Lunchtime Fieldtrip Thursday: Cincinnati Nature Center

Today I headed over to the Cincinnati Nature Center at about 11:30. When I got out of the car, it felt like spring! It was 48 degrees, much better than last Thursday’s fieldtrip of 10 degrees. I stopped in the Rowe Visitor Center to see if anything exciting had been sighted and a very nice gentleman reported he had seen a Hermit Thrush and a Bald Eagle flying over with a a fish! He had spotted the Hermit Thrush on the trail over by the Raptor, Inc. property, so that's where I headed. Unfortunately, the thrush was no where to be found when I made my way through the woods, but I didn’t care. The trail was beautiful in the sunshine, and the pseudo-spring weather was amazing. The warmth was misleading though, because beneath my feet, snow still remained,


…and it covered the hillsides and branches too, but the moss steady as ever, stayed green and peeped through.


An evergreen vine overhead really made it seem like spring was just around the corner. I don’t know what type of vine it was, but my guess is Trumpeter Honeysuckle. I'll ask the naturalist about it the next time I'm there.

…the wonderful winter birds were around, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers. All their lovely sounds bouncing off the trees and keeping me company.



…and then right before I was getting ready to leave I stopped in the bird blind and saw this happy yellow guy. 

Yesterday at my house, I thought the goldfinches seemed to be getting a little brighter…a little more ready for spring, but then decided I was imagining it. But there is no doubt now. This fellow is definitely a little more yellow than the goldfinches were last week. So maybe spring is just around the corner!

Lunchtime Fieldtrip Thursday: Caesar Creek State Park

At about 11:30 I headed up to Caesar Creek State Park. It was 12 degrees. When I pulled into the visitor’s center 22 mins later, it was 10. It was cold, but because it was sunny it didn't seem that bad. Everything sparkled in the fresh snow, and the bird sounds were clear and amplified in the brisk air. I asked the ranger if the redpoll had made another appearance since last week, but no, he hadn’t come back. The siskins hadn’t been there today either, nor the purple finches, but that was okay. I just wanted to get out and walk in the snow.

To get a little closer to the birds at the feeder, I slipped around back to the trail that overlooks the lake. One other set of footprints on the trail showed another birder had had the same idea. The lake was gorgeous, shimmering in the sun.

Love this tree with the cool woodpecker holes.

...and this hole looks like it's still under construction.

As I walked past the construction hole, a startled junco flew up and shot just to the right of my head, eye level, inches to the right of my ear. I watched his little pink bill fly by. It was so cool I could barely stand it. It was audible too. The wings made a tiny sound as he shot past my ear. He was like a little bullet of grey feathers with a pink beak. Junco bullet! 

Almost immediately I heard that wonderful little nuthatch sound and looked up. There he was, just over my head. 

Even the white-breasted nuthatch was chilled, 

puffing up his feathers to insulate against the cold.

That same fat, beautiful Fox Sparrow from last week was there, as well as three Tree Sparrows, lots of juncos, chickadees, goldfinches, downies, red-bellieds, white-breasted nuthatches, and the other usual suspects. Missing from the bunch, Red! He's probably hanging out with the redpolls and siskins, the little traitor!

Lunchtime Fieldtrip Thursday: No Redpoll, No Siskin, but a Nice Fox Sparrow

I drove up to Caesar Creek Lake Visitor Center today in hopes of spotting the Common Redpoll that’s been hanging around, but he was hiding today. The park ranger told us that a Cooper’s Hawk had been scaring off the birds and the redpoll had not been seen all morning. John, a fellow birder in search of the redpoll, hoped the hawk hadn’t made an early morning snack of him! Let’s hope not!

All in all, it was a good trip though, because a big, beautiful Fox Sparrow hung around for a while. John, if you catch this post, he came back two more times after you left. We also saw a Song Sparrow, a Tree Sparrow, numerous wonderful Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Downies, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Darke-eyed Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays, House and Purple finches, Chickadees, Goldfinch..all the usual suspects, but also sorely missing from our tally were the Pine Siskins. The ranger said they skipped out today also. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to go back out soon.


Beautiful and almost shockingly red berries flank the viewing room at the visitor's center.