A personal story from Talkin’ Birds Ambassador Allen Rand of Cleveland, Ohio.

When the alarm went off at 4:45 AM on Saturday, October 17, 2020, I kept thinking I was crazy, but it was October Big Day, and a team had been assembled and a goal of finding 100 species had already been set. I hit the road at 6:30 AM en route to Willow Point Wildlife Area in Erie County, Ohio. Everyone was punctual at 7:30 AM, and we headed out to rack up some shorebirds. Reports of rarities like Hudsonian Godwit and Long-billed Dowitcher had been coming in all week, so we figured checking off some lifers would be a good start to the day.

Jim, Anthony, Luke, Toby and I had met on a trail in the Cleveland area in September. We shared awesome pictures and reported through text messages where the next rarity was being seen—like the LeConte’s Sparrow at Edgewater Park on the shores of Lake Erie. Then I suggested we combine efforts for the October Big Day. Everyone jumped at the offer. This was the first time any of us had attempted a Big Day.

Not five minutes after starting our eBird lists at Willow Point, we saw a large, dark shape gliding through the cold morning air. I lifted my binoculars to a cross-eyed view of a Great Blue Heron. I’d forgotten that, the night before, I’d put my binocs in the back seat after picking up a friend. When I grabbed my coat, I flung the bins across the driveway. I did a cursory examination and didn’t see any cracked or scratched glass. Well, I should have examined them better. The day was off to a disappointing start: it’s kinda hard to identify birds without binoculars. I pressed on, since there was nothing I could do about it.

Strike two came at the pool with all the shorebirds. With everyone on the team having less than two years’ experience, we hadn’t expected sentinel Killdeer. We’d seen them at other locations, where we got good views from close range without incident. That wasn’t the case here. Whether the cause was us or an unseen predator, they sounded the alarm, and everything flew away. Luckily, everyone saw the Godwits before the exodus. We tallied 32 species before moving on.

Our next stop was Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area. A juvenile ibis and Northern Harriers had been reported there earlier in the week. I carried my old binoculars around my neck as backups. We split up to cover more ground; Luke and Jim zigged, the rest of us zagged. Looking into the first pool, Team Zag saw some very colorful Mallards. Then we realized they were decoys. On the shore next to them were some hunters. They flipped us a bird that was not on the list. Anthony pulled up the website for Pickerel Creek: yep, closed to the public until noon. We got out of there as quickly and respectfully as possible through the still-frosty grass. We recorded 13 species in total, but the Bonaparte’s Gull was the only tick towards our goal. Our first lesson was to learn the ins and outs of target locations.

We pulled into the parking lot for Sheldon Marsh at about 10:15 AM. We split up again and started marking off birds immediately. No lifers or anything extraordinary, but we tallied 37 species. On the way back to the parking lot, I encountered my friends Jamie and Sarah. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so I suggested they join us. Another lesson learned: we spent too much time chit-chatting. We burned 2 hours and 15 minutes there. The silver lining was that Sarah noticed a small, dark bird hopping around a brush pile with a tail sticking straight up into the air. A Winter Wren! Value had been added, but we lost Luke and Jim. They both had prior commitments and had to duck out. So we learned another crucial lesson: time management.

Anthony, Toby, and I reached the Lorain Impoundment lot around 1:45 PM. This hot spot typically yields a good number of diverse species. It’s reclaimed land that houses a pond ringed with phragmites; good cover for songbirds, waterfowl, and other waterbirds. There is a mile-long pier out into Lake Erie to the west of the lot. We picked up the pace, and I brought out the scope for the first time. Nothing of note in the pond, but we were surprised to see late-season Yellow and Blackpoll Warblers. An Eared Grebe had been spotted earlier in the day, but I didn’t see anything on the water. Found a Great Black-backed Gull, but no grebe. Sure enough, it was seen again about 2 hours after we left. Lesson #3: timing. Activity tends to be low in the middle of the day, but birds don’t always play by those rules during fall migration. But we left with 53 species, confident that we would hit our goal.

Next stop was the Sandy Ridge Reservation, also in Lorain County. This hot spot is an absolute gem. It’s not uncommon to total 50+ species there. Shortly after taking to the trail, I messed with the left eyepiece of my old binoculars and ended up busting the remnants of the ring that held it in place. The lens fell out, rendering the binocs useless. However, I had the scope, so I remained a contributing member of the team. 

Sandy Ridge Reservation consists of two shallow ponds split by a walking path and a wooded area. We went straight to the ponds and were rewarded immediately: Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, American Wigeons, American Black Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots, and a Ruddy Duck were all plying the waters. We also scored Wilson’s Snipes and a Sora in the mudflats. One of the resident Sandhill Cranes the regulars named Kevin was out and about too. We knew he’d be there, but we still breathed a sigh of relief when we found him.

The light was fading, so we hustled around the pools and headed to our last location for the day, the oft-talked-about Wendy Park on Whiskey Island, part of the Cleveland Metroparks. We’d recorded Orange-crowned Warblers there the day before and were hopeful to find some of the more regular birds we hadn’t seen yet, like Tufted Titmouse, Common Grackle, and Gray Catbird. We pulled up to Wendy Park at 5:55 PM, less than an hour before sunset. I took the scope and headed down to the lake, while Anthony and Toby went looking for warblers and thrushes. We found a few more species, but were disappointed that we didn’t see any of the regulars. We wrapped up things up as the sun dipped behind Lake Erie, emitting a golden glow. As we double-checked our final count, two Peregrine Falcons shot across the sky, a fitting end to the day. I sent the final tally to the team text thread and was ready to head out when Jim replied that a Hairy Woodpecker was in his yard, so I counted it.

Our total for the day was 76, well below the goal of 100, but we’d learned a lot of lessons and overcome a lot of obstacles to get there. We look forward to the upcoming Christmas Bird Count in December. We’ll be better prepared after these adventures.