Date: 3/4/26 3:07 pm From: Douglas Vogus <vogeye...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Cuyahoga Valley Towpath Census
MARCH 03, 2026 - CUYAHOGA VALLEY MONTHLY TOWPATH TRAIL CENSUS. ROUTE: Merriman Valley north to Red Lock Trailhead with a stop at The Winking Lizard in Peninsula for lunch. TIME: 6:35am - 5:40pm TIME AFIELD: 11:05 TEMP.: 35F ~ 47F ~ 45F COND.: Light mist and fog at the start, with occasional spurts of light rain, just enough to break out the umbrellas about four times; fog finally lifting at 10:45am, but gray all day; sprinkles again from 2:50pm to 4:00pm and again at 5:00pm until end of census; no snow cover; all water open. TRAIL COND.: Poor; sections early in the morning were glazed with ice; thawing later made the trail sloppy with the usual winter ruts; low sections were rain-filled and muddy with puddles pushing travel to the edges. RIVER COND.: Slightly above normal. FT. MI.: 14.00 OBS.: John Henry and Douglas W. Vogus.
I. MAMMALS: 8 SPECIES, 73 TOTAL.
1. Virginia Opossum - 2 (plus one dead along the trail) (Second March Record on Census & Tied Census High from 05/2025) 2. Eastern Cottontail - 2 (Second March Record on Census) 3. Eastern Chipmunk - 16 4. Eastern Gray Squirrel - 16 (8 black morph) 5. Eastern Fox Squirrel - 3 6. Red Squirrel - 18 7. Common Raccoon - 2 8. White-tailed Deer - 14 (9 does,5 unknown)
II. BIRDS: 47 SPECIES, 838 TOTAL. (NOTE: m = male; f = female; ? = bird was seen but not sexed; * = bird was heard calling but not sexed)
1. Canada Goose - 179 2. Trumpeter Swan - 4 (Third March Record on Census & Tied Census High from 03/2024) 3. Tundra Swan - 115 (one flock of 110 birds heading northwest over Deep Lock - Fourth March Record on Census & New Census High - previous was 66 on 03/2019) 4. Wood Duck - 1 (m) 5. Gadwall - 2 (1m,1f) 6. American Wigeon - 1 (m) (Fifth Record on Census & Third March Record on Census) 7. American Black Duck - 14 (7m,7f) 8. Mallard - 36 (22m,14f) 9. Northern Pintail - 4 (3m,1f) (Fourth March Record on Census) 10. Hooded Merganser - 4 (2m,2f) 11. Common Merganser - 4 (3m,1f) 12. Mourning Dove - 26 13. Killdeer - 1 14. American Woodcock - 1 (Third March Record on Census) 15. Ring-billed Gull - 8 16. Great Blue Heron - 1 17. Bald Eagle - 2 (1 adult,1 immature) 18. Red-tailed Hawk - 2 (adults) (also three dead immatures - one just north of Sand Run, one south of Deep Lock, and one north of Deep Lock - bird flu?) 19. Red-bellied Woodpecker - 18 (5m,2f,6?,5*) 20. Downy Woodpecker - 10 (2m,4f,4*) 21. Hairy Woodpecker - 3 (1m,1f,1*) 22. Northern Flicker - 1 (*) 23. Pileated Woodpecker - 5 (3?,2*) 24. Peregrine Falcon - 1 (f) 25. Blue Jay - 33 26. American Crow - 50 27. Black-capped Chickadee - 12 28. Tufted Titmouse - 16 29. Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6 (1m,3f,2?) 30. White-breasted Nuthatch - 13 (4m,1f,2?,6*) 31. Brown Creeper - 3 32. Carolina Wren - 7 33. European Starling - 8 34. Eastern Bluebird - 4 (2m,2f) 35. American Robin - 18 36. House Sparrow - 28 37. House Finch - 5 (2m,1f,1?,1*) 38. Purple Finch - 3 (2m,1f) (Third March Record on Census) 39. American Goldfinch - 2 40. American Tree Sparrow - 18 41. White-throated Sparrow - 16 42. Song Sparrow - 13 43. Swamp Sparrow - 1 44. Eastern Towhee - 1 (m) 45. Red-winged Blackbird - 56 (55m,1f) 46. Common Grackle - 38 47. Northern Cardinal - 39 (27m,11f,1*)
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