The day started out a little juicy, with some Irish mist cloaking the familiar outlines of Buck Creek SP. We saw Doug Overacker and two friends emerge from the gloom, and swapped news…nice of them, since all our group had to exchange was a few house sparrows heard in Springfield. The others saved us a walk to the beach, which they’d found deserted, and gave us advice on seeing birds at the north end without picking up stray shotgun pellets. Gradually flocks of birds became visible out on the placid lake, and we went to several vantage points to have a look—coots, gulls, a few grebes and ducks, a nearshore pod of 17 common loons. Most gulls passed by overhead, but we did find a winter-plumaged Franklin’s gull out on the lake with a few Bonies.

We drove through torrents of rain up to Lima, where a search of the reservoirs included the usual “thousand-yard” duck flocks, where with scopes screwed up to the max we gradually discerned a pretty good selection of early waterfowl, along with a nice red-necked grebe. We also marveled at the local fishermen’s strategy, which involved plastic beach-balls and wiffle-bats….don’t ask.

Lost Creek Reservoir down the road had recently been partially drawn down, and entertained us for quite a while. Sure there were more ducks, and a large and healthy family of mute swans, but there was an egret, lots of pipits, and shorebirds in good numbers and variety. Another Franklin’s gull was found. More mist and rain on our continued journey made various roadside birds just hazy enough to engage our imaginations, but at Findlay Reservoir it was crystal-clear it was an ornithological desert that day.

We followed a complex route to Ottawa, involving numerous maneuvers and changes of plans.  This successfully threw off any rival birding gangs that might have been following us, but for the first time no one in the Avids motorcade was shaken off. Of course we had only two cars, but this is still a significant record. The traditional Death March route was followed at Ottawa, though a light breeze, 60 degrees, cloud cover, and best of all the cessation of the rain made it far from lethal. Also prevented was another dreaded effect of the March---boredom---as we had lots of Birding Experiences.

Some good small flocks of migrants, with kinglets, sparrows, etc., were found, and the estuary was full of gulls and shorebirds. Most of the former were ring-bills, sure, most of the latter gobs of dunlins, and part of the effect was of sheer numbers, with many hundreds of shorebirds flash-dancing over the mud, and gulls performing their clumsier, whiter transitions—and in a pretty big hurry when a peregrine falcon nabbed lunch from the throng.  Over ninety long-billed dowitchers were found, and the looks were so good that my companions endured my repeated enthusiasms about them more cheerfully than usual. A nice flock of snow buntings enlivened the walk back.

A darkness not entirely due to the leaden clouds, and gathering wind, hastened us to the parking lot, and we went home pretty happy with a day’s list that included: