Hello Birders --

This afternoon, Thursday October 7, there was a lot of bird activity at
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Ottawa / Lucas counties, n.w. Ohio.  For
those unfamiliar with ONWR, these directions will make more sense if you
consult the birding map of the trails in the eastern section of the refuge,
available here:
http://www.bsbo.org/birding/pdf/OttawaNWR-Trails.pdf

The best shorebirding today was in the Crane Creek estuary.  To reach this
area, drive straight north from the refuge entrance to the lot marked "East
parking for trails" on the map, and hike north from there for about a mile
on the dike road alongside the impoundments labelled MS 8b, Pool 2c, and
Pool 2b.  In about a mile the dike road angles northwest and then southwest,
and the estuary becomes visible on the right (north) side, while the open
areas of Pool 2b are visible to the left.

Water levels in Crane Creek estuary are very much affected by winds.
Southwest winds push water out into Lake Erie and expose good mudflats,
while northeast winds push water into the estuary from the lake and raise
the water levels, covering the flats.  Today there was a moderate amount of
open mudflat surface and a lot of shallow water, and 16 shorebird species
were present.  Highlights were 23 Hudsonian Godwits (all juveniles, as would
be expected on this date), 3 Marbled Godwits, 2 Red-necked Phalaropes, 2
Stilt Sandpipers, 6 White-rumped Sandpipers, 32 Black-bellied Plovers, and 2
American Golden-Plovers.  Historically, Ottawa NWR probably has been the
best place in Ohio to find numbers of Hudsonian Godwits; there are records
of over 100 in a day there in late September and early October, although
normally it's unusual for Ohio birders to see more than a dozen at a time.

Other water birds of interest on the estuary or on Pool 2b included 2 Snowy
Egrets (getting late), about 190 Northern Pintails, about 450 Ruddy Ducks,
and 7 Ring-necked Ducks (slightly early).  Songbird migrants were abundant
in the woodlot adjacent to the parking lot and in the shrubbery along the
dike roads, with big numbers of kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers,
White-crowned and White-throated sparrows, and a scattering of other birds
such as Winter Wrens and Blackpoll Warblers.  The southeastern corner of
Pool 2b is often particularly good for migrants, and I saw Orange-crowned
Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Fox Sparrow, and Rusty Blackbird there,
among other things.

This Sunday, October 10, the auto tour at the refuge will be open.  Also
this Sunday, the Ohio Young Birders Club will be holding a "Big Sit" at
Ottawa NWR from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and any interested birder is invited
to stop by and join them.  More information is here:
http://www.ohioyoungbirders.org/

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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