I went up to Ashtabula Co. yesterday to do some atlasing and also to check Conneaut harbor for any shorebird migrants etc. In the early morning I birded at the Conneaut spit, and found: a hen COMMON MERGANSER w/10 half-grown young in tow, 11 bald eagles, Am. kestrel, 10+ killdeers including a juv., spotted sandpiper, 4 least sandpipers, the first juv. ring-billed gull of the season, Caspian tern, ruby-throated hummingbird, belted kingfisher, willow flycatcher, warbling vireo, purple martins, bank swallows, brown thrasher, and Baltimore oriole. With the northerly winds and recent rains, L. Erie water level was high enough to create a nice-sized pools of standing water at the end of the spit and also near the base (good marshy area now that the wall of phragmites has been removed). So there is more shallow-water habitat there now than in recent years, and it should be even more attractive for not only shorebirds but also herons, egrets, rails, and
others. The majority of the day yesterday I atlased in block 33B5NE in Ashtabula, mostly in the Indian Trails Park along the Ashtabula River gorge. There is awesome forest habitat remaining there, as well as spectacular scenery. Birds there included green heron, red-shouldered hawk, belted kingfisher, e. wood-pewees, Acadian flycatchers, great crested flycatcher, red-eyed vireos, n. rough-winged swallows, Carolina wren, wood thrushes, Am. redstart, hooded warblers, scarlet tanagers, a DARK-EYED JUNCO, rose-breasted grosbeak, and indigo buntings. I'll definitely visit the area again next spring/summer when bird song and activity is much higher. Besides, I grew up very nearby in Ashtabula and it's always interesting to visit the old hometown........Craig Holt, Lowellville
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