EASTERN HIGHLANDS & UPPER OHIO R!VER VALLEY 
^rion-iing <d:is’ iri oGsirr'-.t? iipng i'le sowhern 'hf-K ef LaE? u\f, Cave V'alljivs vr.i;i:J 
western Cuyahoga County, Ohio 9-10 (here 9) Noyember 2008. Photograph by Gate Leidy. 
Bellevue wetlands, Sandusky, OH 3 Aug OBr), 
but what of one at Winous Pt., Sandusky, OH 
23 Aug (TB, TKr)? Up to 7 American Avocets 
were reported from the Central Basin 4-25 
Aug (RL, JBr, CH, RH) and 2 in the Western 
Basin 30 Sep and 28 Oct (B.S.B.O.); 2 on the 
Scioto R. in Columbus 14 Aug Q- Davis) were 
unexpected. Two were at Huntsdale, Cumber- 
land, PA 18 Sep (R. Koury). A Spotted Sand- 
piper at Sanderson Falls, Raleigh/Summers, 
WV 28 Nov OJP) was very late for the s. high- 
lands. The 11 Willets at Hoover 22 Sep (CB) 
was an exceptional double-digit count from 
the Ohio interior. The species was otherwise 
detected as singles in Ohio in Ashtabula, Ot- 
tawa, Mahoning, Wayne, and Franklin, and in 
Pennsylvania in Washington and Erie 1 
Aug-26 Oct (MV, GS, RTh, SW, A. Berchin). It 
was a good season for Lesser Yellowlegs in 
Ohio, where -widespread flocks were led by 
480 at the Bellevue wetlands 22 Aug (KK) 
and 200 at Medusa Marsh, Erie 24 Aug (LR, 
JBr). Two lingered at Ottawa 27 Nov (JP). An 
Upland Sandpiper in Berks, PA 9 Aug (K. & 
D. Grim) and 2 in Bucks, PA 15-17 Aug (R. 
Smith, G. Johnson) were unexpected. Nine 
Whimbrels were detected in the Central Basin 
2-31 Aug (WSh, CH, GL, m.ob.), with singles 
at S.R.C.F. 19-29 Aug (BS et al.) and at 
Presque Isle 7 Aug (MV), where 2 were noted 
13-15 Sep (]M, D. Snyder). A scattering of 
Marbled Godwits to the Ohio interior includ- 
ed singles at Glacier Ridge Metropark, Union 
22-28 Aug (ph. B. Baron, ph. J. Maass, m.ob.), 
Bellevue wetlands, Sandusky 28 Aug-1 Sep 
(BH, T. Colborn, ph. RT, m.ob.), O’Shaugh- 
nessy Nature Reserve, Delaware 29 Aug-16 
Sep (AB, SJ, m.ob.). Hoover 16 Sep-6 Oct 
(RL, BH, CB, m.ob.), and in Mahoning 30 
Aug-5 Sep (BJo, RL). 
L. Erie reports were 
limited to 5 at Ottawa 
28 Aug (TB), with 3 re- 
maining 4 Sep, plus 2 
or 3 at Conneaut 2-19 
Aug (WSh, My m.ob.). 
Most unusual was a 
flock of 18 Hudsonian 
Godwits over Pitts- 
burgh, Allegheny, PA 
28 Oct (D. Yagusic,/ide 
D. Wilton). Single 
Hudsonian Godwits 
were at S.R.C.F 28 Aug 
(DW, JB, BS) and 
Northumberland, PA 25 
Sep (L. Shaffer). Two 
Hudsonian Godwits 
were at Hoover 26 Oct 
(CB). A tagged male, 
one of 25 banded on 
the breeding grounds in Churchill, MB during 
the summer (fide SJ), fueled up at Big Island 
W.A., Marion, OH 5-13 Oct (SW, JkS, GS, 
m.ob.). One was at Ottawa 27 Aug (TB), -with 
2 there 12 Oct (B.S.B.O.). 
The remnants of Hurricane Ike downed 41 
Red Knots at Conneaut 15 Sep 0?) and 4 at 
nearby Presque Isle (D. Snyder). The accom- 
panying 13 White-rumped 
Sandpipers led reports of the 
species on L. Erie in the Cen- 
tral Basin, while 8 at Ottawa 
30 Sep (B.S.B.O.) topped 
Western Basin counts. Up to 8 
were found at Shartlesville, 
Berks, PA 22 Aug (M. Wlas- 
niewski). A late White- 
rumped Sandpiper was in Ma- 
honing, OH 9-11 Nov (GB, 
CH). The 15 Western Sand- 
pipers in Pennsylvania 5 
Aug-31 Oct (m.ob.) was an 
excellent showing. Ohioans 
tallied an above-average 40 
widely scattered birds, among 
them 6 in Montgomery 22 Aug 
(RA) and 4 in Franklin 13 Oct 
(BSs). A late record came from 
Ottawa 29 Nov (B.S.B.O.). 
One Western and 3 Baird’s 
Sandpipers were at Byrd Dam 
29-30 Aug (MO, m.ob.). An 
above-average Ohio flight of 
Baird’s saw 35 along L. Erie and 34 inland, 
with 7 at Ottawa 6 Nov (B.S.B.O.) the largest 
Nov flock for the Region. Sizeable flocks of 
Least Sandpipers in Ohio included 680 at Ot- 
tawa 25 Aug (B.S.B.O.) and 150 at the Belle- 
vue wetlands 14-22 Aug (KK), while 500 in 
Bucks 28 Aug (DF) topped Pennsylvania 
counts. Late concentrations included an as- 
tounding 50 in Mahoning, OH 29 Oct (BJo). j 
Although the species was once exceptional 
after Oct in Ohio, 27 birds were widely noted \ 
in Nov, including 8 at Hoover 10 Nov (CB), 4 
in Clinton 15 Nov (RA), and 2 in Clermont 27 
Nov (G. Fantetti). Early Ohio Dunlins in- 
cluded 2 at Ottawa 8 Aug (TB) and one at ^ 
Winous Pt., Sandusky 17-23 Aug (TB, TKr); a 
flight of 287 past Headlands 28 Oct (RH) was 
notable for the Central Basin. The peak West- ’ 
em Basin count 6 Nov numbered 4040 Dun- 
lins (B.S.B.O.), and record numbers of linger- 
ing birds in Ohio included flocks of 30 at 
Hoover 14 Nov (RTh), 25 in Wyandot 16 Nov ■ 
(DO), and 263 at Ottawa 29 Nov (B.S.B.O.). 
A modest passage of Pectoral Sandpiper was , 
highlighted by flocks of 300 at the Bellevue '' 
wetlands 22 Aug (KK) and 200 at Medusa 
Marsh 24 Aug (LR, JBr). The 500 Semi- 
palmated Sandpipers in Bucks, PA 16 Aug ; 
(DF) was a good count. Of 1600 peep at Ot- 7 
tawa 28 Jul-5 Aug, 60% were estimated to be 
Least, with the remaining 40% Semipalmated 
Sandpipers (TB et al). The 108 Stilt Sand- 
pipers at Bellevue 22 Aug (KK) was a good 
count; a late bird was at Y.C.S.P. 21-25 Oct ' 
(MH et al.). Two Purple Sandpipers were at j 
Headlands 19-20 Nov (RH, JT, m.ob.). An av- : 
erage flight of 34 Buff-breasted Sandpipers in 
Ohio 14 Aug-22 Sep was led by flocks of 12 
at Bellevue wetlands 5 Sep (DS) and 10 at 
Berlin Res. 8 Sep (B. Morrison). Buff-breasted 
Sandpipers in Pennsylvania included 2 at 
S.R.C.F 14 Sep (BS) and singles at S.R.C.F 27 
This Cave Swallow was one of three present at the ftortheast Sewage Treatment 
Plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylrania 11-30 (here 23} November 2008, where it fed 
on midges with a flock of 150-200 Northern Roiigh-winged Swallows, the only 
known wintering flock sf this species in the East. This represents the first record 
of Cave Swallow for Philadelphia. Photograph byRkk Wiltmul 
78 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
