April 8th Hercules and I headed to Waynesfield Raceway, in Waynesfield Ohio, to view the eclipse.  I found this site on an eclipse track Google Map that showed it right in the middle of totality.  We got up bright and early, beat all the traffic, showed up and there was a line to get in.  My response from the Raceway about if I could park there, was simply "Yes, that will be fine"...not oh yeah there are going to be thousands of people here also buying tickets because we bought a website to market it":-). It all turned out good.  Great people there and they let me park back in an area where other photographers and astrophotographers were set up from camping overnight.  

This was one of the greatest experiences in my life.  I'm still just in shock about it as I continue to see videos on YouTube.  I'm not sure how I get Herules and I to Iceland for the next one, but it is really tempting.  

Photos didn't turn out as great as I had hoped.  There were some high clouds that really kind of diffused everything.  

On May 10th we ran out to P DR N to try to view the crazy rare Aurora Borealis display that was hitting.  Again the clouds caused issues, as I couldn't see anything.  I was getting to leave disappointed when I noticed a very bright part of the sky behind the clouds.  I put my camera up to my eye and saw the following.

It was doing the crazy light show, but between all the city lights and the clouds it wasn't visible to the naked eye.  Regardless it was a great show for the camera.

We went back out the next day with clearer skies but a much less impressive, and shorter show.  

I think I mentioned more than once last year that it seemed like a really weird year.  It didn't feel like I was seeing as many birds as I thought I was.  We have Part Deux happening this year.  I'll have to break these down some with catching up the end of January and then what happened in February.  

My quest to get to 100 total January birds for the county ended up short.  There were birds seen I needed that could have gotten me there, but I only managed to nab Barred Owl after the last update.  I am now at 96 January birds in total for the county.  The Barred Owl also was a FOY bird, helping me to end January at 66 birds.  This was my best start to the year at end of January.  

Heading into February I also had a goal to try to get to 100 total February birds.  I started at 94, so much closer than where I was at heading into January.  I quickly nabbed Short-eared Owl on 2/2 and got Purple Finch the net day.  We made it over to Whitehouse to get Black-crowned Night Heron on the 5th.  

I started this post a month ago, and just now getting back at it.  It really just feels like a really weird year for birding.  I don't feel like I've gotten a whole lot of good photos.  I know taking Hercules with me makes it a ton tougher.  Juggling leash, camera, binoculars and phone can take away from trying to get some good photos.  The warm weather also brought the leaves out much quicker and more abundantly than years prior I feel.  Despite all this I still had my 2nd best February ever with 70 species, and managed to 7 new February birds to get my total to 101.  

1. Short-eared Owl
2. Purple Finch
3. Black-crowned Night Heron
4. Merlin
5. Barred Owl
6. Eastern Screech-Owl
7. American Woodcock (very early this year, again with the warmup)

In addition to these birds February also brought a Cackling Goose to keep the streak, of 11 years in a row, alive.  

March also ended up an extremely good month for me.  I tied my high of 90 species in the month, and was only 3 off my pace at the end of the month with 107.  3 new March birds included first March records for the county of Pectoral Sandpiper and Dunlin, along with looks at Short-eared Owls.  The big fluddle on RD N really was paying off with ducks and shorebirds this year.  19 FOY birds seen there this year.  Lesser Black-backed Gulls started showing up in March.  12 FOY shorebirds also showed up here in Feb-May.  When I was there last for Short-billed Dowitcher on 5/15 it was next to no water, with scattered little puddles there.  It also managed an American Golden-Plover and amazingly a Red-necked Phalarope!!  The only other real highlight of March was a Snow Goose at the Eaton pond in Marshall.

April was just expected pickups here and there, albeit likely early records for me on many of them.  The American Golden-Plover was a nice find on 4/13, and one of those birds that seemingly showed up from nowhere.  I was getting ready to leave when I found it on my final scan.  19 early migrants over the last 4 days of April pushed me to 150 for the year, 7 more than my best pace at end of April.  It was 3 short of my high of 129 for the whole month.  4 new April birds for me in Pine Siskin, Lincoln's Sparrow (at my feeders), Lapland Longspur (on 4/27 amazingly) and Ovenbird.  

I left Chaos behind me the first week in May, but was really disappointed in the quantity of birds.  51 birds at Brooks the evening of 4/30 and 57 the evening of 5/3 I thought were exceptional numbers for between 70-90 minutes of birding.  I only managed 2 checklists over 60 though during the 10 days I was free.  Most of the warblers were heard only, and even then in small numbers.  At least the Black-throated Blue Warbler male gave me great visual looks while singing at Brooks.  The Prothonotary was back and giving good looks at Woodland Park.  For the most part I've still kept close to my 2022 pace, as I sit at 194 right now with 2022 at 197 at this point.  2022 though I picked up a bunch of easy stuff between now and the end of May to get to 205.  Clay-colored Sparrow, Black-bellied Plover, Franklin's Gull and White-rumped Sanpiper showed up in 2022 to add to the total also.  Stuff that just isn't going to happen now, with R DR N dry.  

I'm honestly having more fun with moths this year, and really need to do a write-up on that.  Lots happening, and a ton of new stuff this year with the warmer weather.  38 lifers including a potential 1st State Record for an entire genus.  I think this might be the year that I don't nab a County Lifer for me.  There have been a Northern Bobwhite heard near Homer, and Dr. Dale Kennedy reports she talked to a hunter in the area that says there are 2 coveys there.  So maybe a contentious lifer, since the MBRC has deemed them extirpated from the state.  Beyond that potential, the rest of the options rest on an irruption of Evening Grosbeaks that decide the I-69 corridor is worthy of their presence, or just really rare stuff with 5 or less records in eBird.  I'll still chase getting to 200, or 210.  I don't think this is the year for 220 though.