There very well may be only 15 ducks in the Deer Creek reservoir, but I find that unusual.

I just wanted to make sure that everyone's on the same page here about where to scope out the reservoir at wetlands. .

1 - At the reservoir start at the N end at Pancoastburg and drive along the creek
2 - Scope from the overlook at the end of Miller Rd. (aka "Miller Park")
3 - Park at the low parking area just by the bridge and walk down to the clearing in the woods and scope the SW corner of the reservoir.
4, 5. 6 - Go into the state park and scope out from the cliffs at the 3 picnic areas on the S end of the reservoir
7 - Scope from the beach
8 - Scope from the dam wall.

The reservoir has an odd shape and unlesss ALL these areas are checked, you won't see what's there. Ducks move arouind in large rafts

For the wetlands there are 3 main areas to check :

1 - At the N end check from the road along Dick. Road, but this is usually the worst place to look.
2 - Head south from there along Egypt Pike Rd. and park in the first area. Walk along the dike and check out the S end of that northern area.
3 - The most important area is the southern end. Park in the 2nd parking area along Egypt Pike (the first one if coming N from New Holland). Put on your boots and walk down the ODNR access road past the woodlots. Here is the large wetlands tract. You can scope out from the dike here, but walking further N and further S is recommended. In the spring most of the shorebirds cannot be seen from the dike.

In addition to these areas, the state wildlife area in enormous and there are lots of fields to explore and miles of riparian woodlands which attract passerine migrants in the spring in excellent numbers. 

Bob Royse


Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com

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