Friday, January 9, 2009

The Birding in Cincinnati Website

If you’re a bird watcher in Cincinnati or the surrounding areas, or if you’re going to visit the area and want to do a little birding on the side, you have to check out the Birding in Cincinnati Website and go to the Sightings Log (click here for a link). All the major birders around here post daily sightings to the list, so you can find out where all the action is whenever you wish, which is exactly what I did Thursday when I went looking for Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins. From the log, I learned the Caesar’s Creek Lake Visitor Center was the place to be for those birds. Unfortunately, by Thursday when I went, they had all departed or were scared off by the Cooper's Hawk.

In addition to the Sightings Log, they have many other pages, including a list of places to bird in Cincinnati. I've been visiting this site almost daily for the past two years and have found many birding hot spots from it.

Update!
The Birding in Cincinnati website has moved...
The Birding in Cincinnati website has been absorbed into the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Audubon Society's website. Here is a quick breakdown with links:

Sightings Log
Click here for a link to the Sightings Log. It is still active. You can add sightings and see what's been seen recently in our area.

Birds of Cincinnati Frequency List
Click here for a list of birds regularly seen in our area rated for the frequency of finding them in every month of the year. The list uses finding codes from A-E and is very helpful:

      A. Easy to find; should find on over 90% of your trips.
      B. Usually find; should find on over 50% of your trips.
      C. Usually miss; should find on under 50% of your trips.
      D. Hard to find; should find on under 10% of your trips.
      E. Very hard to find; may not be present at all at this time in some years, but has occurred
           often enough to form a pattern.

Finding Codes
Click here for a detailed explanation of the finding codes (A-E).

Daily Checklist
Click here for a daily checklist. You can select a date from the drop-down list and print out a checklist specific for that date to take with you in the field (finding codes are included for that day).

Places to Bird
Click here for a list of places to bird in the Cincinnati area.



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