Sandy Beasley and I arrived at Shawnee State Forest late in the afternoon on May 17 after driving from Magee Marsh. We had just enough time for a stop at the Shawnee State Park office to pick up a “birding map” created by the park naturalist. The state park is nestled in the middle of the state forest and contains most of the recreational facilities. Hundreds of athletes participating in the American Triple-T triathlon filled the area and we were happy to get away and drive a peaceful gravel road. Immediately, we were struck by the spectacular beauty of the forest. And, even late in the afternoon, we could hear birds singing everywhere. While Magee hosted mostly tired, hungry migrants, Shawnee was home to breeding birds. And an ideal home it was, providing 65,000 acres of high-quality habitat. We had made reservations for one night, but after our 2-hour scouting trip, we decided to stay for two nights so that we would have an entire day to enjoy the forest.
Kentucky Warbler. Photo © http://www.BirdPhotos.com.
On Saturday, we drove the Panoram Loop which was mostly gravel roads. Wild geraniums and ferns carpeted the edges between the roads and woods. We didn’t see as many birds as we had at Magee, but the ones that we did observe made the day a joy. Cooperative birds that gave us great views included Hooded, Worm-eating, and Kentucky Warblers. We heard Wood Thrushes singing their ethereal songs and Ruffed Grouse drumming. The songs of Red-eyed Vireos and Ovenbirds filled the air. Yellow-breasted Chats gave their raucous calls. We observed several pairs of Scarlet Tanagers at eye-level. We saw only a few cars or bikes on the road and met only one other birding party.
Worm-eating Warbler. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo.
Even with a map, we had a difficult time finding our way out of the forest. After going the wrong direction twice, Sandy flagged down a truck. The driver was Chris Glassmeyer, who didn’t just give directions, but led us back to the highway. Chris was very familiar with the forest as he had worked there for the Ohio Division of Forestry a couple of years ago. We talked about the management of the forest and learned that there is logging, but that the Ohio Division of Forestry received certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in December 2010 for all 21 state forests. Still, Chris had tired of seeing trees with dollar signs on them and recently went to work for The Ohio Nature Conservancy, where he is an Area Steward. As supporters of TNC, Sandy and I share Chris’ values and we all seemed energized by the conversation about Shawnee and its birds and other wildlife. We enjoyed meeting Chris as much as seeing Shawnee’s beautiful birds.
Blue-winged Warbler. Photo © http://www.BirdPhotos.com.
We had planned to leave for home on Sunday morning, but the forest called us back, so we spent another few hours in a different area that was recommended for birding. As soon as we turned onto the forest service road and pulled over beside the little stream, we heard birds. Carolina wrens, Gray Catbirds, and Common Yellowthroats called and then we heard a new song. Yes, a male Cerulean Warbler right over our heads! Thrilled that we had decided to spend more time in the forest, we continued on down the road. We saw the first Blue-winged Warblers of the trip – right at eye level. Other highlights included Kentucky and Hooded Warblers. Acadian Flycatchers, Wood Thrushes, and Ovenbirds sang as we slowly drove down the country road.
Cerulean Warbler. Wikipedia photo.
Those last three hours in Shawnee State Forest were an absolutely perfect end to our Ohio birding adventure and the perfect complement to Magee Marsh. We had a total of 116 species of birds for the trip, including 30 species of warblers. Sandy and I look forward to returning to the forest as much as to Magee, but next time we will go earlier in the year when the trees are not fully leafed out. I’ll also work harder to review warbler songs before the next trip. I’ve already written about learning bird songs and I’ll be using Larkwire as I discussed in that post as well as listening to CDs of bird songs.
Birding for Life 