Date: 8/5/25 6:23 pm From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Cuyahoga Valley Towpath Census
AUGUST 04, 2025 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS. ROUTE: Merriman Valley north to Red Lock Trailhead (reverse of normal route) with a stop at Szalay's Farm & Market for lunch and Trail Mix in Boston for cold drinks. TIME: 6:20am - 4:45pm TIME AFIELD: 10:25 TEMP.: 56F ~ 82F COND.: Pleasant early, turning warm, then hot and sunny. TRAIL COND.: Good. RIVER COND.: Slightly above normal and muddy. FT. MI.: 14.00 OBS.: John Henry and Douglas W. Vogus.
I. MAMMALS: 8 SPECIES, 41 TOTAL. (Recorded since 01/01/2010)
1. Little Brown Myotis - 2 2. Eastern Cottontail - 13 (3 bunnies) (New Census High - previous was 10 on 08/2024 & 06/2025) 3. Eastern Chipmunk - 12 4. Woodchuck - 1 (pup) 5. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 3 (1 black morph) 6. Red Squirrel - 7 7. Common Raccoon - 1 (First August Record on Census) 8. White-tailed Deer - 2 (1 doe,1 fawn)
II. BIRDS: 65 SPECIES, 664 TOTAL. (Recorded since 01/01/2010) (NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed)
1. Canada Goose - 15 (one single bird on a sandbar in the Cuyahoga River with an injured right wing) 2. Wood Duck - 21 (3m,11 immature m,1f,5 immature f,1 solo unknown duckling) 3. Mallard - 2 (1f with 1 immature) 4. Common Merganser - 1 (f/immature) (Fourth August Record on Census) 5. Rock Pigeon - 1 6. Mourning Dove - 30 7. Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2 8. Chimney Swift - 31 9. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1 (f) 10. Killdeer - 2 11. Spotted Sandpiper - 1 12. Green Heron - 8 (4 immature) 13. Great Blue Heron - 7 14. Turkey Vulture - 17 15. Osprey - 1 (Fourth August Record on Census) 16. Broad-winged Hawk - 2 (immature) (one over Szalay's cornfields north of Bolanz Rd. and one just north of Peninsula) 17. Red-tailed Hawk - 3 (2 immature) 18. Belted Kingfisher - 2 (1m,1*) 19. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6 (1m,1f,4*) 20. Downy Woodpecker - 6 (1m,5*) 21. Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (1f,1*) 22. Northern Flicker - 5 (1m,1?,3*) 23. Pileated Woodpecker - 3 (1m,1?,1*) 24. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (m) 25. Great Crested Flycatcher - 2 26. Eastern Kingbird - 4 27. Eastern Wood-Pewee - 11 28. Acadian Flycatcher - 2 29. Willow Flycatcher - 2 30. Warbling Vireo - 2 31. Red-eyed Vireo - 8 32. Blue Jay - 20 33. American Crow - 6 34. Black-capped Chickadee - 22 35. Tufted Titmouse - 21 36. Bank Swallow - 1 (Third August Record on Census) 37. Tree Swallow - 9 (immature) 38. Purple Martin - 9 (8 immature) 39. Barn Swallow - 3 40. Cliff Swallow - 2 (over the Cuyahoga River behind the Akron Compost Facility - Fifth Record on Census & Second August Record on Census) 41. Cedar Waxwing - 19 (2 immature) 42. White-breasted Nuthatch - 8 (1f,7*) 43. Carolina Wren - 18 44. Northern House Wren - 3 45. Gray Catbird - 30 46. European Starling - 35 47. American Robin - 54 48. House Sparrow - 39 49. House Finch - 4 (1m,1f,2?) 50. American Goldfinch - 28 (17m,4f,2 juvenile,1?,4*) 51. Chipping Sparrow - 1 52. Song Sparrow - 17 53. Swamp Sparrow - 4 54. Eastern Towhee - 7 (5m,2*) 55. Baltimore Oriole - 1 (m) 56. Red-winged Blackbird - 16 (8m,8f) 57. Common Grackle - 8 58. Blue-winged Warbler - 1 (m) (Second August Record on Census) 59. Common Yellowthroat - 5 (m) 60. Hooded Warbler - 1 (m) 61. Yellow Warbler - 7 (6m,1f) 62. Scarlet Tanager - 2 (m) 63. Northern Cardinal - 38 (24m,1 juvenile m,1f,9*,3 juvenile*) 64. Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 2 (1m,1f) 65. Indigo Bunting - 12 (10m,1f,1*)
III. REPTILES: 6 SPECIES, 309 TOTAL. (Recorded since 01/01/2010)
1. Common Snapping Turtle - 13 2. Red-eared Turtle - 1 3. Midland Painted Turtle - 266 4. Eastern Spiny Softshell - 26 (New Census High - previous was 25 on 05/2013) 5. Northern Water Snake - 2 (Second August Record on Census) 6. Eastern Garter Snake - 1 (Fourth August Record on Census - plus one dead - Towpath Trail casualty)
VI. CRUSTACEANS: 1 SPECIES, DEAD. (Recorded since 01/01/2010)
X. Crayfish - 2 (dead)
VII. BUTTERFLIES: 13 SPECIES, 65 TOTAL. (Recorded since 01/01/2010)
1. Eastern Black Swallowtail - 2 (Fourth August Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 1 on 06/2012, 05/2013, 08/2018, 08/2020 & 08/2022) 2. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 8 3. Cabbage Butterfly - 16 4. Clouded Sulphur - 2 5. Summer Azure - 9 6. Pearl Crescent - 3 7. Eastern Comma - 4 8. Red Admiral - 1 (Third August Record on Census) 9. Red-spotted Purple - 2 10. Monarch - 8 11. Silver-spotted Skipper - 1 12. Least Skipper - 7 (New Census High - previous was 5 on 08/2020) 13. Peck's Skipper - 2 (Third August Record on Census & Tied Census High from 08/2021 & 08/2024)
VIII. MOTHS/CATERPILLARS: 4 SPECIES, (1 NEW TO CENSUS), 5 TOTAL. (Recorded since 01/01/2010)
1. Darling Underwing - 1 (Fifth August Record on Census & Tied Census High from 08/2015, 08/2017, 08/2020, 09/2022 & 08/2024) 2. Snowberry Clearwing - 1 (Third Record on Census & Tied Census High from 06/2021 & 08/2023) 3. Sycamore Tussock Moth - 2 (caterpillars only) (Second Record on Census, Second August Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 1 on 08/2024) 4. Dogbane Tiger Moth - 1 (New Species on Census - currently at 49 Moth Species since 01/01/2010)
IX. DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES: 10 SPECIES, 75 TOTAL. (Recorded since 05/05/2018)
1. Common Green Darner - 2 2. Eastern Pondhawk - 1 (Fifth August Record on Census) 3. Widow Skimmer - 1 4. Blue Dasher - 21 5. Wandering Glider - 1 (Fourth August Record on Census) 6. Ruby Meadowhawk - 4 (Third August Record on Census) 7. Ebony Jewelwing - 10 8. Blue-fronted Dancer - 21 (Fifth August Record on Census) 9. Blue-tipped Dancer - 9 (Fifth August Record on Census) 10. Eastern Forktail - 5 (Fourth August Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 3 on 09/2020 & 06/2022)
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