On the way back to Shaker Heights, I toured
  the Sandusky Bay Region.

  Ohms Rd (CR 265) off Rt. 6 just west of
  Pickerel Creek W.A. in Sandusky County.
  These private wetlands are quickly assessed
  and are occasionally interesting in early spring.

  at 8:00 am ...

  Canada Goose - 11 (one on nest)
  Trumpeter Swan - 2 (1A7 & one of the M class)
     - the species nests here and chicks may be
       photographed close by from the car.
  Wood Duck - 3
  Gadwall - 34
  Mallard - 12
  Blue-winged Teal - 18
  American Wigeon - 38
  Northern Shoveler - 64
  Northern Pintail - 4
  Green-winged Teal - 57
  Ring-necked Duck - 1
  Common Merganser - 24
  Hooded Merganser - 4
  Bonaparte's Gull - 110
  Killdeer - 4
  Wilson's Snipe - 7
  Brown Thrasher - 1
  Swamp Sparrow - 9 singing

  moving west along CR 265 brings one to
  Three Eagles Wetland Mitigation or so it was
  once called. I now see a DOW wildlife area
  sign present with a now legal pull-off. From the
  road, I noted

  Canada Goose - 2
  Ring-necked Duck - 84

  and just beyond is what promises to be one of
  the more substantial wetland restorations in
  Sandusky County. What I have been calling
  Yellow Swale Wildlife Area for lack of an
  official designation (correct me if I'm wrong)
  currently involves two completed impoundments
  holding water. Today I saw a half dozen adjacent
  properties with survey markers. Two of these
  were in the throws of being dug out with the
  earthen mounds that look to be incipient levees.

  The two existing wetlands (which form already a much
  larger series as they are contiguous with substantial
  private wetland acreage to the N) held this morning ...

  Canada Goose - 5
  Trumpeter Swan - 5
  Gadwall - 2
  Mallard - 2
  American Wigeon - 2
  Northern Shoveler - 4
  Green-winged Teal - 2
  Pied-billed Grebe - 1
  Bald Eagle - 4
  Wilson's Snipe - 1

  Pickerel Creek W.A. - Headquarters Rd. (CR 254)
  The marsh here, after going through a much needed
  rehabilitation a couple of years ago, looks as good
  as new.

  Canada Goose - 26
  Gadwall - 34
  Mallard - 8
  Northern Shoveler - 4
  Blue-winged Teal - 11
  American Wigeon - 1
  Green-winged Teal - 36
  Bald Eagle - 2
  Killdeer - 1
  Wilson's Snipe - 10
  Great Blue Heron - 26
  Belted Kingfisher - 1

  Pickerel Creek from the Obs. Tower along Rt. 6

  Canada Goose - 22
  Mallard - 3
  Northern Shoveler - 12
  Blue-winged Teal - 16
  Green-winged Teal - 6
  Ring-necked Duck - 3
  Common Merganser - 6
  Hooded Merganser - 7
  Bald Eagle - 4
  Bonaparte's Gul - 170
  Killdeer - 4
  Greater Yellowlegs - 9
  Lesser Yellowlegs - 1

  already suitable water depth for yellowlegs ...
  worth checking ... by 1 May this could be
  suitable for peeps ... but I suspect a full
  walkaround will be in order to asses the
  shorebird presence given the height of the
  vegetation. Also looks good for ibis.

  Medusa Marsh

  Mute Swan - 12
  Gadwall - 57
  Blue-winged Teal - 14
  American Wigeon - 12
  Green-winged Teal - 20
  Bufflehead - 8
  Red-breasted Merganser - 8
  Great Blue Heron - 4
  Great Egret - 14
  Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1
  American Coot - 240
  Bonaparte's Gull - 170
  Pectoral Sandpiper - 140 (winging overhead to the ENE)

  Rt 269 N exit (off Rt. 2 - NW end of Sandusky bay bridge)
  roughly ...

  Redhead - 6
  Lesser Scaup - 1350
  Greater Scaup - 50
  Double-creasted Cormorant - 50
  Bonaparte's Gull - 600
  Ring-billed Gull - 1400
  Herring Gull - 100

  East Harbor State Park .... held more scaup within
  its harbors than I have previously seen in 25 years
  of visiting this time of the year.

  Mute Swan - 8
  Canada Goose - 114
  Wood Duck - 22
      (hanging around a set of nest boxes that
       appeared newly placed)
  Mallard - 2
  Red-breasted Merganser - 180
  Merganser spp. - 200 (fairly distant in the sun)
  Scaup spp. - 9800 (95% Lesser. 5% Greater)
    this ratio has been more typical of a month earlier
  in recent years ... but I spent some time
  watching the many birds skittering out of the
  way of newcomers vying for an open patch of
  water. Of the total,

  7000 occupied Middle Harbor, 1800 were off
  the beach on Lake Erie, and the remainder were
  on East Harbor. Scoping through the mass on
  Middle Harbor, I picked out 210 Redhead.

  Such a concentration out on Sandusky Bay in
  early April would be trivial, but close inshore,
  gleaming in the sun ... quite impressive.

  Over the park, and Catawba Island, kettles of
  Turkey Vultures numbered not less than 100
  birds at one time.

  cheers

  Vic Fazio
  Shaker Heights, OH





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