The bad news is that the great shorebird habitat at the Pleasant Valley access is drying rapidly and most of the shorebirds have left.  So have three of the six little blue herons.  What was wet mud is now dry mud.  What was shallow, muddy water is now wet mud.  There is almost no water remaining and what there is is filled with dead, rotting fish.  If you were planning on seeing the little blues Sat., you may be disappointed.

The good news:  I drove on down Pleasant Valley Road to the Sportsman’s area (a target range).  Back that road is an old boat ramp that is rarely used now that the backwaters of the reservoir have silted up so badly.  The reservoir level is down several inches from Wed., and mud flats are emerging.  This is easily accessed but A SCOPE IS NECESSARY.  Unlike the area reported on Wed., this mud is quite distant.  However, there were several interesting-looking shorebirds – many more than earlier in the week at this location.  And, when something flushed them from behind the “island”, I could tell that there were a lot more than I was seeing.  I wasn’t able to make out anything particularly rare, but in the past a LOT of good birds have shown up in this area.  Please note that the Corps of Engineers is pretty whimsical about raising and lowering the water level, so I never know what to expect.

These newly emerging mudflats would probably be more easily visible from Natural Resources Road #7 at what the locals call “fisherman’s point”.  Evening or late afternoon light is best when viewing from “fisherman’s point”.

Anyone interested in directions please e-mail me directly and I’ll try to explain where NR #7 is.

Margaret Bowman
Licking Co., OH

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