January 100

As promised, another post for January. I mentioned in my last post the goal of recording 100 Ohio birds in January. The fabled January 100 was looking fairly easy early on, but late into the month I learned that I wouldn’t have the final weekend to wrap up! More on that in another post; here’s how January went...

January 3rd 

After hustling through the first day, I took it easy on Jan 2nd. On the third, I got news from fellow birder Jacob Roalef that he and Greg Sagasser were on the verge of wrapping up their January 100 in the first weekend! They were headed to Columbus, so I went out to see if I could stake out a couple of birds for them when they came through Columbus. My main goal was to find a Barred Owl, so I went to Blendon Woods Metro Park to check a somewhat reliable roost: nothing! No worries, I moved on to check the nearby Inniswood Metro Gardens for another Barred Owl: nothing again! Jacob and Greg needed to keep moving to get to some spots further south, so my scouting wasn’t much of a success. They did go on to meet their goal though, with 15 minutes to spare! As for myself, I picked up thirteen new species for January.

January 4th

A rare bird to chase, and a lifer to boot! I cruised out to Caesar Creek State Park after a Western Grebe, and managed to see the bird just as the sun came up. At lunch I got a Mute Swan, and after work I found an Eastern Screech-owl poking his head out of a tree. Combined with a few other pickups, I was at 72 birds!

January 10th

After spending a few days picking up birds one or two at a time, I got word of another rarity, a Western Tanager, in the Dayton area. I jumped in the car with two fellow Columbus birders and was able to see the tanager from the comfort of a homeowner’s living room! The bird was eating from her suet feeder, so we were able to get great looks. By the end of the day I was at 82 birds.

A bright yellow Western Tanager feeding with some more usual Ohio birds

January 14th 

I helped a professor from Ohio Dominican lead a field trip to the Hoover Dam (no, not that Hoover Dam). With ice forming on the main reservoir, large numbers of ducks congregated below the dam in the spillway. A real surprise though was a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets foraging in the bushes; these tiny little songbirds are usually further south in January. I was up to 89 birds!

January 15th

Only one bird today, but check him out! A very cooperative Merlin made for a great 90th bird!

Merlin testing his flight gear

January 21st

I checked out a few spots before work today and located a Northern Harrier, some Trumpeter Swans, and a Great Horned Owl on a nest. Combined with some feeder birds that I found while driving by a house with feeders up, I was at 95 birds! I figured I had this in the bag, but then I got the text from fellow birder Jeremy Dominguez: he was chasing rarities in Florida and wanted me to join him! My schedule looked like it would allow it, so I said I’d join. That meant that I’d lose a weekend of Ohio birding though, so I’d have to hurry!

January 27th

I visited some quarries on my lunch break and found Canvasbacks and Common Mergansers, then went to Battelle Darby Creek after work to find a Short-eared Owl. 98 birds and two to go!

January 28th

Another Ohio Dominican field trip yielded a new bird: an Eastern Towhee called just before we left! One last bird would give me 100!

A group of Wild Turkeys from our field trip

January 29th

I was packed and ready to head to Florida, but was one bird shy of 100. Luckily, I got to Dayton before Jeremy was ready to go, so I had a little time. I looked at the nearby hotspots and realized that my best bet was to look for an American Kestrel, my favorite bird! Kestrels spend their time hunting wide open fields, and Dayton is the home of the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, a perfect place to look! I made three passes before I saw a larger bird perched up on a wire near the base. My first thought was a Morning Dove, until I noticed how broad the “shoulders” looked! I pulled into a gas station for a better look at my 100th bird of the month.

The January 100 challenge is a ton of fun every year. This is the third time I’ve attempted it, and my second success. This year, I almost got 100 birds in Florida too! That I will save for another post…
Here’s my January list:

1. Cackling Goose -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
2. Canada Goose -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
3. Mallard -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
4. Common Loon -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
5. Great Blue Heron -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
6. Bonaparte's Gull -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
7. Ring-billed Gull -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
8. Herring Gull -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
9. Lesser Black-backed Gull -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
10. American Crow -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
11. Carolina Wren -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
12. White-throated Sparrow -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
13. Northern Cardinal -- Springfield Lake, 01-Jan
14. Rock Pigeon -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
15. Mourning Dove -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
16. Red-bellied Woodpecker -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
17. Downy Woodpecker -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
18. Hairy Woodpecker -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
19. Pileated Woodpecker -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
20. Blue Jay -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
21. Black-capped Chickadee -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
22. Tufted Titmouse -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
23. White-breasted Nuthatch -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
24. American Robin -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
25. European Starling -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
26. American Tree Sparrow -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
27. Dark-eyed Junco -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
28. Brambling -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
29. House Finch -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
30. American Goldfinch -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
31. House Sparrow -- Allardale Park, 01-Jan
32. Gadwall -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
33. American Black Duck -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
34. Red-tailed Hawk -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
35. Belted Kingfisher -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
36. Eastern Bluebird -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
37. Cedar Waxwing -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
38. Song Sparrow -- Cuyahoga Valley NP, 01-Jan
39. King Eider -- Sims Park, 01-Jan
40. Black Scoter -- Sims Park, 01-Jan
41. Common Goldeneye -- Sims Park, 01-Jan
42. Red-breasted Merganser -- Sims Park, 01-Jan
43. Great Black-backed Gull -- Sims Park, 01-Jan
44. Ovenbird -- Ralph J. Perk Plaza, 01-Jan
45. Lincoln's Sparrow -- Ralph J. Perk Plaza, 01-Jan
46. Swamp Sparrow -- Ralph J. Perk Plaza, 01-Jan
47. Double-crested Cormorant -- Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, 01-Jan
48. Bald Eagle -- Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, 01-Jan
49. Black-headed Gull -- Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, 01-Jan
50. Little Gull -- Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, 01-Jan
51. Glaucous Gull -- Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, 01-Jan
52. Snowy Owl -- Burke Lakefront Airport, 01-Jan
53. Horned Grebe -- Alum Creek SP, 01-Jan
54. Eared Grebe -- Alum Creek SP, 01-Jan
55. Wild Turkey -- Blendon Woods Metro Park, 03-Jan
56. Northern Flicker -- Blendon Woods Metro Park, 03-Jan
57. Carolina Chickadee -- Blendon Woods Metro Park, 03-Jan
58. Brown Creeper -- Inniswood Metro Gardens, 03-Jan
59. Winter Wren -- Inniswood Metro Gardens, 03-Jan
60. Northern Mockingbird -- Inniswood Metro Gardens, 03-Jan
61. Northern Pintail -- Hoover Reservoir, 03-Jan
62. Bufflehead -- Hoover Reservoir, 03-Jan
63. Hooded Merganser -- Hoover Reservoir, 03-Jan
64. Northern Shoveler -- Blendon Woods Metro Park, 03-Jan
65. Redhead -- Quarry Apartments Lake, 03-Jan
66. Ring-necked Duck -- Quarry Apartments Lake, 03-Jan
67. Pied-billed Grebe -- Quarry Apartments Lake, 03-Jan
68. Western Grebe -- Caesar Creek SP, 04-Jan
69. American Coot -- Caesar Creek SP, 04-Jan
70. Yellow-rumped Warbler -- Caesar Creek SP, 04-Jan
71. Mute Swan -- Lake Corazon, 04-Jan
72. Eastern Screech-Owl -- Kiwanis Riverway Park, 04-Jan
73. Wood Duck -- Hoover Reservoir, 06-Jan
74. American Wigeon -- Hoover Reservoir, 06-Jan
75. Golden-crowned Kinglet -- Hoover Reservoir, 06-Jan
76. Sharp-shinned Hawk -- Kiwanis Riverway Park, 07-Jan
77. Ring-necked Pheasant -- Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, 08-Jan
78. Greater Scaup -- Quarry Apartments Lake, 08-Jan
79. Red-shouldered Hawk -- Scioto Park, 08-Jan
80. Cooper's Hawk -- Meadowview Dr , 10-Jan
81. Western Tanager -- Meadowview Dr , 10-Jan
82. Common Grackle -- Meadowview Dr , 10-Jan
83. Barred Owl -- Thaddeus Kosciuszko Park, 12-Jan
84. Lesser Scaup -- Summit Lake, 13-Jan
85. Ruddy Duck -- Summit Lake, 13-Jan
86. Green-winged Teal -- Hoover Reservoir, 14-Jan
87. Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- Hoover Reservoir, 14-Jan
88. Hermit Thrush -- Hoover Reservoir, 14-Jan
89. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- Inniswood Metro Gardens, 14-Jan
90. Merlin -- Union Cemetery, 15-Jan
91. Northern Harrier -- Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, 21-Jan
92. Trumpeter Swan -- Prairie Oaks Metro Park, 21-Jan
93. White-crowned Sparrow -- Prairie Oaks Metro Park, 21-Jan
94. Brown-headed Cowbird -- Prairie Oaks Metro Park, 21-Jan
95. Great Horned Owl -- Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, 21-Jan
96. Canvasback -- Dublin Road Quarries, 27-Jan
97. Common Merganser -- Dublin Road Quarries, 27-Jan
98. Short-eared Owl -- Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, 27-Jan
99. Eastern Towhee -- Blendon Woods Metro Park, 28-Jan
100. American Kestrel -- Huffman Prairie Bikeway , 29-Jan