*OCTOBER 06, 2018 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS.*
*HIKE*: Towpath Trail from Red Lock south to Merriman Valley, with stops at
Trail Mix in Peninsula and Szalay's Sweet Corn Farm.
*TIME*: 7:20am - 4:40pm *TEMP.*: 64 ~ 84 ~ 82 *COND.*: Cool and foggy
early, turning overcast at 8:55am; sun briefly broke through from 9:55am to
10:05am, turning
overcast again with a short sprinkle at 10:15am, back to cloudy and
overcast with a short cloudburst of rain from 11:05am to 11:15am; clouds
moved out after that
and it turned sunny and humid with temperatures quickly rising; turning
cloudy and cooler again from 3:10pm to end of hike; S/SW breezes for most
of the day.
*TRAIL COND.*: Wet with many puddles along entire route; just south of the
Smith Rd. hill roundabout was the aftermath of the runaway dump truck
Thursday that lost its
brakes as it went down Smith Rd. hill, through the roundabout, up the
embankment, and clearing the sewer line and landing on the Towpath Trail on
the other side. Trees
and brush were cleared out from the impact, with flame retardant bags and
oil booms to soak up the spilled diesel fuel. They had to remove the
crashed tuck with a crane
and the driver walked away with minor injuries. *RIVER COND.*: Slightly
above normal from rain earlier in the week.
*FT.MI.*: 13.63 *OBS.*: John Henry & Douglas W. Vogus.
*I. MAMMALS*: 5 SPECIES.
1. Eastern Chipmunk - 63
2. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 2 (1 black morph)
3. Eastern Fox Squirrel - 3
4. Red Squirrel - 19
5. White-tailed Deer - 1 (heard snorting)
*II. BIRDS*: 46 SPECIES, (LOWEST OCTOBER TOTAL- PREVIOUS WAS 52 SPECIES),
8,838 INDIVIDUALS (HIGHEST ON ANY CENSUS DATE).
*(NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was
heard calling but not sexed)*
1. Canada Goose - 57
2. Wood Duck - 4 (3m,1f)
3. Mourning Dove - 1
4. Chimney Swift - 22
5. Killdeer - 4
6. Double-crested Cormorant - 1
7. Great Blue Heron - 5
8. Turkey Vulture - 59 (56 in one kettle above Merriman Valley - New
Census High - previous was 29 on 04/2011)
9. Bald Eagle - 1 (adult)
10. Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
11. Red-tailed Hawk - 3 (1 immature)
12. Eastern Screech-Owl - 1 (red morph)
13. Red-headed Woodpecker - 1
14. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 25 (4m,1f,3?,17*)
15. Downy Woodpecker - 13 (3m,4?,6*)
16. Hairy Woodpecker - 9 (3?,6*)
17. Northern Flicker - 7 (1f,1?,5*)
18. Pileated Woodpecker - 5 (*)
19. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (adult f)
20. Eastern Phoebe - 3
21. Blue-headed Vireo - 1
22. Blue Jay - 40
23. American Crow - 24
24. Black-capped Chickadee - 17
25. Tufted Titmouse - 5
26. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 (*) (Tied Census High from 10/2011 &
08/2016)
27. White-breasted Nuthatch - 11 (2m,1f,1?,7*)
28. Carolina Wren - 10
29. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 (f)
30. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 (?)
31. Eastern Bluebird - 7 (2m,4f,1*)
32. American Robin - 215 (New Census High - previous was 181 on 01/2010)
33. Gray Catbird - 2
34. European Starling - 520
35. Cedar Waxwing - 59
36. House Sparrow - 2
37. House Finch - 4 (1m,1f,1?,1*)
38. American Goldfinch - 27
39. Yellow-rumped Warbler - 9
40. Eastern Towhee - 3 (1m,1f,1*)
41. Song Sparrow - 21
42. Swamp Sparrow - 2
43. White-throated Sparrow - 2
44. Northern Cardinal - 24 (3m,6f,1 juvenile f,14*)
45. Red-winged Blackbird - 95 (25m,37f,33?)
46. Common Grackle - 7,506 (an estimated 7,500 at Red Lock at 8:00am -
New Census High - previous was 4,316 on 10/2010)
Unidentified Warbler - 1
Unidentified Passerines - 5
*III. REPTILES*: 4 SPECIES.
1. Common Snapping Turtle - 1
2. Red-eared Turtle - 2
3. Midland Painted Turtle - 33
4. Eastern Spiny Softshell - 1 (First October Record on Census)
*IV. AMPHIBIANS*: 3 SPECIES.
1. Red Eft - 1 (wounded on the trail by a jogger or bicyclist - it
expired in my hand - Tied Census High from 05/2018)
2. Northern Spring Peeper - 41 (calling)
3. Green Frog - 6
*V. FISHES*: 3 SPECIES.
1. Creek Chub - 48
2. Rock Bass - 1 (First October Record on Census)
3. Bluegill - 14
*VI. BUTTERFLIES*: 4 SPECIES.
1. Cabbage Butterfly - 23
2. Clouded Sulphur - 2
3. Summer Azure - 1 (First October Record on Census)
4. Monarch - 2
*VII. DRAGONFLIES*: 4 SPECIES.
1. Common Green Darner - 1
2. Wandering Glider - 2
3. Eastern Amberwing - 2
4. Autumn Meadowhawk - 11 (New Dragonfly Species on Census - now at 18
Species since 05/2018)
Douglas W. Vogus - Akron, Ohio.
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