JANUARY 01, 2022 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS.
ROUTE: Red Lock Trailhead south to Merriman Valley. TIME: 7:35am - 4:20pm
TEMP.: 49F ~ 46F
COND.: Cloudy with sprinkles starting at 8:35am then ending at 9:10am;
sprinkles starting up again at 10:35am, turning to
light mist with heavy fog rolling in; very low ceiling with poor
visibility, then fog lifting and back to sprinkles, turning to steady
light rain for the rest of the census.
TRAIL COND.: Wet, slick, rutted and sloppy; many dead ash trees along trail
from 12/10/21 high winds/tornadic weather from
southwest; several large trees, roots and all, collapsed into Cuyahoga
River and taking out large sections of riverbank.
RIVER COND.: Muddy, slightly above normal, and rising.
OBS.: John Henry (Red Lock Trailhead to Bolanz Rd.) and Douglas W. Vogus.

I. MAMMALS: 5 SPECIES.

   1. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 8 (3 black morph)
   2. Eastern Fox Squirrel - 1
   3. Red Squirrel - 37
   4. Common Raccoon - 1  (First January Record on Census)
   5. White-tailed Deer - 1 (doe)


II. BIRDS: 41 SPECIES, 1,508 TOTAL BIRDS.
(NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was
heard calling but not sexed)

   1. Canada Goose - 81
   2. American Black Duck - 37  (sexes not separated due to rain)
   3. Mallard - 14 (10m,4f)
   4. Common Merganser - 3 (f)  (at the mouth of Sand Run where it empties
   into Cuyahoga River)
   5. Mourning Dove - 35
   6. Ring-billed Gull - 23
   7. Herring Gull - 4
   8. Great Blue Heron - 3
   9. Cooper's Hawk - 1 (immature male)
   10. Bald Eagle - 6  (2 adults - m & f - perched near Dover Lake; 2
   immatures dog-fighting over Stanford Swamp; 1 adult at Lock 29 Beaver
   Marsh; 1 "dirty" adult overlooking Szalay's corn stubble field)
   11. Red-tailed Hawk - 4 (2 immature)
   12. Eastern Screech-Owl - 1 (gray morph)
   13. Belted Kingfisher - 2 (m)  (one male at Ira Rd. dropped onto a
   sandbar and captured a crayfish, carried it to a perch, beat it senseless,
   and scarfed it down)
   14. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 11 (2m,3f,2?,4*)
   15. Downy Woodpecker - 11 (4m,2f,5*)
   16. Hairy Woodpecker - 7 (1m,2f,4*)
   17. Pileated Woodpecker - 6 (1m,1f,4*)
   18. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (f)  (perched on snag along river at Stumpy
   Basin)
   19. Blue Jay - 26
   20. American Crow - 489  (majority heading to roost on last leg of
   census)
   21. Black-capped Chickadee - 35
   22. Tufted Titmouse - 25
   23. White-breasted Nuthatch - 17 (8m,3f,1?,5*)
   24. Carolina Wren - 19
   25. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6 (1m,2f,3?)
   26. Eastern Bluebird - 10 (6m,3f,1?)
   27. American Robin - 69  (a partially leucistic one at Ira Beaver Marsh
   - a little white around beak and eye and plenty on primaries and
   secondaries - resembling Northern Mockingbird in flight)
   28. European Starling - 154
   29. House Sparrow - 33
   30. House Finch - 13 (6m,4f,1?,2*)
   31. American Goldfinch - 29
   32. American Tree Sparrow - 6
   33. Dark-eyed Junco - 9 (8m,1?)
   34. White-throated Sparrow - 41
   35. Song Sparrow - 14
   36. Swamp Sparrow - 1
   37. Eastern Towhee - 1 (*)
   38. Red-winged Blackbird - 2 (m)  (mixed in with large Rusty Blackbird
   flock)
   39. Rusty Blackbird - 200  (estimated - birds were staged in trees near
   Szalay's corn stubble field and entire flock bolted east before being able
   to sort through entire flock to separate sexes)
   40. Common Grackle - 1  (male flying north above East Stanford Swamp)
   41. Northern Cardinal - 53 (28m,14f,11*)

Unidentified Passerines - 5

III. AMPHIBIANS: 2 SPECIES.

   1. Northern Spring Peeper - 1  (heard at Red Lock at start of census -
   First January Record on Census)
   2. Wood Frog - 3  (calling - crazy weather yields crazy results! - First
   January Record on Census)


IV. CRUSTACEANS: 1 SPECIES.

   1. Crayfish - 1  (see: Belted Kingfisher above - First January Record on
   Census)


V. FISHES: 2 SPECIES.

   1. Central Mudminnow - 29  (in Lock 28 - a.k.a. "Deep Lock" - Second
   January Record on Census)
   2. Creek Chub - 13  (Second January Record on Census)


Compiler:  Douglas W. Vogus - Akron, Ohio.

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