Paul Gardner and I, afflicted with cabin fever but leery of the
weather, decided to bird near home on this very wet last real day of
autumn. Paul's car leaks, so we didn't worry about getting the carpet
wet, as it was marshy with water already. "Just say Noah to rugs" was
the theme, and our interesting bird finds consisted almost entirely of
hyenas' prey rather than lions'.
        Perhaps our best leonine find was Paul's 43 black vultures along Little
Pine Rd near Conkle's Hollow in Hocking Co. We visited many other spots,
but beyond that highlights involved refinding birds discovered earlier
by others: the northern shrike and Am. white pelican at Deer Creek SP
(the pelican was circling as if nervously, perhaps wondering if he'd
loafed around too long), and at the Spencer Rd pond mentioned earlier by
Eric Reiner, exactly the same geese he reported: besides Canadas, four
blue-morph snows, one young white-morph snow, and an astonishing six
Ross's geese (two seemingly first-year birds and four adults).
        This is a state record for Ross's, as far as I know, but we hear white
geese are recovering in numbers on the Arctic breeding grounds. And it
coincides with a delayed movement of white geese through the state over
the past couple of weeks. If you go to see these birds, please park
safely and do not inconvenience local folks. Oh yes, does anyone know
the origin of this place's name as the "Brooks Nature Club Pond"?
Bill Whan
Columbus




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