I stopped out at the Battelle Darby Wetlands near the Franklin & Madison
County line an hour before dusk yesterday.  The grain silos in the parking
area are gone and it's easy to miss the turnoff now.  This was perhaps the
only time I've walked out to the ponds when the ground was dry (and with the
rain today, I'm sure that's no longer the case).  The main pond was shallow
and had hundreds of Leopard Frogs in it who hopped away from me as I walked
along the shore.  A Painted Turtle was on the path, keeping a wary eye on me
as I walked by.  

At the main pond, there were perhaps 30 Mallards, a pair of Wood Ducks and a
female Northern Shoveler.  I counted 16 ducklings, several Killdeer and a
Tree Swallow.  Sparrows were scarce- Song and Field- but Redwinged
Blackbirds were numerous, and many protested my presence.  A scattering of
Grackles were also in evidence.  A gull flew low over a distant pond.  A
Common Yellowthroat sang persistently from the cattails east of the main pond.  

The highlight of the visit for me were several Dickcissels singing from tall
weeds in the fields surrounding the pond, who posed nicely for pictures.

~Tracy
http://seasonsflow.wordpress.com/

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