I made a quick tour of the southern accesses on Hoover reservoir (NE of Columbus) this morning, starting at the dam and working my way up through the Sunbury causeway. Water levels were extraordinarily low, exposing old tree stumps and house foundations that probably haven't seen the air for a decade or more. The reservoir above the Sunbury causeway looks like a narrow channel amid massive mudflats. Highlights included:
Loons - singles were off Maxtown launch and Area O, but 4 were off the Sunbury causeway
Waterfowl - surprisingly few, with the best being 2 red-breasted Mergansers off Maxtown
Gulls - lots of resting flocks on the many mudbars, totalling over 600 Ring-bills and 300 Bonaparte's. And this didn't include large flocks in the far northern reaches of the reservoir, above the Sunbury bridge.
Larks & Pipits - steady overflight in small numbers at most stops, mostly of Horned larks, but a few American pipits thrown in.
Nuthatch,Creepers - a lone red-br.Nuthatch was still in the pines on the disc golf course next to Hoover dam, while single brown creepers were there and at the Maxtown woods.
Wrens,Kinglets - a singing Winter Wren was in the riparian strip below the dam. Kinglet numbers continued to slide, with only a few Golden-crowns and 1 Ruby-crown for the entire morning.
Warblers - only Yellow-rumps, and there numbers are starting to thin out, with no more than 3 at any one stop.
Sparrows - many Song Sparrows, as well as flocks of Juncos, but little else other than 2 Fox Sparrows near the dam
Finches - 1 Purple Finch and 3 Pine Siskins were flyovers east of the dam, while small flocks of goldfinches were at many locations.
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