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July 29, 2006: Killdeer Plains, Hardin County Wetlands, & Wyandot CH 29 Wetlands by Brad Sparks In Ohio, late July birding trips can be tricky to lead. The resident breeding birds have stopped singing, the first southbound shorebirds are just starting to show up, and the weather is usually hot. So, most years we head to the marshes along the NW shores of Lake Erie to scrutinize whatever shorebird habitat is available in hopes of finding some rarities. This year, with no good habitat developing along the lake, we decided to check out some spots Rick Counts had reported in Hardin and Wyandot counties. Five of us started by cruising through Killdeer Plains in the fog, where the highlight was a sedge wren perched up and singing in the open. This gave many of us the best views we'd ever had of this notoriously hard to see bird. We also found several vesper sparrows that had molted their white outer tail feathers, which perplexed us all for a few moments. Our next stop was at the Hardin County (Longbrake) wetlands, with lots of water and a few shorebirds. The highlight was a Wilson's phalarope, certainly one of the pair that had bred at this location. In this area there were also many dickcissels and a few Henslow's sparrows. After this we checked out an area along Wyandot County Rd. 29 where the Sandusky River had flooded its banks and left some nice mudflats. We had a decent variety of shorebirds and a flyover bald eagle. By this time the sun was getting high in the sky and the temperature was climbing into the 90s, so we decided to make it an un-Avid short day and started back to Columbus at about noon. All in all it was a decent day. I think Joe Meara summed it up nicely when he said that we "maximized our list with the opportunities that were available."
Page updated 1/12/07 © Columbus Audubon 2007 |
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