Starting West

Where to start ? Silver truck was mostly packed up by Saturday evening. Sue and Jorge hosted a nice “Going Away” party for me. Miguel and Alicia came as did 2 Indian friends. Jorge made wonderful shish-kabobs on the grill, in both shrimp and steak versions. Of course, a bottle of red wine.

Sunday morning I packed up the last clothing and food items. Alicia brought clean laundry and a bag of Yerba Mate. Thank you !! I finally started off just before lunch, west on Hwy 84. 2 Canada Geese flew over the highway in CT. Many road killed animals. Where are the hungry Turkey Vultures ?

Waterfalls are still flowing down the sides of steep road-cuts of dark metamorphic rock. Hudson River bridge in 2 hours of driving. Marshes and creeks along Hwy 84 are surrounded by spring green trees just bursting in new baby leaves. Its such a pretty time of year.

First gas stop at a Pilot gas station, horrible noise pollution. Hwy 84 in eastern PA is badly in need of repair. By 3:30 pm I was traveling west on interstate 80, with all the big semi trucks. Sebastian did a good job of cleaning the windshield, the insects kept running into it anyway. Birding at 65 mph: Red-tailed Hawks, Starlings, Crows.

Columbia county’s Hwy 80 rest stop has a forested buffer behind it with a small pond. Birds were singing: Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Robins, Crows, an Eastern Phoebe, Catbirds, a Baltimore Oriole, a Common Yellowthroat (!!!), Red-winged Blackbirds, a Black and White Warbler, and several Tufted Titmice. A good list for an interstate highway rest stop.

Crossed the Susquehana River a few times. Dinner was a few Spinach-Cheese squares and a (date) goof ball. I explored the possibility of staying at SB Elliot state park. It was closed due to state budget problems. I kept going, eventually staying a few hours at another rest stop in western PA, then driving on another 40 minutes. I didn’t realize I had been only 40 miles from the Ohio border. !!!

I met some helpful KFC employees in Clearfield, PA and in the morning a kind Starbucks employee (somewhere in Ohio) filled my travel mug with hot water for free. Mate with breakfast !! Every rest stop along Ohio’s Hwy 80 is identical, designed exactly the same.

Dawn chorus from a Love’s gas station/ travel plaza: Cardinals, and mixed blackbirds. Fog rose over wetlands and ponds; the early morning sun had the fog glowing orange. At a rest stop along Hwy 80 I heard a Wood Thrush singing from trees behind the building. Crossed over the Cuyahoga Valley on a big bridge. The landscape is beautiful in spring green dress.

I arrived at my destination shortly after 10 am, much earlier than I had anticipated.

Magee Marsh, Crane Creek State Park, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and Black Swamp Bird Observatory have together preserved a small fragment of the wetlands that used to exist along Lake Erie. Each year migratory birds gather at the edge of Lake Erie to re-fuel and rest before continuing on the last leg of their migration journey. Birding this area in May is simply amazing. Despite my mid-morning arrival, I saw many many warblers, and other migrants. (No I won’t list them all here.) 30 species total in 2 ½ hours, then I went back for lunch. I returned late afternoon for another 10 species. The viewing from the boardwalk is spectacular. Jorge, your camera would use many batteries.

A few highlights: Woodcocks sitting very close to the boardwalk (their feathers have very intricate details), Black-throated Green Warblers so close my camera could have taken a good photo, (I thought that tiny warbler wanted to chase away the humans from his tree.) and the songs. Birds were singing all day ! Forget the play-back device, the birds would drown it out with their own singing.

Dawn chorus at the campground started around 5 am. Cardinals, Robins, Chipping Sparrows, and a House Wren were up singing to the grey skies. A nice warm shower and I am ready to return to the boardwalk. A cool morning, and I was glad to have my green coat available.

Tuesday morning at Magee Marsh boardwalk, and I think I saw more birds on Tuesday morning than I did on Monday. LIFE BIRD: Black-billed Cuckoo !! One of the group tour leaders had found it, and was helping everyone see the bird. Warblers and Vireos and 2 Flycatchers. An embarrassment of riches in every tree.

That afternoon I explored Ottawa NWR. A cold wind came in after I started walking, but it didn't bother the birds. Trumpeter Swans are nesting on one pond, and the male is chasing all other birds away. Many Canada Geese families with little yellow goslings, ranging in size from 2 little ones up to 9. Warblers and Vireos here too.

I spent the 2 nights at Camp Sabroske, a nice campground with RV spaces across the field. An evening walk along one of their riparian trails yielded Great Horned Owl and Eastern Screech Owl just waking up.