Hello All,
Strong winds from the SSW have made for some good shorebirding habitat at
the Ottawa NWR Crane Creek estuary and other nearby areas these past two days.
To reach the estuary, park in the old parking area and take the roadway straight
N, past 3 impoundments on your left. The roadway eventually curves to the left
and you will soon see the estuary on your right. Within 150 yards or so, past
the section of water lotus on the estuary, you will find good shorebird
habitat in the impoundment on your left as well as on the estuary. A total of
14 shorebird species were found in the area on Friday. Highlights included two
Bairds Sandpipers, several Black-bellied and American Golden Plovers, and seven
Marbled Godwits.
Good shorebird habitat (and good numbers of shorebirds) was also found at
the S. end of Lemon road where the bridge crosses Turtle Creek, at the bridge
where SR 2 crosses Turtle Creek, and on SR 19 (turn S off SR 20) on both sides
of the bridge, near the turnoff to Touissant Marsh.
This Saturday afternoon, we stopped at Pipe Creek WA which is now open
after the Teal season ended on September 19th (we checked at the BSBO office).
As far as I can tell from the 2010 hunting season brochures, this area will once
again be closed to all but hunters starting October 16th through November 19th,
when the regular duck/goose season opens. And so it would seem that for a few
more weeks, birders can use this area. Please note that the cable, at the end of
the entrance trail, still remains in place. Anyway, Unit C is where all of the
shorebirds were this afternoon and where there is good mudflats and shallow
water for waders. Hightlights for the day included good numbers of juvenile
Stilt Sandpipers, a Long-billed Dowitcher, 2 Wilson's Phalaropes, and 2
Red-necked Phalaropes. The easiest way to get to the good viewing area (a scope
is highly recommended here and also at the Crane Creek estuary) is to take a
right at the end of the entrance pathway and follow the roadway around to your
right. The lake will be on your right. Go past Unit D and the first left
(roadway on a dike), and once you've gone past some larger willow trees on the
left of the roadway, you can see the mudflats on your left in Unit C. The light
should be very good in the morning and is not too bad in the afternoon.
Best of luck!
Dan
Dan Sanders
42 Scioto St
Powell, OH 43065
614-596-5666
<[log in to unmask]>
"When a man destroys a piece of art we call him a vandal; when he destroys
a work of nature we call him a developer." Anonymous
______________________________________________________________________
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]
|
