OHIO-BIRDS Archives

October 2010

OHIO-BIRDS@LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Bill Jones <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Date:
Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:48:38 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (29 lines)
There were163 species including migrants and breeders, at this 250-acre sanctuary in Mahoning Co. up to Oct. 23. A complete list for the year is available on eBird under Mill Creek Wildlife Sanctuary (restricted access). This is down from 185 for the past several years, although we could pick up a few more by year’s end. The high species months were April with 102 and May with 98. Lower numbers this year were due primarily to problems with water levels and loss of vegetation on the dikes. The lower number of checklists probably also affected counts with 106 lists this year and 117 to this date last year. Two new Agri Drains being installed next week brings the total to five of these efficient water controls, thus providing much easier and more precise control of water levels.
 
There were seventeen species of ducks, mostly in March and April, with total duck counts often in the high hundreds. Our charismatic megafauna, the bald eagle pair, finally had a successful year after two years of failures and are now adding material to their nest. We’re hoping the ash borer does not affect the ash tree supporting this very large nest.  
 
Some other highlights for 2010 include a snow goose that stayed from March to May 2. Eighty wood ducks in July reflected the ideal water levels for WODU up to that point. It was also a good year for regularly breeding green herons with a high count of 17 in Sept. The great egret high count dropped to 23 from a peak of 47 last year, but black-crowned night-herons jumped to six on a single count with the possibility of a nest. A couple of American bittern observations during the summer also provided some hope of breeding for this elusive species. A northern shrike showed up again in February and stuck around for a while, and a turkey vulture pair fledged one young this summer. Fifteen was a good species count for warblers considering that the sanctuary is not specifically managed for passerines. 
 
Shorebirds, the “umbrella” species for the sanctuary, numbered 18 species for 2010 with American avocets making an appearance again this year. Their totals, also, were down somewhat, however, due to the reasons mentioned above.  
 
On our Oct. 10 Big Sit, volunteers Jim, Jeff and Bob and Denise produced 62 species (and lunch) with the help of many other  observers. 

Bill Jones
Canfield
 
 
 




______________________________________________________________________

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]

ATOM RSS1 RSS2