And I for one love it. Thanks, JOE! 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe Faulkner
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 3:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] buckeye lake waterfowl relocating, HUGH sighting

After a morning of working in the garden, decided to drive over to very nearby Clouse Lake to see if any new duckies had dropped in.  I was shocked at what I found.  There were at least 300 Cormorants and perhaps 400 gulls, mostly ring billed and a few Bonnies.  When I noticed about a dozen Mute Swan in the back end of the 20 acre lake, I knew something really odd was up.
   When I took a closer look at the Cormorants through the scope, I noticed that many of them had damaged bills, or bills apparently covered with mud.
It then dawned on me that these were all likely birds relocating from nearby Buckeye lake.  The water level in the lake was not raised on March 1st this year because of Damn Dam Damage, so it remains at 3 feet deep, not much if you're a cormorant diving for fish, or a gull.
     They are saying it may be five years before the dam is repaired, so this may be the new normal for little Clouse Lake, which is probably only 6 feet deep itself.  So, the eight or so Perry County birders (and one Licking county birder...you know who you are) who visit this lake, don't need to run out to see this magnificent site.  They will be here for a while, I'm guessing, and I wouldn't want any birders, humorless or not, to make an unneeded trip.
     On the positive side, if that isn't enough, apparently none of the Lake riffraff  have accompanied the birds.  I draw that conclusion from the fact that there were no beat up pontoon boats on the lake as of yet.  On the negative side, some unscrupulous realtor had already put "Lots for Sale" signs on the back of the dam.

     Joe in the woods, in a feeble attempt to keep a long tradition alive
     Somerset, Ohio
     Perry County

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Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


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