Birds

Fall Bird Banding Images

2010 Liberty Twp Christmas Bird Count



	CHEROKEE	DUDLEY	WETLANDS	GRAVEL PIT	12/18/2010
Robins	94	136	15	30	275
Starling	55	235	317	38	645
Mourning Dove	15	5	13	18	51
Pigeon			46		46
Great Blue Heron	2				2
Crow	9	3	3		15
Pileated WP	2				2
Com Flicker	2	2			4
Red Bellied	8	12	4		24
Yell Bell Saps	1				1
Downy	13	10	8		31
Horned Lark				57	57
Blue Jay	9	7	3		19
Chickadee	15	8	20		43
Titmouse	8	5	5		18
Wht Br Nuthatch	3	2	2		7
Brown Creeper	1		3		4
Carolina Wren	3	1			4
Winter Wren	1	1			2
Mockingbird	1		2		3
East Bluebird	5				5
House Sparrow	7	7	6		20
BR Head Cowbird				3	3
Red Wing Blkbird				1	1
Grackle				6	6
Junco		2	2		4
Cardinal	8	5	4		17
House Finch	14	2	3		19
Goldfinch	17	6	1		24
Wht Throated Spr	17	12	7		36
Wht Crown Spr	2		1		3
Song Sparrow	7	3	5		15
Redtail Hawk	1	1	2		4
Cooper's Hawk	2	1	2		5
Sharp Shinned Hawk		1			1
Canada Geese	12	16	15	86	129
Mallard	8				8
				Total species	37
Time	8:30-10:30 am	10:45am-12:30 pm	1:00-3:45 pm	4:30-5:45 pm

Particpants
Chuck Holliday	x	x	x	x
Jim Brace	x	x
Dave Lintner	x	x
Cathy Marksteiner			x
Rick Schaeffer			x
Caroline Schaeffer			x
Ursula Ferrrenberg			x

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Butler Counry eagles are back

Article from the Hamilton Journal ( Not entirely Accurate, please see notes below article)

More photos below

Staff photo by Nick Graham A pair of bald eagles rest in a tree along the Great Miami River in Ross Twp. just south of Hamilton in March 2009. Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials say the birds have returned to give nesting another try.

The birds, which are the first to be recorded nesting in the county's history, are spotted in tree near Great Miami River bank.

By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 11:41 AM Wednesday, February 24, 2010

ROSS TWP. — Butler County’s bald eagles are back in Ross Twp. to make another attempt at nesting.

The birds — which are not officially named but are the first in the county’s history to be recorded nesting — were spotted about 100 yards downriver from their original nest.

They are situated in a tree near the banks of the Great Miami River, said Kathy Garza-Behr, wildlife communication specialist for Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.

The birds have been spotted bonding while building a nest on private property at Martin Marietta Materials, an aggregate company in the township. While the couple did not successfully incubate eggs last year, it is not uncommon for first-year pairs to bungle their initial mating attempt, she said.

“This is their second year so they will be a little more used to the process. They will be older and better parents, too,” she said.

Last year, Ohio had a record 215 bald eagle nests, and eggs were hatched in 213 of those, according to ODNR.

Egg-laying season begins this month and concludes at the end of March. The birds are expected to lay one to three eggs. Garza-Behr said they will know if the local pair is successful when one of the eagles can be continually seen in the nest.

While bald eagles are not easily disturbed by noise — the Butler County pair have nested near an industrial conveyor belt — they can be spooked by people walking near their nesting tree.

That’s why it’s important for people not to try to get near the nest so the birds have a chance at a successful hatching, Garza-Behr said.

This early in the season, the eagles will have about two chances to successfully mate. It takes about 35 days for eggs to hatch, meaning there could be eaglets in March or April, according to ODNR officials.

The state agency soon will be surveying Ohio’s nest to tally successful nestings, likely by helicopter.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843  or jheffner@coxohio.com

Photos from the Hamilton Journal: