On a day fit only for waterfowl, I spent much of my morning looking for them at this central Ohio Reservoir.  All but a few of the most sheltered bays are ice-free, but much of the migrant waterfowl action appears to have already passed.  I stopped at Oxbow Island, Wiese Rd, Twin Bridges, Sunbury causeway, Mudhen Marsh, and maxtown boat launch.  The NE wind made for unusual birding conditions here; all of the normally sheltered west shore coves were exposed and mostly bird-less.  Highlights included:

Shovelers - 10+ were lurking in the inlet at Mudhen Marsh

Ring-necked Ducks - hardly any; I found a pair at Mudhen and had a few flyovers at Sunbury causeway.

Red-br.Merganser - the only common migrant waterfowl, with small flocks at most stops.  Biggest group was 60+ near Pelican Island along the NE shore

Kildeer - single birds were at Twin Bridges and at Mudhen

Bald Eagle - an adult flew north along the reservoir at Maxtown launch.  Most of the winter residents appear to have left, so this was either a migrant or a potential territorial bird.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]