Monarch Migration

I received a message from friend Jim Gloyd telling me that Monarch Butterflies were roosting at an Amish School property near Plain City. We took the short drive to catch them clustering for the night.

Hundreds were perched on Spruce branches....it was amazing!

Cormorant at Old Reid

 This Double-Crested Cormorant hung out at Old Reid for a few days. While folks up north around the Great Lakes see them as pesky, they intrigue me...and I can't help but love their bright turquoise eyes!

More Shorebirds at CJ Brown

 Following another message from the Clark County Birder's group, I headed over to CJ Brown. The text noted that a Willet, a Ruddy Turnstone, and an American Golden Plover were near the beach in  drainage ditch.
When I arrived, one of the birders, Dan, told me that a maintenance truck had inadvertently flushed to Willet. 
I decided to wait a bit and sat on the concrete to watch some Terns as well as some Pectoral Sandpipers working the shoreline. Sure enough, the Willet returned....first to the shore, then it traveled back to the ditch. It don't know what was so enticing there, but I left after watching the Willet, the Turnstone, and several Killdeer and Mockingbirds have an excellent morning feast!

Willet

Willet

American Golden Plover

Lesser Yellowlegs

Ruddy Turnstone

Pectoral Sandpiper

Caspian Tern

Common Nighthawk Flyover

 I was sitting on the deck this evening....enjoying the hummingbirds and their territory war. You'd think that with three large hummingbird feeders there would be enough for all, but not according to the older male....he thinks they all belong to him. 
I heard a familiar call and looked up to see two Common Nighthawks cruising over. I snapped a series of shots and about 20 of them were sharp. Here's a stacked image of 7 of them....

I was recently recalling that when I grew up not far from our home, it was commonplace to see large flocks of Nighthawks each evening. I could clearly hear their calls and identify them by the white wing bands. 
While I do still see them, they are uncommon, and then only single birds or just a couple. The Nighthawk numbers have declined, and All About Birds cites that the decline of Common Nighthawk populations declined by over 1% per year between 1966 and 2019, for a cumulative decline of about 48%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey." A reduction in flying insect populations related to pesticide use is thought to be one of the causes. In addition, Nighthawks nest in gravel patches...including those that used to be common on flat rooftops. The move to avoid the gravel in leu of rubber roofs has led to decreased availability of nesting sites.

Avocets at Sunset

 We made a second trip to CJ Brown last evening to catch the American Avocets in the setting sunlight. Also caught some Common Mergansers and a Ring Billed Gull getting a sip of water....