After an early morning visit to Oak Openings MetroPark to enjoy the
Clay-colored Sparrow, I headed to Pickerel creek to look for shorebirds.
See rarebird.org for postings about the Clay-colored sparrow at OOMP
last weekend. I arrived at the pump house location at about noon, and
was surprised that the water level was significantly reduced from my
last visit on July 4. The pump was running full, and there was water
only around the perimeter of the impoundment to the east of the pump
house. When I visited on July 4, there was water covering most of this
impoundment except for the northern border. On Sunday, 07/13, there
were still plenty of shorebirds present. See list below.
Killdeer many
American Avocet 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 61 (9 flew south while I was watching.)
Spotted sandpiper 4
Least Sandpiper 100 (estimated, not exact count)
Stilt Sandpiper 9
Short-billed Dowitcher 25 ( on July 4 I counted three times and found
85, 86 and 89)
Wilson's Phalarope 1 (appeared to be a female changing from
alternate/breeding plumage or possibly a male)
These birds were scattered over the whole impoundment, and there were 4
immature Bald Eagles taking advantage of the fish bounty in the area.
This kept the shorebirds on the move. One eagle landed too close to the
Avocet, which promptly disappeared.
There were about 40 Great Egrets feeding on the dead and dying fish/carp
as well as about 10-15 Great blue Herons.
When I left the Pickerel Creek area, I first stopped on road 292 south
of the railroad tracks, where I found 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, several
Killdeer and 1 Least sandpiper. Then I stopped at the flooded area on
TR80, but did not find the Black-necked Stilts. Neither did Paula
Lozano and Bob Finklestein and a birding friend, who I met there. They
had been there in the morning, in the afternoon when I met them and
possibly returned again in the evening. There were Killdeer and Lesser
Yellowlegs at the TR 80 pond, where Paula and Bob also found a Wilson's
Snipe, which I missed. I checked the flooded area on road 34 south and
west of the TR 80 location and found 4 Lesser and 3 Greater Yellowlegs a
few Killdeer and 1 Least Sandpiper.
Jay
Jay G. Lehman
Cincinnati, OH
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