Dave, Joyce, Tim & I just returned from a run up to Conneaut for shorebirds.
The numbers & diversity at Conneaut wasn't the best but a Baird's Sandpiper
made it worthwhile. Also seen were Least & Semi-palmated Sandpipers,
Sanderlings, Semi-palmated Plovers, Killdeer & Spotted Sandpipers. A Bonaparte's
Gull, Purple Martin, & Caspian Tern added more interest to the trip, as did
quite a few yellow warblers.
We then headed west, making a stop at Headlands. There it became quite
obvious, if we hadn't already figured it out, that the yellow warblers,
especially females and/or juveniles, are in peak migration. Also present were large
numbers of juvenile icterids (redwing, grackle, & oriole) & starlings.
Going to Mentor Lagoons, we figured finding the Least Bittern would be a
long shot but we had to try. Well, it couldn't have been easier. After
scanning the edge of the water from the bridge for less than 2 minutes, the bittern
was quite easily seen, fishing for minnows, & we were able to observe him
catch 2 fish (1 was bigger than his bill) over a period of about 10 minutes.
And the whole time we were serenaded by several Marsh Wrens, which we never
could see.
Laura Dornan, Stark County
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