A friend from work took me down the stretch of the Deer Creek north of the reservoir in his kayak this morning. We covered about 4 or 5 miles from around the Madison/Fayette Co. line to where the creek enters the reservoir. It was a great chance to see the whole length of the creek in 2 of my atlas blocks. 

The only real surprise was an adult Bald Eagle in an otherwise inaccessible stretch of the creek about 2 miles north of the reservoir. If there was a nesting pair in the area, I would have thought I'd have seen one in the air or at the reservoir by now. It was an adult, so nesting in the area I suppose is possible. If anyone know more about nesting Bald Eagles at Deer Creek, please let me know.

Other than the eagle, I pretty much saw the species I already knew to be present. I was able to confirm nesting for numerous species in one block or another, and added species such as Green Heron and Belted Kingfisher in blocks where they had been unrecorded at that point. N Rough-winged Swallows were seen nesting along the banks of the creek at several spots. A Spotted Sandpiper or two was seen near where I had previously seen one, but I couldn't confirm nesting. The nesting warblers along the creek (Parula, Yellow-throated, and Prothonotary) are pretty quiet for the most part at this point, although one of each was still singing today at one spot or another. Only Prothonotary was confirmed when one was seen carrying food across the creek. Yellow-throated Vireos were a lot more numerous that I previously thought, and a few were still singing in both blocks.

Kayaks are a great way to bird shallow creeks in Ohio, and I hope we will get back there again for the same stretch next year, perhaps earlier in the season. Dragonfly and damselfly enthusiasts can also find plenty to look at besides the birds at this time of year.

Bob Royse

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