My wife Denise and I visited the Conneaut Harbor Area on Lake Erie this afternoon, Friday, from 2PM to 3:30PM. It was sunny, with a pleasant temperature of fifty-six degrees. There was a nice variety of birds, with 35 species recorded. Unfortunately the vehicular gate access to "The Sandspit", has not yet been opened to the public this spring. A (ROAD CLOSED) barricade is also fortifying the gate. You can walk in; which we did. "The Sandspit" is presently not a thing of beauty, with construction equipment out there doing whatever. Hopefully, this being a critical spring migration stopover, is being considered by The Conneaut Port Authority. On "The Sandspit" we were surprised that the only shorebird was a single Killdeer. Last year on April 28th, we had a Piping Plover here. Two of the highlights at this location today were 112+ Caspian Terns, and 250+ Bonaparte's Gulls. In the harbor were numerous Horned Grebes, Common Loons, Ruddy Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers, just to name a few. On the breakwalls were 450+ Double-crested Cormorants. At the west end of the "Platform Lagoon" were two adult Black-crowned Night-Herons. As always, a fun visit to Conneaut.
Bob Lane / Mahoning County                                        
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