warbling Vireo – 55
– Red-eyed Vireo – 11
– Blue Jay – 45
– American Crow – 1
– Horned Lark – 6
– Tree Swallow – 44
– Barn Swallow – 3
– Black-capped Chickadee – 11
– Tufted Titmouse – 2
– White-breasted Nuthatch – 15
– House Wren – 9
– Marsh Wren – 4
– Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 1
– Veery – 1
– Gray-cheeked Thrush – 1
– Swainson’s Thrush – 31
– American Robin – 127
– Gray Catbird – 61
– Brown Thrasher – 1
– European Starling – 311
– Cedar Waxwing – 21
– Ovenbird – 1
– Black-and-white Warbler – 1
– Prothonotary Warbler – 1
– Tennessee Warbler – 2
– Nashville Warbler – 1
– Common Yellowthroat – 10
– American Redstart – 7
– Cape May Warbler – 4
– Magnolia Warbler – 2
– Bay-breasted Warbler – 1
– Blackburnian Warbler – 2
– Yellow Warbler – 1
– Blackpoll Warbler – 3
– Black-throated Blue Warbler – 1
– Yellow-rumped Warbler – 2
– Canada Warbler – 1
– Wilson’s Warbler – 1
– Savannah Sparrow – 1
– Song Sparrow – 13
– Swamp Sparrow – 2
– Scarlet Tanager – 4
– Northern Cardinal – 16
– Rose-breasted Grosbeak – 1
– Indigo Bunting – 10
– Bobolink – 6
– Red-winged Blackbird – 675
– Common Grackle – 121
– Brown-headed Cowbird – 1
– Baltimore Oriole – 9
– House Finch – 6
– American Goldfinch – 65
– House Sparrow – 14

III. REPTILES: 3 SPECIES.
– Map Turtle – 7
– Midland Painted Turtle – 8
– Northern Water Snake – 1 (young)

IV. AMPHIBIANS: 3 SPECIES.
– Bullfrog
– Green Frog
– Northern Leopard Frog

V. FISHES: 3 SPECIES.
– Bowfin – 8
– Gizzard Shad – thousands (being fed on by Bowfin)
– Brown Bullhead – about 60 (in the ditch along gravel Krause Rd. – between 2″ and 12”)

VI. BUTTERFLIES: 12 SPECIES.
– Cabbage Butterfly – 20+
– Clouded Sulphur – 40+
– Dainty Sulphur – 2
– Bronze Copper – 1
– Summer Azure – 4
– Pearl Crescent – 9
– Red Admiral – 2
– Buckeye – 1
– Red-spotted Purple – 2
– Viceroy – 7
– Monarch – 24
– Least Skipper – 16

Douglas W. Vogus – Akron, Ohio.