Date: 5/3/25 9:23 am From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Cuyahoga Valley Towpath Trail Census
MAY 02, 2025 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS. ROUTE: Merriman Valley north to Stanford Hostel Connector Trail to Stanford Rd. (Red Lock Trailhead north of there may or may not be open due to culvert replacement at Brandywine Creek with a reopening date of this hike). TIME: 7:00am - 4:50pm TIME AFIELD: 9:50 TEMP.: 58F ~ 73F ~ 71F COND.: Cloudy and overcast early; turning mostly sunny at 9:20am with light breezes; turning overcast again and then a brief shower from 1:35pm to 1:45pm; front moving out and turning partly cloudy. TRAIL COND.: Fair; wet and puddled in the usual low spots. RIVER COND.: High and muddy due to recent rains - few rockbars or sandbars showing. FT. MI.: 11.50 OBS.: John Henry and Douglas W. Vogus.
I. MAMMALS: 8 SPECIES, 42 TOTAL.
1. Virginia Opossum - 2 (First May Record & New Census High - previous was 1 on eight other occasions)\ 2. Eastern Cottontail - 4 3. Woodchuck - 1 4. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 7 (3 black morph) 5. Red Squirrel - 22 6. Common Muskrat - 2 7. Common Raccoon - 1 (Second May Record on Census) 8. White-tailed Deer - 3 (1 buck,2?)
II. BIRDS: 108 SPECIES, 1,248 TOTAL. (New May High - previous was 104 in 2014) (NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed)
1. Canada Goose - 104 (18 goslings in groups of 5,6, & 7) 2. Trumpeter Swan - 1 (fly-over at Ira Beaver Marsh - First May Record on Census) 3. Wood Duck - 19 (6m,3f,10 ducklings) 4. Mallard - 14 (10m,3f,1*) 5. Common Merganser - 4 (1m,3f) 6. Wild Turkey - 2 (*) (males gobbling in two different locations - Fifth May Record on Census) 7. Rock Pigeon - 3 8. Mourning Dove - 32 (one nest in a box elder tree) 9. Chimney Swift - 43 10. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2 (1m,1?) 11. Virginia Rail - 3 (two at Ira Beaver Marsh and one at Stanford Swamp southwest of Lock 33 - New Census High - previous was 2 on 05/2012 & 05/2016) 12. Sora - 1 (at Ira Beaver Marsh - Fourth Record on Census & Fourth May Record on Census) 13. Killdeer - 3 14. Spotted Sandpiper - 8 15. Solitary Sandpiper - 1 16. Ring-billed Gull - 1 (Fourth May Record on Census) 17. Green Heron - 3 18. Great Egret - 2 (Fourth Record on Census, Second May Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 1 on 05/2010, 04/2014 & 04/2018) 19. Great Blue Heron - 19 20. Turkey Vulture - 17 21. Osprey - 2 22. Cooper's Hawk - 2 (1 immature m,1 immature f) 23. Bald Eagle - 4 (3 adult,1 immature) 24. Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 25. Broad-winged Hawk - 1 26. Red-tailed Hawk - 11 (1 immature) 27. Belted Kingfisher - 3 (1m,2*) 28. Red-headed Woodpecker - 6 (New Census High - previous was 5 on 05/2018) 29. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 9 (3m,1f,5*) 30. Downy Woodpecker - 11 (2m,3f,2?,4*) 31. Hairy Woodpecker - 3 (1f,2?) 32. Northern Flicker - 13 (4m,2f,4?,3*) (three nests - one in an Eastern cottonwood snag; one in a dead ash snag; one in an unknown, barkless snag) 33. Pileated Woodpecker - 6 (4*,2 drumming) 34. American Kestrel - 2 (1m,1f) (together behind the Akron Compost Facility - confirmed nesting there in 2015) 35. Merlin - 1 (m) (preening high up in a cottonwood near the Botzum Depot - Second May Record on Census) 36. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (m) (Ohio Turnpike bridge) 37. Great Crested Flycatcher - 6 38. Eastern Kingbird - 6 39. Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1 (along C.V.S.R. tracks just south of Ira Rd. - Second Record on Census, First May Record on Census & Tied Census High from 09/2012) 40. Least Flycatcher - 1 41. Eastern Phoebe - 7 42. White-eyed Vireo - 6 (Tied Census High from 05/2019) 43. Yellow-throated Vireo - 4 44. Blue-headed Vireo - 3 (New Census High - previous was 2 on 10/2016, 05/2017 & 05/2022) 45. Warbling Vireo - 27 46. Red-eyed Vireo - 8 47. Blue Jay - 17 48. American Crow - 15 49. Black-capped Chickadee - 12 50. Tufted Titmouse - 22 51. Bank Swallow - 4 52. Tree Swallow - 5 53. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 26 54. Barn Swallow - 7 55. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 4 (1m,3?) 56. White-breasted Nuthatch - 8 (1m,1f,6*) 57. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 4 (1f,1?,2*) 58. Carolina Wren - 20 59. Northern House Wren - 3 60. Gray Catbird - 24 61. European Starling - 12 62. Eastern Bluebird - 2 (1m,1*) 63. Veery - 1 64. Swainson's Thrush - 2 65. Wood Thrush - 2 66. American Robin - 52 (two nests - one in a black willow and one in a mulberry tree) 67. House Sparrow - 15 68. House Finch - 8 (3m,3f,1?,1*) 69. American Goldfinch - 30 (13m,6f,9?,2*) 70. Chipping Sparrow - 6 71. Dark-eyed Junco - 1 (m) (First May Record on Census) 72. White-crowned Sparrow - 3 73. White-throated Sparrow - 39 74. Song Sparrow - 46 75. Swamp Sparrow - 9 76. Eastern Towhee - 5 (4m,1*) 77. Orchard Oriole - 8 (7m,1 immature m) 78. Baltimore Oriole - 27 (22m,5f) 79. Red-winged Blackbird - 75 (49m,26f) (three nests - two in cattail stands and one in a phragmite stand) 80. Brown-headed Cowbird - 30 (17m,12f,1?) 81. Rusty Blackbird - 1 (m) 82. Common Grackle - 31 (one nest in the peeled-off bark of a dead black cherry tree) 83. Ovenbird - 1 84. Louisiana Waterthrush - 1 85. Northern Waterthrush - 3 86. Blue-winged Warbler - 3 (m) 87. Black-and-white Warbler - 2 (m) 88. Prothonotary Warbler - 1 (m) (Fifth Record on Census & Third May Record on Census) 89. Tennessee Warbler - 4 (m) 90. Nashville Warbler - 3 (m) 91. Kentucky Warbler - 1 (m) (at Ira Beaver Marsh - New Species on Census - currently at 206 Bird Species since 01/01/2010) 92. Common Yellowthroat - 31 (28m,2f,1*) 93. Hooded Warbler - 4 (m) 94. American Redstart - 2 (m) 95. Northern Parula - 5 (m) 96. Magnolia Warbler - 3 (m) 97. Yellow Warbler - 50 (48m,2f) 98. Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1 (m) 99. Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1 (m) 100. Palm Warbler - 9 101. Yellow-rumped Warbler - 16 (13m,3f) 102. Yellow-throated Warbler - 9 (m) 103. Black-throated Green Warbler - 1 (m) 104. Canada Warbler - 1 (m) (Second Record on Census, Second May Record on Census & Tied Census High from 05/2019) 105. Scarlet Tanager - 5 (3m,2f) 106. Northern Cardinal - 55 (41m,12f,2*) 107. Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 15 (11m,3f,1*) (one nest being built in a small cottonwood with Japanese honeysuckle strangling the tree) 108. Indigo Bunting - 7 (6m,1*)
??. Unidentified Hawk Species - 1 (distant - in a slight dive, wings back and tail straightened - Accipiter or Buteo) ??. Unidentified Warbler Species - 4 (fly-overs, backlit, thick cover, etc. - the usual aggravations) ??. Unidentified Passerines - 6
III. REPTILES: 5 SPECIES, 269 TOTAL.
1. Common Snapping Turtle - 14 2. Red-eared Turtle - 12 3. Midland Painted Turtle - 239 (plus one dead - edge of trail mowing casualty) 4. Eastern Spiny Softshell - 3 5. Northern Water Snake - 1
IV. AMPHIBIANS: 6 SPECIES, 58 TOTAL.
1. American Toad - 4 (calling) 2. Northern Spring Peeper - 8 (calling) 3. Gray Treefrog - 8 (calling) 4. Western Chorus Frog - 2 (calling) 5. American Bullfrog - 7 (6 seen,1 calling) 6. Green Frog - 29 (11 seen,18 calling)
V. FISHES: 4 SPECIES, 24 TOTAL.
1. Central Mudminnow - 21 2. Bluntnose Minnow - 1 (Third May Record on Census) 3. Largemouth Bass - 1 (Fifth May Record on Census) 4. Pumpkinseed - 1
VI. BUTTERFLIES: 6 SPECIES, 24 TOTAL.
1. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 3 2. Cabbage Butterfly - 10 3. Clouded Sulphur - 1 (Third May Record on Census) 4. Spring Azure - 2 (Third May Record on Census) 5. Pearl Crescent - 3 (Third May Record on Census) 6. Wild Indigo Duskywing - 5 (Second May Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 2 on 05/2013 & 09/2020)
VII. DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES: 3 SPECIES, 6 TOTAL.
1. Common Green Darner - 4 (Fourth May Record on Census) 2. Swamp Darner - 1 (Second Record on Census & First May Record on Census) 3. Eastern Forktail - 1 (First May Record on Census)
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