Oak Openings Region Birding

Posted to Toledo Naturalists message board :

Topic: Blue Grosbeak at Oak Openings MP 5/13/08
Posted: May 13, 2008 at 10:31pm

An adult male Blue Grosbeak was in the field northeast of Ostrich Lane. It sang softly only twice in about 40 minutes. Several Lark Sparrows were also in this field.

Henslow's and Grasshopper Sparrows: in the field west of the airport at Wilkins and Sager.

Yellow-breasted Chats: One west of Wilkins just south of Sager and another east of Wilkins about 1/4 mile south of Sager.

Summer Tanagers: One male along Wilkins near Reed, another male at Girdham and the bike trail and a female at Girdham and Reed.

Blue-winged and Hooded Warblers: In several locations along Wilkins and on Oak Openings Parkway.

Orchard Oriole: At Girdham and the bike trail.

Pine Warbler: on Wilkins near Reed.

Lark Sparrows along Girdham and in 3 other clear cut areas.
Rick

Posted: 19 May 2008 at 1:55pm to the Toledo Naturalists message board :

Highlights from a morning of birding:
Pileated Woodpecker - Secor Metropark, across from the entrance to the Meadowview parking area
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - Secor Metropark
Olive-sided Flycatcher - Andersons Farm, Maumee
Brown Creeper - Oak Openings Metropark, about one hundred yards directly south of the entrance to the Mallard Lake parking area
Cerulean Warbler - OO Metropark, basically right along the road at the Mallard Lake parking entrance
Worm-eating warbler - continues at Secor Metropark
Orange-crowned warbler - Andersons Farm
Yellow-throated Warbler - Andersons Farm (probably the same bird returning for at least the third consecutive year)

May 25, 2008 at the Toledo Naturalists message board :

Yesterday morning (5/24) around 8AM, [we] had solid looks at both RED (1) and
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS (1) at Oak Openings. More specifically, the
birds were seen on the west side of Girdham Road in the large conifer
stand just southwest of Girdham's intersection with the
Wabash-Cannonball Trail. At first, both birds were foraging at the
top of a lone conifer about 50 yards south of the main conifer stand.
We watched the birds for about 5 minutes and then had great looks at
both in flight as they flew north. We had the birds for another
couple of minutes in the larger stand but eventually lost track of
them.

A Google Map of the location can be found HERE .

To have one crossbill species, let alone both, was certainly not on
our Big Day radar! In addition to the crossbills, other great scores
at the O.O. were OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (at the crossbill spot) and a
PINE SISKIN at the nature center feeders.

Posted: Jun 1, 2008 to the Toledo Naturalists message board :

Spent most of the day photographing dragonflies but noted a few birds worth mentioning.

A male Bobolink was in the sparrow field west of the airport this morning at Wilkins and Sager.

A pair of Brown Creepers were just south of the Mallard Lake parking lot along the yellow trail. Also in this area, a Black-throated Green warbler was singing on territory similar to last year.

The male Blue Grosbeak was singing just north of Girdham and Reed.

Posted: 26 June 2008 at 10:29am to the Toledo Naturalists message board :

Two days ago, discovered a singing Clay-colored Sparrow in Oak Openings Preserve Metropark. She refound it yesterday, and I saw and heard it early this morning. Good find, Karen!

The Clay-colored spot is off of Monclova Road between Wilkins and Girdham. There is a thinned-out pine stand on the north side of Monclova maybe a quarter mile or so west of Wilkins. Walk the fire lane/horse trail that skirts the west edge of the pine stand. (After yesterday's heavy rains, it's pretty wet.) This morning the sparrow was singing from the edge of the pines and from the open field just west of there near the very north end of the pine stand. The Clay-colored was moving around a lot this morning, and it was not singing the entire time, so some patience may be required. At one point as it landed in a tree far out in the field it was joined by a second sparrow -- too far away to determine its identity. There are plenty of Chipping and Field Sparrows present, but be on the watch for a second Clay-colored. That would be big news.
This is only the second summer record of this neat species with its strange song. Back in 1991, one stuck around for almost a month along Sager Road with a last sighting of June 11. Considering it's the Oak Openings, I believe that a nesting record is a distinct possibility for this species.

A Yellow-breasted Chat was also in the field this morning, and I watched a female Pine Watrbler in the pine stand. At one point, I thought I heard a Prairie Warbler sing just once from the middle of the field. Keep your ear tuned -- they've been in this field before.

--------------

Posted June 27, 2008

At about 2:30 PM on Friday, June 27th, I was able to quickly locate the Clay-Colored Sparrow in the same area as reported by Matt. It was singing in a tree just west of the wooden post along the horse path near the northern end of the stand of pines. I watched it for about 20 minutes as it moved quickly around while singing before it eventually disappeared.

I might as well add that other birds seen and/or heard in the vicinity of the Clay-Colored Sparrow included the following:

Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Yellow-Throated Vireo
Yellow-Breasted Chat
Eastern Bluebird
Indigo Bunting
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
House Wren

Posted: 21 June 2008 at 10:30am

A number of good birds in Oak Openings Preserve Metropark this morning:

Blue-headed Vireo - along Wilkins Road between Reed Road and Oak Openings Parkway; also in the pine woods north and west of Mallard Lake
Brown Creeper - Silver Trail a couple of hundred yards southwest of where it crosses Oak Openings Parkway
Red-breasted Nuthatch - pine woods adjacent to Horse Rider Center on Jeffers Road
Blackburnian Warbler - male in the same vicinity as the creeper (seen and then likely heard singing a somewhat atypical Blackburnian song)
Kentucky Warbler - in woods directly north of the intersection of Jeffers and Reed Roads
Blue Grosbeak - male and female in large field across from Horse Rider Center on Jeffers Road (Note that the male never sang the half hour I was observing them.)

Posted: July 12, 2008 to the Toledo Naturalists message board :

The dunes area along Girdham Road in Oak Openings Metropark was quite productive early this morning. In the south end of pine stand on the west side of the road across from the dunes, I had two calling Golden-crowned Kinglets. The one I was able to see well was clearly an immature bird, so they nested somewhere nearby. In the dunes area, the Clay-colored Sparrow persists. It sang occasionally during the 45 minutes or so I was there. As when it was first found along Monclova Road, the bird seems very active, rarely staying in one spot for long. Summer Tanagers were singing from both the north and south ends of the dunes. At numerous points, all three of these birds could be heard simultaneously. Only in the Oak Openings!

A Yellow-breasted chat was also in the dunes area, a male Blue Grosbeak was singing at Girdham and Reed, and two Blue-headed Vireos were in full song along Reed Road between Wilkins and Route 295.

Posted: 13 July 2008 at 3:38pm

The Clay-colored was putting on a nice show in the dunes area again this morning, and at least one Golden-crowned Kinglet was calling from the same spot as yesterday. A Blue Grosbeak was also singing again at Girdham and Reed. Two Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Brown Creeper were in the pines along Wilkins Road just north of the lodge, and at least two Henslow's Sparrow were also singing in the field west of the airport.

Posted: 13 July 2008 at 5:36pm

Within, what - 3 square miles - RB nuthatch, creeper, GC kinglet, CC sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Summer tanager, Henslows sparrow, Lark Sparrow. I would say that is not possible, maybe anywhere else in North America than the Oak Openings. Truly a special place!