I headed back to Deer Creek again today, spending most of the day there. There continues to be an astounding number of waterfowl there, although numbers have shifted one way or another for some species since my last visit. Much of the reservoir was lightly iced over in the morning, but was mostly open by noon except for some remaining ice on the south end. The wetlands south of the reservoir was also mostly open in the afternoon. The reservoir level dropped by probably 15 ft. in the last few days, and all the roads are now open. It's now easier to scope out pretty much the whole reservoir.
In the wetlands, the best viewing area is on the long grassy berm off Egypt Pike Rd. SOUTH of Dick Road. You don't have to walk very far on the berm to scope out the large pond and another large pond to the south. Viewing from both Egypt Pike Rd. and Dick Road is limited.
There were fewer flooded fields, although some cornfields near the intersection of Dick and Mouser Roads still hosted about two thousand ducks. The water treatment pond by the horseman's day use area in the State Park also hosted many ducks in the afternoon.
Here are some waterfowl numbers. Tallies are for the whole area, not just the reservoir :
Snow Goose - 2
Canada Goose - down from a few days ago, but many flocks were flying in the evening. Let's say a total of 1500+
(Trumpeter Swan - 3 in the morning)
Tundra Swan - 108 counted - most were present all day where the open water and ice met in the south end of the reservoir.
Wood Duck - at least 100. Some were in the reservoir, and other flocks were flushed upstream just about everywhere I looked in the creek
Gadwall - probably 150+ scattered in the reservoir and wetlands
American Wigeon - 1500+
Am Black Duck - I hate to take a guess at that one, several hundred at least, with many with Mallards in the cornfields.
Mallard - also seemed down in numbers from a few days ago, but easily 3000+
N Shoveler - not too many, maybe ~100 total
N Pintail - at least 1500, maybe more. Plenty were in the reservoir and wetlands (southernmost pond especially), but hundreds were in the cornfields too.
Green-winged Teal - ~300 for a wild guess
Canvasback - not too many, probably less than 100 total
Redhead - ~1700 - I counted 606 males in the reservoir. I assume that there was a similar number of females there too. A few hundred were in the wetlands, and some were in the cornfield.
Ring-necked Duck - 3500+ Yep there were lots of them. ~2000 were in the wetlands. They were abundant in the reservoir. Another 500 were in the water treatment pond.
Greater Scaup - at least one male offered great views as it swam side-by-side with a Lesser.
Lesser Scaup - a few hundred. A very unwary pair continues to gobble down fish in the spillway less than 50 ft. from the fishermen at the edge of the creek. Those birds have found a steady food supply, but haven't been joined by any other birds all week.
Bufflehead - up in numbers, but still probably less than 100 throughout the area.
Common Goldeneye - a couple of dozen maybe, mostly in the south end, but also in the north end.
Hooded Merganser - ~200 widespread in the reservoir, creek, and wetlands.
Common Merganser - ~20 scattered in various areas.
Red-breasted Merganser - ~200, maybe more.
Yeah, there were other birds too -
Grebes - I saw 1 Pied-billed and 2 Horned, but could have overlooked more
Hawks- N Harriers, Red-tailed, and Cooper's were widespread.
~20 Am Coots
Shorebirds - Killdeer were wherever you'd expect to see them. Several Wilson's Snipe were flushed from the peripheries of the wetlands and were also seen in some fields, notably at the end of D-57. Calling Am Woodcocks could been found at most likely spots at dusk throughout the Wildlife Area.
Gulls- ~1000 Ring-billeds, maybe less, were joined by a handful of Herring Gulls. The Herrings were mostly young birds.
Tree Swallows were scattered about in groups of 2 or 3. Less than 10 total were present, but their numbers should pick up next week.
Sparrows - Song Sparrows were singing on territory. Many wintering and/or migrant Song Sparrow flocks were also there. Several Am Tree Sparrow flocks were still around in the Wildlife Area north of the reservoir. Other than that, I only saw 1 Fox Sparrow, and a few each of White-throated and D-e Junco.
Blackbirds - Red-wingeds were widespread on territory. Migrant blackbird flocks were abundant in the evening. C Grackles and Red-winged dominated, but in the wetlands, Rusties were also numerous in the wetlands and just north of there. B-h Cowbirds were there too in smaller numbers. E Meadowlarks were singing in a few spots, but their numbers are still low.
Topping off the day were a short singing bout from the NORTHERN SHRIKE at its regular spot. Its stay in Ohio is probably coming to a close with the warmer weather around the corner.
Bob Royse
Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com
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