May 12, 2011

Back to Blendon Woods

I kept thinking about that brown goose today, so I returned to Blendon Woods to see if it was still there. It was. I asked a birder in the blind if she had heard the identification of it, and she confirmed that "the naturalist has been calling it a Swan Goose." She said that it has been hanging around Thoreau Lake "for a few months." Heresay, but I'll take it as confirmation that I saw a Swan Goose!

Posted on May 12, 2011 12:10 AM by tinotchka tinotchka | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 11, 2011

Blendon Woods at Dusk

I walked a bit at Blendon Woods MetroPark this evening around dusk. Noticed a couple of raccoons - one at a bird feeder and another just rustling around at the side of the trail to Thoreau Lake. I startled him and he startled me back!

At the lake there were a few Canada geese, and one brown goose that I haven't ever seen before. It had a knob on its bill, a stripe along the top of its head and down its neck. It had a conspicuous white bottom with brown wings that looked almost like it was wearing a short, pleated skirt or apron over the white bottom. There was only one of these birds, and it was swimming along with a Canada goose couple that didn't seem to mind.

The only picture that looks anything like this goose is the swan goose - Anser cygnoides. If it is a swan goose, it's a long, long way from home! I did find someone in Michigan who had photographed a similar bird and also identified it as a swan goose.

When I got home after dark, I noticed what looked like a Fowler's toad on the sidewalk. We rarely see toads in the 'burbs, so it took me by surprise. Once in a while we'll hear the spring peepers, but this wasn't a spring peeper.

Posted on May 11, 2011 03:17 AM by tinotchka tinotchka | 0 comments | Leave a comment

May 8, 2011

Hello World!

I've just started using iNaturalist.org. I'm a citizen scientist - just someone who enjoys the natural world and learning about it.

I appear to be one of a very few, if not the only, iNaturalist user in Central Ohio. So far I've added a few locations for Central Ohio: Blendon Woods Metropark, Inniswood Metro Garden, and Dawes Arboretum.

I'm trying to get others to join from Central Ohio. I've posted to the "Green Matter Bug Huggers" group on Meetup, and I've invited science teachers and science-minded friends to join through Facebook and Twitter. I will keep recruiting in the hopes that we'll build a small community here that documents the biodiversity and beauty of Central Ohio.

Posted on May 8, 2011 05:34 PM by tinotchka tinotchka | 1 comment | Leave a comment

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