Late this afternoon, I accompanied Bob Royse as his
photographer's assistant to Deer Creek Reservoir to
photograph screech owls after dark.  We found and
photographed three gray individuals at two different
locations and hopefully Bob will post results on his
website soon at www.roysephotos.com.

Before dark, almost immediately upon arrival near the
closed gate leading to the beach area, we saw the
Northern Shrike which has been previously reported.
We got excellent views and the bird vocalized a lot.
Bob suspected that this bird may be young due to its
chest markings.  He also remarked that he had never
before seen this species this far south.  For me this
was a life bird.

We also saw two white pelicans at opposite ends of the
reservoir.  We were concerned about the condition of
the bird at the north end because at dusk it sat alone
on a large sand bar in the middle of the reservoir
without any cover.  Hopefully it is healthy.

Along with the usual suspects of ducks, grebes, and
gulls, we were surprised to find very large numbers of
Bonaparte's Gulls - literally in the thousands all
over the reservoir!

All in all a chilly but productive afternoon and
evening.

Doug Fisher
Worthington, OH

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