Greetings!

Big Island Wildlife Area seems to be in a state of flux right now...as is
everywhere right now. ;-)

The Redheads, Scaup, Gadwall,and Ring-necked Ducks are giving way to Both
Teal species, Ruddies, and Coots. A few Common Mergansers remain in the
center pond on LaRue Prospect.

The Shorebirds are starting to filter through.  Snipe and Woodcock are both
being seen daily.  I have had reports to me of Yellowlegs, but personally I
haven't seen them in the limited amount of time I have per day.  I have had
Pectoral Sandpipers, but they were on a back road near the border of Union
County.
Most of the flooded areas are now almost dry, so any shorebird passing
through will probably be in the shallow areas of the ponds.

A single Great Egret was out in one of the ponds feeding.  Great Blue Heron
were everywhere.
A small flock of Rusties made its way back to the edge of the woods as I
was watching the Tree Swallows vying for "apartments".

Best find (for me) of the day was a Sandhill Crane in one of the cornfields
on LaRue Prospect hanging out with about a dozen Turkeys.

If I can make it up to Killdeer before the weekend, I will give a report
for there, but it looked like things were starting to turn over last week.

Today's list follows. Some were on SR 95, but most were back on LaRue
Prospect. :

Happy Birding and God Bless
Big Island Wildlife Area, Marion, Ohio, US
Mar 29, 2016 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Comments:     From Herr Rd to Western Edge of Wildlife Area
45 species

Canada Goose  200
Trumpeter Swan  4
Wood Duck  8
Mallard  12
Blue-winged Teal  30
Northern Shoveler  12
Green-winged Teal  2
Redhead  25
Common Merganser  4
Ruddy Duck  24
Ring-necked Pheasant  1
Wild Turkey  12
Pied-billed Grebe  8
Double-crested Cormorant  5
Great Blue Heron  15
Great Egret  1
Turkey Vulture  12
Northern Harrier  1
Bald Eagle  5
Red-tailed Hawk  2
American Coot  40
Sandhill Crane  1
Killdeer  20
Wilson's Snipe  2
American Woodcock  1
Ring-billed Gull  10
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  15
American Kestrel  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  8
Horned Lark  4
Tree Swallow  100
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  30
European Starling  25
American Tree Sparrow  14
Field Sparrow  4
Song Sparrow  8
Swamp Sparrow  2
Northern Cardinal  2
Red-winged Blackbird  75
Eastern Meadowlark  4
Rusty Blackbird  15
Brown-headed Cowbird  50

View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28631249






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