Hello Ohio Birders,

I drove down from Oberlin to spend the day birding Killdeer Plains and Big
Island Wildlife Areas.  I'd never been before so I quite enjoyed the trip.
The day started relatively slow.  After driving around getting a sense of
the preserve, I spent a long time in the 'owl pines' attempting to locate a
Long-eared owl but this proved unsuccessful.  Later on I surveyed Pond 27
only to find Canada Geese, and swans.  However after leaving to find a
shrike (also unsuccessful) I came back and found 4 white-fronted geese!
Those were a long-overdue lifer.
Around 4:00 I drove to Big Island where I was unsurprisingly greeted by
harriers and more geese.  Around 4:20 the first Short-eared owl (another
lifer!) appeared and after about 30 minutes there were 5 hovering around
the wetlands off Agosta road.  This was quite spectacular especially when
they'd clash with the harriers.
Other things to note were Lapland Longspurs in the fields off highway 71
and a sulky Swamp Sparrow in the drainage ditches at Big Island.
Overall I'd say it was a successful venture and can't wait to return!

Ian Ruppenthal
Oberlin, OH by way of Davidson, NC

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