This info may not be immediately useful, because the weather forecast for
Saturday is grim, but there was an interesting concentration of birds this
afternoon (Friday June 26) at Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Lucas Co., NW
Ohio. Along the causeway on the way in, I saw relatively few birds and very
little open water. But walking east on the outer dike from the end of the
road, I had good views of a huge area of open water in the marsh. Many
hundreds of birds were present, and although they were all quite distant,
most were identifiable through the scope at 20x to 30x.

Most surprising were the numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls. My conservative
count / estimate put the total at about 630, mostly in three large flocks,
well separated from each other. This is an exceptional concentration for
summer. Essentially all of them were one-year-old immatures (I saw two
adults in partial breeding plumage), so this was a gathering of nonbreeding
birds that probably never went near the breeding range this year. Loosely
associated with the Bonaparte's was a one-year-old Laughing Gull. (I posted
a brief note about that from the field, in case anyone was nearby and
interested.) A few dozen Ring-billed and Herring Gulls were also present,
and one Lesser Black-backed Gull (probably a two-year-old) was with them.
Caspian, Forster's, and a few Common Terns were near the groups of gulls.
At least 13 Snowy Egrets were there with dozens of Great Egrets. Flocks of
Mallards (lots of males starting to show the beginnings of eclipse plumage)
and a few other ducks provided the only other numbers of birds.

With all those unseasonal Bonaparte's Gulls hanging around, it won't
surprise me if some other unusual birds are found at Metzger. But again,
the concentrations of birds are very distant from the dike, so it takes
patience and a good scope to try to sift through them.

One other surprise at Metzger this afternoon was a Wood Thrush singing in
the woodlot at the end of the road. I was so surprised to hear it that I
tracked it down and snapped a photo. I can't imagine that the species would
nest in that tiny woodlot, so I assume this was a wandering, unmated male.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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