I was wondering if anyone knows where and when Ring-necked Pheasants have been released in central Ohio?  Which birds are legit wild, countable birds?  I know that pheasants haven't been released at Deer Creek for several decades, so I would consider them countable. I would also presume that the population at Stage's Pond has been there a while. On the other hand, I wouldn't count the Killdeer Plains birds only because I would guess that they're restocked fairly regularly. Is that correct? I also wonder what is the origin of the birds in Pickaway County between Charlie's Pond and and The Pickaway County Airport? That's not a wildlife area and there is no hunting there. I assume that they are released birds by their behavior. Who released them there and why?  There sure are a lot of them there now. I saw at least 40 this evening. 

I heard no reports from the Kingston CBC this year. Did anyone find the massive blackbird flocks this year?  Late this afternoon I drove a bit around the area where they gathered last year and only found several very large starling flocks with no grackles or red-wingeds at all. 

This morning I headed to the Deer Creek Wildlife area and this afternoon I went to the Scioto Trail State Forest for a couple hours. Both places were very birdy, but I really didn't fin anything unexpected.

The Deer Creek Reservoir was completely open and free of ice. There was a good number of puddle ducks there despite the fact that there were also hunters floating around shooting at them. Mallards, Am. Black-Duck, Gadwall, N Pintail, Redhead, and Green-winged Teal were noted. Gulls were limited to Ring-billeds and a few Herrings. I was hoping to find some Killdeer and Sandhill Cranes, but found neither. I also didn't see the usually reliable Black Vultures there.  The fields in the wildlide area were swarming with sparrows, but variety wasn't that great, with Am Tree Sparrows being by far the most abundant followed by Song. White-crowned, Swamp and a Field were also noted, but I struck out on Savannah and Fox in the time I spent there. One nice surprise was a E. Screech-Owl whose location was given away by mobbing passerines. Several N Harriers and a Rough-legged Hawk were there today.

Scioto Trail was loaded with birds. Purple Finches were especially numerous and I saw 5 small flocks of them. Pine Siskins were seen in a couple of places. Barred Owls were calling in mid-afternoon in the valley. Other birds seen there included 6 woodpecker species (no Red-headed). Red-br Nuthatch, Winter Wren, E. Bluebird, several Hermit Thrushes, Ruby-cr Kinglet, numerous E. Towhees, Field Sparrow, etc.

Late this evening at least 10 N. Harriers and 2 Short-eared Owls were seen between Charlie's Pond and the Pickaway Co. Airport. Besides the pheasants, the only other birds worth noting were a good-sized flock of E. Meadowlarks.

It was a good day of birding, but I only added nine species (for a total of 93) to my year list. I'm not counting those pheasants. Unfortunately I missed them at Deer Creek. Unlike Jason Larson, I hate listing and can't wait to get to 100 and stop counting! I'm already fairly close, so I may as well try to finish it off when I get the chance.

Bob Royse 


Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com

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