Some friends and I birded around Deer Creek SP yesterday (two white
pelicans, 24 snipes, two lesser yellowlegs, beaucoup tree swallows among
the more routine species of this date) and noted migrant gulls and
arriving shorebirds along the "shores" of the riverside pools in the
center of the Lake basin. These will soon routinely be flooded to
provide recreation for humans, per the usual plans. Can anyone tell me
exactly when that will happen this year, or where I can find out without
phone calls? I'm guessing that just beforehand would be the best time to
look for birds of the natural habitat in spring.
        I also stopped at the Worthington Public Library (bless 'em) and found
two books well worth recommending--among all the repetitive slush about
finding and identifying birds--which I promise to return soon:
        1. "Sandhill and Whooping Cranes: Ancient Voices over America's
Wetlands" (2011, Paul Johnsgard, 147 pp). The author is a scientist and
expert in the birds of the prairies, and a graceful writer. Has much of
what you will be glad to learn about these creatures, and up to date:
the recent recovery in Ohio and neighboring states is covered. The
author reasonably argues against hunting of cranes.
        2. "Alexander Wilson: the Scot who Founded American Ornithology"
(2013, E. H. Burtt, W. E. Davis, 444 pp.). This is a rich and unique
study, quite readable for birders--much illustrated in color images
unpublished heretofore--about the life and work of Alexander Wilson (d.
1813), friend of Thomas Jefferson and Wm. Bartram, who wrote and
illustrated a brilliant nine-volume Ornithology well before Audubon. The
lead author is Edward H. Burtt, the invaluable ornithologist at Ohio
Wesleyan University in Delaware. Please note that Wilson's name is part
of more North American bird species names than anyone else's!
Good birds,
Bill Whan
Columbus

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