Since Saturday, 10/01, starting with Steve Bobonick and then others on Sunday (Leslie Houser, Andy Bess, Jeff Rowe, Kathi Hutton) and Monday (Kirk Westendorf), up to five Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows (NSTS) have been seen at the wetlands accessible from Baughman Road parking area. See details on cincinnatibirds.com. This morning I found up to three.
On Sunday, October 2 I looked for Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows (NTSP's) at the wetlands, and found only 3-5 fleeting glimpses of probable NTSP giving me butt views flying away. I walked the mowed path along the east side of the wetland and the farm road from the bat house almost to the bike path to the east. After reading the reports from Sunday and yesterday evening (Monday), I took the morning off from work to enjoy this great fall weather and to look for NSTS.
This morning, Tuesday, 10/04, I arrived at the parking area along Baughman Road at 8:30 to 9:00 am, and proceeded east to the bike path, and walked north on the narrow horse trail that follows the bike path, continuing north past the entrance path to the observation booth and to the mown grassy trail through the prairie. This mown trail through the prairie intersects with the horse trail along the bike trail just beyond the trees on the left where the prairie opens up on the west/left and east/right side of the bike trail.
I walked west on the mown trail until it turns sharply north/right and skirts the wetland area on the west/left and continued north until the mown trail turns sharply to the west/left. The mown trail continues west and then turns sharply north/right. The area where the NSTS's are being seen is between these two turns. At first, I walked only on the trail and continued north abut 50-100 yards north beyond the last turn to the north from the trail heading due west. After my first walk on the trail, I turned around and returned south on the mown trail and then east on the mown trail. About 75 feet beyond the turn to the east, I had two interesting birds in the cattails that were behaving like NSTS's, but I could not get a good look. I continued east to the point where low grasses and weeds open up on the right side of the mown trail. I walked out into this open grassy/low weedy area along some parallel tracks (truck?) and then wandered around in this area until I headed west close to the wet area of the wetland. I started squeaking by making sharp kissing sounds with a finger placed lengthwise between my lips. I heard the brief song of a NSTS and saw the bird fly east toward some cattails. The bird was clearly a NSTS-rather light in overall color, buffy orange around the head and face with a short stubby tail. I found the bird sitting in the cattails, and viewed it through my binoculars. As I moved closer for a better look the bird flew further east and dropped into cattails in the vicinity of the first turn described above (from the north mown trail bending west). As I got closer I continued squeaking, and ultimately found at least 3 NSTS's together. I took about 40 photos, and obtained photos of two NSTS's sitting in the cattails. With continued squeaking, the birds became more agitated and flew closer. One NSTS actually gave a call/chip note that sounded almost like the sharp squeaking sounds that I was making. I left the parking lot at Baughman Road at about 10:15 am. It was a gorgeous morning and the NSTS's were great!
In my previous birding life on the east coast in Delaware (state of) and more recently too, I have used the same squeaking noises to get Sharp-tailed and Seaside Sparrows to come up out of the lower marsh vegetation and ground cover to sit up to be seen. This seems to also work for NSTS's.
Other birds: Great Blue Heron 1, Mallard 1, Northern Harrier-dead and mostly eaten, only tail legs and feathers remaining, along the trail near where I found NSTS, Tree Swallows 4, Horned Lark 3, House Wren 2, American Pipit 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 20, Palm Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 5, Eastern Towhee 1, Field Sparrow 12, Song Sparrow 15, Swamp Sparrow 20, White-crowned Sparrow 1 singing near entrance to observation platform, Indigo Bunting 8(one still singing), Red-winged Blackbird 50, scattered flocks
Jay
Jay G. Lehman
Cincinnati, Oh
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