Ohio Birds and Biodiversity

A frosty-footed Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapilla, peers quizzically at your blogger. Perhaps the thrushlike little warbler was amused by the large clicking appendage that I sported.

It's been a bit of a warblerpalooza this winter in central Ohio. First, this tough little Ovenbird turns up at Inniswood Metro Gardens on December 7, as reported HERE and HERE. Then comes word of an American Redstart, Setophaga ruticilla, that was found on the Columbus Christmas Bird Count back on December 18. That's really an amazing find, and would set the record late date for an Ohio redstart. Finally, Rob Thorn turned up a Northern Waterthrush, Parkesia noveboracensis, in southern Delaware County two days ago.

I could stand no more, and off I shot at lunch today to try and hunt down that waterthrush and shoot it with my camera. No cigar. Rob found the bird in a land of plenty for foraging waterthrushes, and it has apparently moved off the spot where he saw it.

Fortunately for me and my prospects of a multiple species warbler list for January in Ohio, the Inniswood Ovenbird was directly en route on my return trip. Tom Bain and I arrived at the Innis House simultaneously, sauntered on in, and had to wait about 0.005 seconds before seeing the bird. There it was, the jaunty little tail-cocker, boldly strutting about the wooden deck picking at shards of seed cast from the feeders above. A rather surreal scene, this summertime warbler strolling about an ice and snow covered deck, keeping a sharp eye on a trio of bruiser gray squirrels who were also vaccuuming seeds from the planking.

Senor (Senora?) Ovenbird's injury is obvious in this photo (dark blotch, mid flank), and it's the effects of that wound that probably led to it forgoing the long flight to the tropics, where most of its ilk are currently residing. Ovenbirds rank high on the (literal) hit list of bird species tallied beneath buildings and towers, but I don't think that injury is the result of striking an unforgiving inanimate object. Perhaps a Sharp-shinned Hawk got in a swipe. The bird can still run like a trailer park tart chasing the new lottery winner two double-wides down, and flies like a bullet, so it's in at least reasonable health. Whatever the cause of its yen to stick in the north, we've got an Ovenbird well on its way to overwintering in central Ohio, and providing an unlikely tick for all of those twitchers going after a Big January List.

Try and get out to Inniswood and become a member of Eskimo Ovenbird's fan club. And when you do, allot some time to give this 123-acre park/arboretum/natural area the once over. It is one of the most beautiful patches in central Ohio and is chock full of wildlife. You'll exit with a good-sized bird list, and an appreciation for the vision of the grounds' original owners, Grace and Mary Innis.

Major props to Jen Snyder and Jennifer Kleinrichert for bringing our unexpected wintertime visitor to light, and to Jennifer for so diligently keeping the birding community up to date on the Ovenbird's status.

As reported here on December 8th, this Ovenbird, a Neotropical migrant warbler, was found at Inniswood Metro Gardens on December 7th by Jen Snyder and Jennifer Kleinrichert. As I am especially interested in warblers and their ways, I resolved to go visit the animal if it stuck around long enough for me to work it in.

Jennifer has been great about providing status updates on the Ovenbird, as it does not seem to have a Facebook page. As she reported that the warbler was still present yesterday, it was off to the gardens for me bright and early this morning. And a frosty morning it was, with rime glazing the earth's crust and temperatures hovering around the 21 degree mark.

The beautiful Innis House, located smack in the middle of this botanically diverse 123 acre metropark. Over 2,000 plant species can be found; an interesting palette of nonnative ornamentals mixed with native flora and habitats. Our destination? The backyard of this dwelling, which is to your left.

A battery of feeders lures an excellent range of songbirds and others, and the backyard overlooks a well-wooded ravine carpeted in mature white oak and other native trees. An ideal setup for attracting birds, and a likely spot to host a rarity.

We didn't have to wait but a few minutes, and out sashayed the chilly little Ovenbird, waltzing from the cover of a yew as if it were a fine spring morning. In this photo, the animal has assumed its typical tail-cocked look. I did notice that every now and again, the Ovenbird would tuck one or the other of its legs up, no doubt in an attempt to warm its appendages.

The bird feeds on seed cast to the deck from other feeder visitors, and also spends time scratching in the leaf litter under nearby shrubbery. Ovenbirds are habitual ground feeders that pick through leaves seeking various small arthropods, and cold as it is, the hard-working Ovenbird no doubt is able to find some spiders and other tiny animals.

We observed a wound or injury of some sort - not too surprising, as one would not think a healthy, highly migratory Ovenbird would remain into a cold, tough Ohio winter. Although the bird can fly, and I couldn't detect any handicaps, it has suffered some sort of apparent trauma to its left flank. That blackened patch below its wing that is evident in this photo may be the result of an encounter with a raptor, an injury suffered from a building strike, or who knows what. Whatever its cause, I suspect our Inniswood Ovenbird has health issues that are preventing it from making the long journey to its tropical wintering grounds.

At least a few Ovenbirds have been known to survive the entirety of an Ohio winter, and I hope this bird does too. Thanks to Jennifer Kleinrichert for keeping us current with its status via the Ohio Birds listserv.

Yesterday, December 7, Jennifer Kleinrichert, who is an environmental educator at Inniswood Metro Gardens in Westerville, Ohio, got a tip from Jen Snyder about an odd bird at Inniswood. Jennifer went to the locale, glanced out the window of the Innis House and spotted an early Christmas present: an Ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapilla!

One does not expect to see an Ovenbird in Ohio in December. These odd ground-walking thrushlike warblers are quite common as breeders in Ohio and throughout much of eastern North America, but sensible warblers that they are, most beat feet to the tropics to ride out the winter.




As can be seen from the parts of this map that are dipped in orange, Ovenbirds largely vacate the United States and Canada in winter, with most departing the Midwest by early October. The motherlode of Ovenbirds end up in the tropics of Central America and southern Mexico, although they also radiate throughout the Caribbean, and a very few even make it to northern South America. Southern Florida is the only place in the United States that one can go and expect to find Ovenbirds in winter.

The jungles of Tikal in Guatemala, as seen from the summit of Temple IV. I was last here in 2010, when I made this photo, and we saw Ovenbirds strolling about these tropical forests. I would think Jennifer's Ovenbird would find Tikal a more hospitable climate than central Ohio in December. It would definitely be amongst more of its peers.


Surprisingly, early winter Ohio Ovenbirds are not unprecedented. In fact, there have been perhaps 15 December records in the past 50 years, and at least three of those birds stuck it out for the entire winter. Nonetheless, a wintertime Ovenbird is still quite the rarity and a fantastic find.

Congratulations to Jennifer for finding this bird, and photo-documenting it. I appreciate her sharing her images with us, too. It'll be interesting to see how long this wayward eskimo wannabe Ovenbird sticks around.