Saturday, June 5

Bobolink, found in the grasslands, sounds like R2D2


Our camp bus, yurts in the background



Inside our yurts, back top bunk was mine.




Meadowlark nest, hidden in the prairie grass





Searching for a song sparrow's nest

Our first night at the Wild's was...well kind of wild! Everyone arrived at the parking lot around 6 pm and then proceeded to the camp. The group numbered 14 including several married couples, friends and even a 2010 grad that came with her aunt. We met each other through a bird game. We were each given a bird song to sing/say and we had to find the other person who was singing our same song. Oh, did I mention we did this with our eyes closed? My bird buddy was Phyllis from Zanesville and we were Henslow sparrows saying "ts slick'. After introductions we met our staff and had a brief orientation before we headed out onto the trail. Our goal this weekend is to hear or see 100 bird species. We headed down to the wetlands to find our first birds. We quickly tallied towhees, red-wing black birds, cedar waxwings, song sparrow and were feeling pretty good about our success when the thunder began. It sounded far away but quickly moved closer and soon we were hearing a weather report on the staff radio that there was a tornado warning for Muskingam Co and reported lightening strikes within 5 miles. We immediately headed for main camp where we gathered in the dining yurt and talked about our Saturday agenda. Since it was raining there was no camp fire and everyone turned in early.

Morning came early, up at 5 a.m. and on the trail by 6. It was cloudy but no rain. We spent the early morning listening for woodland birds. After our breakfast at the overlook we checked some lakes for water birds and headed back to camp and did a short trail to Miller's woods before lunch. We were able to identify a yellow chat on the way. We were just about to cross the bridge and go into the woods when the heavens opened and we were engulfed in a deluge. Luckily most of us had our rain gear and despite the heavy rain we stayed relatively dry as we made our way back to camp. The rain continued through lunch but cleared again in the afternoon. One of the most interesting things we did was to help locate grassland bird nests. By taking a heavy rope by each end and dragging it across the prairie grass, we would watch and mark any areas where a bird flew up. The difficult part was actually finding the nests which are well hidden under the thick grasses and partly buried in the ground. We were able to see the nests of a song sparrow and a meadowlark. The most interesting birds in the grassland habitat are the numerous bobolinks which make a sound like R2D2 in the Star Wars movie. Our birding by canoe was postponed because there was thunder in the area but Casey, who is excellent at plant identification took us on a hike around the lake. After dinner we boarded the bus in an attempt to bolster our bird list. We only had identified 45 birds and we wanted to break last year's recorded 89. We drove into Cumberland and added chimney swifts, purple martins and a house sparrow. The evening was ended with Al Parker's famous owl calls. He has to be one of the most extraordinary birders I have met and he sounds more like an owl than a real owl. I had a wonderful day. Bird count 79. Tired and wet but still having fun.