Rare ibis; crane pounds on car

I receive periodic email bulletins from Lorain County Metro Parks naturalist Tim Fairweather, describing sightings he or others have made at Sandy Ridge or Columbia Reservations. These two natural areas are crown jewels of Lorain County, and the park district is one of the top such agencies in Ohio. Tim's missives speak to the value of these reserves, as they are full of interesting reports, often including rare species. Sandy Ridge boasts a large list of noteworthy birds, and as you may recall, Columbia hosted the famous Purple Gallinule of 2010.

 Photo: Bo Bofinger

Bo Bofinger found this trio of White-faced Ibis circling the wetlands at Sandy Ridge yesterday, and made this fantastic image. White-faced Ibis are quite rare in Ohio, although reports are on the increase and we can probably expect even more in future years.

This afternoon, Rick Nirschl and others saw what most likely are the same three ibis at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, some 80 miles to the west.

Photo: Lisa Romaniuk

Yes, that's a Sandhill Crane standing atop that shiny black sedan, pounding away at something. Lisa Romaniuk observed the crane somewhere in Lorain County, and filed the following report:

“Here is something you don’t see every day. I was checking on the eagle nest this morning and I heard a sandhill crane calling, but didn’t see it. When I went around the corner, I heard this pounding sound and the crane was on top of this car pounding away. I suspect he caught something and thought this car would make an appropriate place to kill and eat it. I’m sure the owners of the car aren’t too happy. I rang their doorbell to tell them what had happened. There was blood on the side of the car and the top.”

Hopefully the car owner's insurance covers mutilation by crane. Thanks to Tim Fairweather for sharing these interesting reports, and to Bo and Lisa for allowing me to share their photos and finds.