Hi - 
    This morning I visited Maumee Bay State Park and spent most of my
time watching for waterfowl and raptors from the beachfront.  While
there, I ran into Lee Garling and a few other local birders who were
conducting a hawk count for Black Swamp Bird Observatory.  Although the
raptor flight was relatively weak, which was disappointing considering
the initial SW winds and warmer temperatures, we did have a few good
sightings.  I departed at about noon, so it's likely that Lee et al
found the best birds immediately after my departure (i.e., the
'sacrificial birder' phenomena).  Here's a brief synthesis of my
sightings from 9:30 a.m. to noon:
 
Trumpeter Swan    2
Northern Pintail    4
Lesser Scaup        178 (nearshore)
Aythya sp.        3000+ (a large raft running from the park towards
Bayshore Power plant - too far to discern number or species - and
probably a lot more)
Bufflehead    8
Common Goldeneye    42
Hooded Merganser    10
Common Merganser    17
Red-breasted Merganser    3 
Great Blue Heron    1
GREAT EGRET      1 (my first of the season)
Cooper's Hawk    2
Sharp-shinned Hawk    1
Red-shouldered Hawk    1
Red-tailed Hawk    9
Merlin    1
GREATER YELLOWLEGS    2 (a personal FOS)
PECTORAL SANDPIPER    5 (ditto)
Eastern Phoebe (sallying for insects near the campground entrance)
American Pipit     1
Lapland Longspur    2
Snow  Bunting    12
Rusty Blackbird    7
 
Good birding,
 
James Cole
Carmel, IN
 

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James Cole
Ohio Bird Conservation

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