I headed back to Deer Creek again this afternoon. It was another dreary day, but it at least wasn't raining. The rain over the past few days flooded over the area and the water level of the reservoir is as high as it gets. That means no more shorebird habitat until it starts receding again.
The area was still loaded with passerines, especially sparrows. I checked out a new area that I never knew existed, a weedy floodplain field that stretches for miles north of the reservoir nearly to Mt. Sterling. The extent of it isn't all visible from Rt. 207, but it's an amazing area where sparrows were present in the hundreds. Song, Swamp, Field, and White-crowneds could all probably be counted in the triple digits if enough time was put it. Even Lincoln's were common, and I saw at least 10 in my brief glimpse into that area. The area I'm talking about can be accessed from D-51 and D-52 on the map linked below.
http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Hunting/wildlifeareas/central/centralwa.htm
There are mowed paths to follow through there. I definitely want to get back there soon. The only minor novelties seen were an Orange-crowned Warbler and a CYellowthroat on the late side, but the potential for more is there for sure.
I also checked out the wetlands along Dick Rd. and Egypt Pike Rd. I did take my hip boots and sloshed around hoping for a Nelson's ST, but only a lot of Swamp Sparrows were found. There were also at least a few Rusty Blackbirds amidst the thousands of Red-wingeds.
As far as LeConte's Sparrows go, I was wondering if anyone meticulously birds the reclamation grasslands in October? I've never seen them in Ohio, but I have spent a lot of time in their breeding grounds in late spring and early summers up north. They can be pretty common in some places. Looking at their range maps, they shouldn't be too rare in Ohio as migrants. I'll bet that there are a lot more of them coming through here than anyone realizes. How often do you see Henslow's and Grasshopper Sparrows when they're not singing on territory? LeConte's aren't necessarily wetlands birds on their breeding grounds, and can be locally common in poorly drained fallow fields. They turn up all over the pace in southern Manitoba, and can be common some years in the Rudyard area in the eastern U.P., for example. The habitat looks a lot like Henslow's habitat to me sometimes, with a lot of dead grass built up on the ground. It's usually not as weedy, though. From my travels, I have alwa!
ys found LeConte's much more common and widespread than Nelson's, which are very localized. LeConte's seem to always occur where ever Sedge Wrens occur (except in Ohio). Since Sedge Wrens are showing with more regularity now in the reclamation grasslands I was wondering if LeConte's were utilizing the same habitats in migration. It's just an idea that I wish I had time to check out. Finding a silent LeConte's would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but if anyone has the time to look, I'd be curious as to what birds were in those grasslands now.
Bob Royse
Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com
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