After a morning of working in the garden, decided to drive over to very
nearby Clouse Lake to see if any new duckies had dropped in.  I was shocked
at what I found.  There were at least 300 Cormorants and perhaps 400 gulls,
mostly ring billed and a few Bonnies.  When I noticed about a dozen Mute
Swan in the back end of the 20 acre lake, I knew something really odd was
up.
   When I took a closer look at the Cormorants through the scope, I noticed
that many of them had damaged bills, or bills apparently covered with mud.
It then dawned on me that these were all likely birds relocating from
nearby Buckeye lake.  The water level in the lake was not raised on March
1st this year because of Damn Dam Damage, so it remains at 3 feet deep, not
much if you're a cormorant diving for fish, or a gull.
     They are saying it may be five years before the dam is repaired, so
this may be the new normal for little Clouse Lake, which is probably only 6
feet deep itself.  So, the eight or so Perry County birders (and one
Licking county birder...you know who you are) who visit this lake, don't
need to run out to see this magnificent site.  They will be here for a
while, I'm guessing, and I wouldn't want any birders, humorless or not, to
make an unneeded trip.
     On the positive side, if that isn't enough, apparently none of the
Lake riffraff  have accompanied the birds.  I draw that conclusion from the
fact that there were no beat up pontoon boats on the lake as of yet.  On
the negative side, some unscrupulous realtor had already put "Lots for
Sale" signs on the back of the dam.

     Joe in the woods, in a feeble attempt to keep a long tradition alive
     Somerset, Ohio
     Perry County

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