Hi, A couple of links here that describe the birding potential and locations in Lake County: http://www.lakevisit.com/bird_watching.html http://www.lakevisit.com/birding/Birding_Lake_County_Ohio.pdf I wrote this up in late 2015. Haans <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Sat, Aug 19, 2017 at 12:04 PM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Folks who write to this forum, or write for Ohio bird publications, often > have valuable information about finding birds. Sometimes the information > may be personal--you may want to share with a friend the presence of > nesting egrets or hummingbirds--or more often you may have some valuable > experience of the birdlife worth sharing with birders in a particular > location. > One thing we're missing is accounts of the birdlife of larger areas > as well as some smaller productive habitats. How much do we know about the > birdlife of the state parks, forests, lakes? If you know a particular area > pretty well, have you written it up for others? A well-described area will > attract observers, and records. I'm not suggesting you share owl nesting > sights or anything like that, but your knowledge of the habitats in an area > that you can write up as potential > spots for observing birds. Sure, we occasionally get reports of odd > waterfowl at Dogface lake, but does anyone even know about Mudpocket Pond? > More than interesting reports of birds, other birders need to know > about promising locales and habitats that might be close by, but not always > well covered by observers. Surely there must be a bend in the local river > that has an island or a reed patch, an obscure segment of a state park > especially attractive to birds, or a remote patch of really old trees... > Write-ups on such potentially productive spots are truly gold for avid > birders, and it would not be all that frightening to share them with > others.... > Just as an example, here is a write-up I did for the Wilds--famous > for winter raptors among other things--I wrote some years ago, and which I > didn't finish because I don't know it well enough, but you can get the idea: > Notes on “Driving Guide to Birding the Wilds” > Take I-70 to Zanesville, then the marked exit to The Wilds (SR 146 > east). After about 17 mi, the countryside will abruptly open up and you’ll > see a big sign for The Wilds on the right. Turn here, on Zion Ridge Rd. > Mostly birding by car from here. > You’ll pass through big open country here, with lots of potential. > The usual raptor-finding criteria apply: eagles may be soaring high on a > sunny day, and most raptors will be perched if it’s raining, etc. Perches > are at a premium: check dead trees on wooded margins, utility poles, hay > bales, fence posts. Scott Road, though it appears on the map, is not open > to the public, and is almost always gated. > When Zion Ridge ends at SR 284, take a left. Before long you’ll see > another big Wilds sign on the left; this is International Road. It has been > the most fruitful stretch for golden eagles, and the prairie falcon has > been seen here on a number of occasions. Big vistas, worth frequent stops > to scan. The HQ of The Wilds can be reached by taking a dirt road about > halfway along this route if the gate’s open. There is more habitat here, > plus views of some of the exotic animals—-giraffes, elks, horses, etc. > International Rd descends into a wooded area before it ends at SR > 340. This is a birdy spot, with lots of different habitats visible, but not > for open-country raptors. As of now (late Nov), SR 340 is closed just a > quarter mile to the right—which is the direction you’d want to go—for what > looks like culvert repairs. If it is closed when you go, it would be best > to turn around, retrace your course, and check International Road again. > When you get back to SR 284, take a left. You’ll go through some > marginal countryside, and eventually intersect with SR 340 (on the other > side of the closed section). Turn left onto 340, and proceed through some > more big open country with lots of altitudinal changes, studded with lakes. > As at all spots, proceed carefully, scan all perches, look for raptors in > flight, check especially for harriers/rough-legs harassing another raptor, > and birds soaring very high. > Head down past the lakes and open country into some woods, and look > for a dirt road heading uphill on the right. [If the 340 road repairs are > done, this is not far to the right from the International Rd terminus. > [Take this up into open country again. At the next intersection, Prouty Rd > (unsigned), go the short distances both right and left (both are blocked > off within a quarter mile) for prospects, especially perches on hay bales. > Return to the intersection, continue on the original dirt road, and explore > it and the next road both left and right. Then retrace your route back to > paved 340, turn left, and go to SR 284 again. > Turn left on 284 and go maybe half a mile to Rural Dale Rd on the > left (you’ll pass Rural Dale turn to the right along the way), and turn. > Bird Rural Dale. The first left will be the rest of Prouty Rd that had been > blocked off to you before; check this out, especially the hay bales and any > dead trees. Return to Rural Dale and check out other passable side roads, > always returning to Rural Dale, for the next 2-3 miles. The hay bales and > these side roads have been productive for the prairie falcon. > Return to 284, and return to any of the previous areas; the birds > move around constantly, and any place you’ve found empty once could be > productive on a subsequent visit. This route covers all the sites where > golden eagles and the prairie falcon have been seen over the past year. If > you want to get there from Toledo and back in the same day, you will have > limited time in a short winter’s day, so you may not be able to visit all > areas, and then only once. > Someone more familiar with the area could write a much better > account, but this is an example of the kind of thing needed. > Bill Whan > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/members > hip.php. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. 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