I visited Pickerington Ponds Metro Park this evening from 6:30 pm to
8:00 pm. Ellis Pond allowed for good viewing from the observation
areas along Bowen and Wright, but Blue Wing Pond was difficult to
view due to very tall grasses along the shore.

Ellis Pond:
Green Heron 1 (maybe American Bittern)
Killdeer 6 (minimum)
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Mallard Duck 6
Great Blue Heron 7
Great Egret 9
Mourning Dove 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1

I talked with a ranger on my way out of the park, and she said that
American Bitterns have been seen there recently. This makes me think
that what I thought was a Green Heron was an American Bittern,
because it had stripes on the breast, but I didn't get a very long
look at the bird, so I'm not sure. I believe it had a long neck
though, and my first thought when I saw it was Green Heron (which I
have seen before), so I lean in that direction.

Yellowlegs Trail:
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Eastern Meadowlark 7

Blue Wing Pond:
Mallard Duck 4 dozen (minimum)
Great Blue Heron 1
Killdeer (several)
Sandpipers (too dark to identify, several)

When I returned to my car at the Wright Road Observation area at 8:00
pm, two large flocks of Canada Geese flew onto Ellis Pond. There had
to have been near 200 birds landed on the water, maybe more (I am
very bad at estimating numbers, and it was getting too dark to count).


Adam Cirone
B.A. in Biology from Muskingum College
Senior Research on Grassland Birds

Columbus, Ohio
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(330) 257-9533




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