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Peek time for bird watching approaching

The first migratory warbler to really arrive in the Mid-Ohio Valley is the Yellow-throated Warbler. They've been increasingly common for a couple weeks now, appearing in the treetops all over the region. This one has just caught a Tachinid Fly.

The first week of May is a bustling time in the Mid-Ohio Valley for birds that are migrating north.

According to Michael Schramm, visitor services manager with Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, at this time around 100 different species of birds can be sited either settling in for the season or passing through on the way to farther destinations.

“The birds that get a lot of attention at this time of year are the really colorful birds, which mostly have come up from the tropics,” said Schramm.

With the birds being from the tropics, one might wonder why they migrate at all.

“Most of the migrating birds are insect eaters, and right now there is an abundance of food for them in the Mid-Ohio Valley and very few natural predators hunting them,” said Schramm.

Photos provided by Michael Schramm Solitary Sandpipers, a shorebird, inspect the trees for a place to nest. Shorebirds often lay their eggs in old nests of song birds, but this is one of the only sandpiper species to regularly lay its eggs in tree nests.

Schramm explained that without the birds, the insect population would grow rapidly and begin to exfoliate the local greenery.

“The birds help keep our local ecosystem in balance,” he said.

A popular bird that might show up in a front yard just for the next couple weeks is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak – it’s a black and white bird with an enormous white beak and a brilliant red bib on the chest.

According to Schramm, they have a beautiful, smooth song and are very loud.

“A lot of the bird song you hear right now is extra loud because it’s meant to cut through the rainforest canopy in Central and South America, which is where these birds spend most of the year,” said Schramm.

In addition to the flashy woodland birds, migration is also about other, less visible types of birds.

Shorebirds, for example, are coming through right now. These are the little brown or gray speckled birds that can be found probing the mud on shorelines around wetlands, lakes or rivers. They tend to have longer legs, necks, and bills than most other birds.

“A lot of people probably never even notice they’re around, but they’re amazing birds,” said Schramm.

According to Schramm, some are flying all the way from the southern end of South America to Alaska each summer to breed.

“They’ll fly hundreds of miles at a time, and if you see them, it’s because they’ve just stopped to refuel for a few hours before continuing on their way, flying a few hundred more miles to the next fuel stop,” said Schramm. “They’re living their lives on such a grand scale; we’re just incidental to them.”

Schramm said that although the Mid-Ohio Valley is just one of the Shorebirds’ many stops, they depend on us to preserve the wetlands or waterways where they can refuel.

“If they can’t refuel, they can’t migrate and reproduce anymore,” he said.

In a way, Schramm feels the coronavirus outbreak was inadvertently beneficial to birds and to the environment.

“It’s been widely reported that people are driving less, and that factories are shut down, generating less air pollution. This is definitely good for the environment,” said Schramm.

He said he hopes the lasting impact will be a consumer appetite for products designed to produce less air pollution – cars that don’t run on fossil fuel, for example, or clean forms of energy production like solar.

For those stuck at home who still want to catch a glimpse of the migrating birds, Schramm encourages bird feeders in yards.

“The best all-purpose seed is black oil sunflower seed. Almost any seed-eating bird will eat it,” he said.

Schramm suggested avoiding seed mixes in the bird seed sections of stores, as they tend to be watered down with cheap filler like millet seed.

“If you want to take things to the next level, beyond just black oil sunflower seed, you could buy specialty seeds to attract specific types of birds,” he said.

Schramm said goldfinches will eat out of a special tube feeder that can be filled with nyjer seed, which is a very small seed-like thistle; Blue Jays like peanuts or dried corn on a flat platform feeder along with the black oil sunflower seed; If looking to attract some insect eaters like Bluebirds, then setting out mealworms can help.

“If you are just getting into bird watching, the most important tip is to just start. Get a good bird guide – one designed for the eastern United States should be adequate – and start by identifying the birds in your own backyard or neighborhood,” said Schramm

Schramm said it can be frustrating at first until the broad categories of bird, which is how bird guides are organized are learned.

“Most new birders don’t know a sparrow from a wren, and it will be overwhelming to have to look through 500 pages of birds to figure out what you saw,” he said. “Pretty quickly though, you’ll start figuring out about where in the guide book to look for the type of bird you’re seeing, and it will become quicker and easier.”

Schramm said beginner bird watchers want an 8Ö42 pair of binoculars.

“Eight is the magnification and 42 is the size of the objective lens,” he said.

Schramm explained that the objective lens size needs to be at least 42, so that enough light is let in, helping viewers to see colors more vibrantly and shadows/shading properly.

“For those who want to get out, the nature parks, as far as I know, are all open during this time of social distancing. This includes the National Wildlife Refuge,” said Schramm. “Most of the trails have ample space, and some parks are virtually unvisited. Just be aware that public restrooms are generally not open right now.”

Lowell resident David Brown, owner of Confluence Security and Fraud Solutions, is also working to help local families see the avian visitors and residents of the area.

One nest he’s working to bring into virtual view is across from the Edgewater Cafe outside of Lowell on Muskingum River Road.

“There are eagle nests popping up all over, I know there’s one in Devola,” said Brown. “We still have to check with the experts to make sure we’re the right distance away and have the camera lens that sees them but we’re going to put the eagle cam up on their Facebook page.”

Brown said the goal is to complete the project in time for Memorial Day this month.

Madeline Scarborough can be reached at mscarborough@newsandsentinel.com

Janelle Patterson contributed.

•Around 100 different species of birds are migrating through the Mid-Ohio Valley during May.

•They are important to the ecosystem, by balancing out the number of insects that hatch in the spring.

• People can watch for the birds from their own backyards or from nature trails.

• Lowell resident David Brown is working on installing an eagle cam at a nest on Muskingum River Road by Memorial Day.

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