I went waterfowling in the rain yesterday. Started in Mahoning Co. at the Beaver Twp. pond. It held 26 canvasbacks, 60 redheads, ring-necked ducks, greater scaup, lesser scaups, bufflehead, ruddy ducks, pied-billed grebe, and Am. coots. Also in the area were killdeer and n. mockingbird. A little west in Beaver Twp. along Calla Rd. I came upon a merlin perched in a tree right along the roadside. I got great close views of this female as she preened and took a shower in the light rain. Next I checked Arrowhead L. which had 13 tundra swans, canvasbacks, ring-necked ducks, hooded mergansers, ruddy ducks, and horned grebe. From there I went into Columbiana Co. First stop was Franklin Square, where I saw 4 wood ducks, redhead, ring-necked ducks, greater scaup, n. mockingbird, and 3 rusty blackbirds. On to Salem Res. next, it was still frozen. From there to Guilford L., it didn't have much except hooded and red-breasted mergansers. The
next place I wanted to visit (for the first time) was Zepernick Lake WA. It had some good looking habitat but still much ice, like many places in NE Ohio. Found there were gadwalls, Am. wigeon, and hooded mergansers. The last area I searched in Columbiana Co. was Knox Twp. The previously flooded areas held much less water than a few days ago and yielded only a pair of wood ducks. I found an open pond which had 6 canvasbacks, redheads, ring-necked ducks, 3 greater scaup, lesser scaups, bufflehead, and hooded mergansers. Throughout N Columbiana Co. I saw 2 Am. kestrels and numbers of robins and blackbirds. Next I had a hunch to check Summit L. in Akron. On the way I stopped at Springfield L., it was completely frozen--rats. I was hoping for a red-necked grebe or such at Summit L., but it too was almost completely frozen except one tiny open spot along the west shore. The tally there was 1 redhead, 1 bufflehead, 4 hooded mergansers, and
1 Am. coot. At this point I called it quits in the heavy rain and went home. Craig Holt, Lowellville
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