May 18, 2008 Toledo Naturalists message board posting

May 26, 2008 Toledo Naturalists posting

Black-necked Stilts

Topic: Black-necked Stilts
Posted: 24 June 2008 at 10:31pm

Bellevue ponds for a couple of weeks, ... reported two Black-necked Stilts.

They moved around a lot, but seemed to spend the most time in the bit taller vegetation to the SW of the pond. While searching the rest of the pond to see what we could find, we discovered a SECOND PAIR!! This pair was in the water farthest to the east of the road.

Other birds of interest there were an immature Pied-billed Grebe (and some adults of course), two Common Moorhens, at least 15 Ruddy Ducks, a couple pair of Blue-winged Teal and some Coots. Just south and around the corner to the west on C34 were 4 Green-winged Teal as well as more of the above (excpet Moorhen, and Stilts of course).

The pond south of the railroad tracks on CR 292 (in Sandusky County, just north of Seneca County Line Road and the first road east of T80) still held the lone male Bufflehead. Coots, Blue-wingeds, Ruddy Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes can be found on most of the ponds. The biggest numbers of Coots and Grebes were in the pond along Hale Rd. (205) (north of SR 20) just east of 288. A couple of Coots appeared to be sitting on nests.

The male Redhead is still on the pond south of CR 175 just west of 288. There were too many ducks huddled together to make out whether the female that was there with him a few weeks ago remains. But there were baby Wood Ducks with mom on this pond.

Subject: Twelve shorebird species, Seneca & Sandusky counties

Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 16:23:12 -0400

... stopped at the T80 pond in Seneca Co
this morning. Two male and two female black-necked stilts were evident;
one female was hunkered down on what could well be a nest, located near
the summit and the center of the length of the embankment that runs
roughly parallel to T80 on the far side of the nearest pond.
We lucked into a good spot by following T80 north, which changes names
to Dunton Rd in Sandusky Co. This road is closed due to flooding, but
one can drive to the water's edge. Here we found four swallow species in
great numbers, three short-billed dowitchers, a least sandpiper, 12
lesser yellowlegs, a stilt sandpiper (!), a common tern, three pairs of
ruddy ducks, a hooded merganser. The water is only a few hundred yards
north of the county line, and extends to the RR tracks.

We ran into ... at Pickerel Creek WA, whom
we joined in walking along the dike along the impoundment with a
pumphouse on Rte 6. A calling whimbrel flew over as we talked. We walked
in from the east, findng an American avocet, greater and lesser
yellowlegs, a dozen s-b dowitchers, spotted/least/stilt/white-rumped
sandpipers, and two alternate-plumaged dunlins (!). Several sedge wrens
were found, thanks to hints from Su Snyder, at the well-signed pull-off
for the prairie fringed orchids along the road to the HQ. Hats off as
usual to the local managers of PCWA for affording foraging spots for
shorebirds; this one should be good for these migrants until the teal
hunt requires flooding of the impoundments around 1 Sept.
The rest of the time it rained. You have to wonder if widespread
flooding of more normal nesting sites for stilts and black rails, etc.,
out west might have played a role in their appearances here this summer.

--------

Just one correction to his directions. The location with the four
swallow species and the Stilt Sandpiper is not on TR 80/Dunston Rd.
as he mentioned. It is one road to the east - TR 292 or Riddle Rd.
The road is well marked as "Road Closed" since the temporary lake
goes right over the road. This is just north of the county line in
Sandusky Co. The county road is either 113 or 62 depending on which
county you are in!

Subject: Stilts
From: Kenn Kaufman
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 21:49:12 -0400

We had been out of town (DC and then Utah) and had missed the beginning of
the excitement about the Black-necked Stilts in Seneca Co., but today I went
by to take a look. As others have reported, there does appear to be a
nesting attempt in progress. Going south on TR 80 from the Sandusky-Seneca
county line, the large adventive wetland to the east of the road is obvious;
if you stop about halfway along the pond and look east across it, there's a
long, low hill that appears to be planted to soybeans or some similar crop.
Near the top of this rise there's a flat whitish rock, and a Black-necked
Stilt is sitting tight on the ground just to the south of that rock. It
would be very easy to miss if you weren't specifically looking for it, and
without a telescope it would be just a little black and white patch on the
ground. While I was watching this afternoon (July 4), an eagle flew over,
flushing all the Killdeers and Lesser Yellowlegs (and a second stilt) from
the pond that's even farther east beyond the hill, but the stilt on the
ground sat tight without moving. This would be typical behavior of an
incubating bird and it would be hard to explain that behavior any other way.

There's a certain amount of traffic on TR 80 so it's courteous to pull as
far off the road as you can. While I was stopped there today, a local man
stopped to ask if I was looking at the Black-necked Stilts! He had already
talked to other birders, he said. He seemed genuinely interested in having
such a rare bird around.

Black-necked Stilts in some other areas (Arizona, south Texas, lower
Mississippi Valley) have proven to be quite adaptable and quick to take
advantage of new or temporary habitat for nesting, and overall the species
is doing well in North America. Especially if the Seneca County birds are
successful in nesting, we might hope to see more of these birds showing up
in future years.

Incidentally, kudos to the Cullens for first turning us on to the potential
of the wetlands in this area.

Subject: Seneca County Black-necked Stilts with young
From: Tom B
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 13:49:17 -0400

Dave Dariano, one of my banding assistants just called to say that the pair
which frequent the SW side of the flooded field are walking around with
three young birds. This was as of 1:30 PM on Saturday, July 5, 2008. The
young birds are mostly grayish in color but all were actively feeding in the
vegetative area on the south side near the woods and in line with the radio
tower.

Subject: Seneca County Black-necked Stilt correction
From: Tom B
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 18:08:08 -0400

It appears that both pair of birds have now hatched young. After Dave's
called we traveled up to see the young birds only to find that the pair that
frequent the far east side of the flood field have one young walking around
with them. 8 Black-necked Stilts in Ohio in one day, who would have
guess???

All of the birds spend a lot of time sitting in the grass, weeds, sow beans
and so are sometimes hard to locate. One adult male, from the east side,
does a lot of flying around and feeding. He was observed first on the west
side in the area of the birds with three young and then flew back to the
east side. He did this several times this afternoon. It may take patience
to see these birds now. If they are actively feeding, it easy, but if they
are resting it is tough as the vegetation is getting taller. Also, the wet
areas seem to be drying up fairly fast. There were not as many migrant
shorebirds today. Hopefully the fields will stay wet enough for the main
movements of shorebirds to come. The flooded field in Sandusky County (CR
292) still has a good variety of shorebirds today.

For those of you in the area interested in grassland birds, the fields south
of the intersection of Twp. Rd. 80 and CR 46 (which is about 4 miles south
of the stilts) had Sedge Wren, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper
Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Dickcissel, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark
this afternoon.

Maps will show that you can drive straight down Twp. Rd. 80 to this site.
But they are wrong, part of the road is no longer passable. About two miles
south you will have to turn left, go to SR 18, turn right onto SR 18, go
about 1/2 mile and turn left back onto Twp. Road 80. Twp. Road 80 jogs
several times so it is a good idea to have your gazetteer or Seneca County
map handy. But if you get lost, let me know what birds you find and where
you think you saw them. ;>)

Subject: Clay-colored Sparrow, stilts and more
From: Jim McC
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 22:03:59 -0400

Towards the end of the day, we visited the now-famous prairie slough near
Bellevue that harbors the Black-necked Stilts. They didn't disappoint and we
spent quite a bit of time watching them. There is no question they are
nesting. A female was sitting in the field in the exact spot where Kenn
Kaufman described it the other day. We also saw it come off the nest, forage
by the water's edge for a while, then carefully make her way back to the
nest, fiddle with the eggs - presumably - and resume her incubation.

We also saw all four stilts at once. One was a loner, and stayed far off in
the vegetation at the slough's south end. I couldn't tell what sex it was.
At the same time, we had three birds in good view directly opposite us, and
these were two males and one female - this is when she briefly left the
nest. After a bit, one of the males, I'd assume the mate of the incubating
female, drove the other hanger-on male off. There were definitely no chicks
- stiltlets - with these birds, and it didn't look like any were with the
loner at the end of the pond.

It was nice to see Ruddy Ducks, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes,
Blue-winged Teal, and a number of Great Egrets there as well. Weren't many
shorebirds in evidence, maybe 8 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 1
Short-billed Dowitcher, and many Killdeer.

Update on stilts posted on July 9, 2008 :

Yesterday afternoon, observed 2 Black-necked Stilts along with two other local birders. In keeping with recent comments about the stilts on a nest at this location, I'm about 90% certain that this is indeed the case. The two of us observed what was very likely to be the exchange of incubation duties. We first detected an adult stilt foraging with several Great Egrets in the flooded area very close to the large woodlot to the south of the ponds. No other stilts were detected in about 20 minutes of additional searching until this first bird flew towards the low rise between two of the ponds. Suddenly there were two birds. Both birds acted like a mated pair and BOTH birds were noticeably inspecting something at a single spot on the ground. It appeared that the 2nd bird was the one to suddenly take off for foraging at the north end of the area with the 1st bird settled down directly on the spot where the two birds were looking a few seconds before.

The bird settled down and within a matter of minutes it made itself very inconspicuous. There were several shorebirds flying around this area the entire time we were there. Some may have been flushed in response to a female kestrel that was hunting the area consistently, apparently for dragonflies. The stilt settled on the ground never budged despite repeated fly-overs from the kestrel. Kenn Kaufman earlier observed the same situation when a Bald Eagle flew over the area.

This is a fantastic record and congratulations to everyone who has kept a vigilant watch over this area. Maybe we'll be seeing some downy chicks soon!

Posted: 15 July 2008 at 11:18am

Great news!!! I am so glad they are still there. There are so many possible hiding places. Looks like it will be hit and miss from now on.

One other good piece of news that no one else has mentioned, the high ground where the nesting stilt has been seen is a field of soy beans. They will not be harvested for months yet so there is no need to worry about the nest being distrubed, should there actually be one. The wheat field on the road side of the pond WILL need to be harvested any day now, but hopefully the buffer of the pond will not interfere with any nesting efforts.

And yes, there is a Kestral that seems to patrol the area between TR 80 and the pond to the southwest of there (can't recall the road number right off). Something (probably it) was kicking up the shorebirds in the southwest pond which made trying to get a count impossible. It was perched on a wire along TR 80 while we were there and it didn't appear any birds were paying it any attention, excpt there weren't nearly as many birds on that pond to begin with.

Subject: Seneca County Black-necked Stilts
From: Tom B
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:18:01 -0400

The hayfield along County Road 80 has been cut and so viewing the wetlands
is much better. However, vegetation on the eastside of the wetlands is
dense and tall. All 4 adult birds have been together the last 2 days
feeding and calling. These have been the best views I have had to date. It
appears that there are no young birds around and if nesting was attempted,
it failed.

Many of the flooded fields are starting to really dry up. However, those
that have water, are filling up with ducks and shorebirds. The flooded
field on CR 34 had 4-500 shorebirds yesterday. Most were Killdeer and
Semipalmated Plover, Least, Semipalmated, Solitary, Stilt, and Pectoral
Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. It was similar on Sanduky County
road 292.

JULY 25 2008 4:30 pm
Four Black-necked Stilts STILL present on south side of flooded waters on T-81 (RR Ponds). Parked SOUTH of the ponds, birds were present on flooded end of the ROAD, with 4 Stilt Sandpipers, 2 Pectorals, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 3 SB Dowitchers, 3 Least Sandpipers, and 10 Lesser Yellowlegs...ALL resting/sitting on end of road. Point blank.

Subject: Black-necked Stilts, American Avocet, Bellevue Skyponds 7-27-08

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:36:46 -0400

The 4 Black-necked Stilts were observed at the Bellevue skyponds yesterday, They were at the location south of the railroad tracks at TR-81 (I think that's the correct road). Also present was an American Avocet, about 23 or 24 Ruddy Ducks, Wood duck with young, mallards, Spotted Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, both yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Pied-billed Grebes.

Topic: Bellevue area skyponds
Posted: July 27, 2008

Yesterday (Saturday, 7/26), there were decent numbers of shorebirds at the various skyponds that I visited in the Bellevue area in the afternoon through early evening. I did not find the Black-Necked Stilts at the TR 80 location while BRIEFLY looking during two visits. A pair of birders with whom I later talked with did not find them either during their visit. Shorebirds and other notable birds observed were as follows:
North side of CH34 between TR 79 and 80 (the best numbers and habitat)

Wilson's Phalarope-2
Short-Billed Dowitchers ~13
Pectoral Sandpiper-several
Lesser Yellowlegs-many
Greater Yellowlegs-a few
Stilt Sandpiper-3
Semipalmated Sandpiper-some
Least Sandpiper-many
Semipalmated Plover-2 or 3
Solitary Sandpiper-2
KIlldeer-numerous
Great Egret-2
Horned Lark-2
Grasshopper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow

TR 292 (Riddle Rd) south of RR tracks
Short-Billed Dowitcher ~10
Stilt Sandpiper-6
Pectoral Sandpiper ~6
Lesser Yellowlegs-several
Greater Yellowlegs-some
Least Sandpiper-some
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Killdeer-many
Great Egret-3
Ruddy Duck ~24
Pied-Billed Grebe 12+
Various Swallow species overhead

South side of CR 205 between TR 296 and 298
Pair of Coots w/ 2 chicks
KIlldeer

The locations of the indicated roads can be found on Page 38 of the DeLorme in the general grid area of B-C 2-2.5, just north and south of U.S Rte. 20 west of Bellevue.

Subject: Bellevue area views and blues
From: Bill W
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 14:31:50 -0400

The usual flooded-road b-n stilt site in southern Sandusky Co was
birdy, with four stilts, three Wilson's phalaropes, and a long-billed
dowitcher, along with both yellowlegs, killdeer and semi plo,
spotted/pectoral/solitary/semi-p/least/stilt sandpipers, two Caspian
terns, and the abstinent or at least infertile ruddy ducks. Friends
spotted a harrier nearby. More juveniles in the mix. The water continues
to fall; we talked with the property owners, who said it's only about
knee-deep over the road now; still, there are at least four other area
roads still closed by water, and many other roadside ponds which could
last through the coming month, or longer with some rain.
No pipits of any flavor for us this morning. Late afternoon light would
have been much better, though, to be sure.

Topic: Stilt update, Bellevue habitat
Posted: Aug 3, 2008

August 2, 2008

The Bellevue skyponds continue to hang in there and provide the best and most accessible shorebird habitat in Ohio right now. MANY, many thanks to local and regional birders that continue to update us eastern Ohioans on this great hotspot. Always a pleasure to visit the region. Here are some sightings for yesterday, August 2nd:

T81 POND (292 or Riddle Road)

Black-necked Stilts (4) visible from south side of tracks, hanging out in extreme western side of wetland, tucked and resting behind corn stubble. After 30 min, stilts moved out into wetland for superior views, then flew up together and dropped immediately north behind tracks. Could not be relocated on north side of tracks.

Wilson's Phalarope - 2 or 3 individuals; D. Cole reported up to 4 here earlier in the day
Stilt Sandpiper - 4 or 5 individuals still retaining most of adult breeding plumage
Short-billed Dowitcher - surprisingly, only 1
Least Sandpiper - common
Semipalmated Sandpiper - abundant (50+)
Pectoral Sandpiper - most common mid-sized shorebird present (100+)
Lesser Yellowlegs - very abundant (~200)
Greater Yellowlegs - very few (1 or 2)
Semipalmated Plover - only a handful

OTHER: nice pod of Ruddy Ducks, several Great Egrets, large group of Bank Swallows (80+), numerous Horned Larks, numerous Pied-billed Grebes.


T80 POND

Still a large pothole of water, with a nice vegetated edge. The westernmost edge of this pond is muddy; this means viewing is a bit more strained because this is the viewing side, when parked on the road. Patience is key. I spoke very briefly with a gentleman that walked down to the edge of this pond yesterday to look for birds. There is no reason to do this, as first and foremost you are most assuredly walking on private property. Second, you are on private property. Third, you are on private property. Fourth, I'm sure the present birds did not exactly enjoy the company of a very very large, stilt mudwalker.

Wilson's Phalarope - 1 (GOOD views)
Lesser Yellowlegs - 30+
Greater Yellowlegs - 2
Pectoral Sandpiper - 10


C34 POND

Originally fairly densely-packed with a decent variety. Observation of birds takes time as most birds kept to low, dark mud, and they blend in exceptionally well. Less than 10 minutes into our searching/scanning, an immature Peregrine Falcon cruised low from across the road and blasted a yellowlegs. Understandably, almost everything took up off the flats and headed northeast (likely to T81). Even the 10+ Great Egrets looked around as if they had no idea what just 'hit' them.

This pond held more Semipalmated Plovers, many more Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, several dozen Pectoral Sandpipers. Lesser Yellowlegs abundant. THIS POND'S EDGE looks AWESOME for Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

Subject: Bellevue shorebirds 8/14: Buff-breasted, Baird's
From: Kenn K
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:45:39 -0400

This afternoon (Thursday August 14) I made a brief check of some of the
shorebird habitat in flooded fields west of Bellevue, near the Seneca /
Sandusky County line. Numbers and diversity were good, with 14 species and
a few hundred individuals.

On TR 292 just north of the county line, there have been "road closed" signs
for weeks because a large area just south of the railroad tracks is flooded.
This has been a good spot for observation, as we could drive out and park on
the road just before the point where it disappeared underwater. The waters
are receding, and today I saw a few locals driving cautiously across the
flooded area in small minivans as well as larger trucks, but the shorebird
habitat is still excellent and the viewing should continue to be good for a
while. Highlights here were Buff-breasted Sandpiper (a worn adult, but
still beautiful) and two crisp juvenile Baird's Sandpipers. Also present
were Killdeer 50, Semi Plover 40 (adults and juvs), Gr. Yellowlegs 8 (mostly
distant, the two seen well were adults), Lesser Yellowlegs 75 (mostly juvs),
Spotted Sandpiper 3, Semi Sandpiper 20 (mostly juvs), Least Sandpiper 100
(mostly juvs), and Pectoral Sandpiper 50 (those studied closely appeared to
be adults).

On T 80 just south of the county line, the pond (where the stilts had
appeared to be nesting earlier) has receded a lot but had a considerable
number of Mallards, Wood Ducks, and Blue-winged Teal, plus one Am. Black
Duck, a surprise here away from the Lake Erie marshes in summer. I saw only
a few shorebirds here, mostly Killdeer, but I ran into Paul Sherwood and he
told me he had seen a Wilson's Phalarope there earlier.

On C 34 west of T 80, the pond on the north side of the road has receded a
lot, but still had a large concentration of Great Egrets (23) and Great Blue
Herons (9) (what are they eating?). Parking is dicey here because the
shoulders are narrow and I didn't spend a lot of time. Shorebirds here
included Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Pectoral
Sandpiper.

Back north of the county line, on 175 (South Ridge Road) about 2 miles
northeast of its junction with US Highway 20, the large pond on the south
side continues to hold a lot of birds. I saw my only Solitary Sandpipers (2
juvs and one too distant to tell) and only dowitcher (a juv Short-billed)
here, plus a Wilson's Phalarope, and I heard a White-rumped Sandpiper but
never saw it -- perhaps I just heard the flight call of a departing bird.
Lesser Yellowlegs (40), Pectoral Sandpiper (30), Least Sandpiper (50), and
Semi Sandpiper (10) were also represented (obviously these are not exact
numbers, but they're careful estimates).

No sign of the Black-necked Stilts. Paul Sherwood said he hadn't seen them
for several days. Improbable as it might seem, the four seen in Ottawa
County on Tuesday could have been the same four birds from these ponds,
starting to wander.

To anyone who goes to this area, please be courteous to anyone who stops to
ask what you're doing -- the locals have been friendly and interested in all
my encounters. We have to be careful to park in ways that don't block
traffic. And of course, all of these ponds are on private property. If you
leave the road shoulder to approach the ponds, you may scare the birds away,
but more importantly, you'll be trespassing. Let's do what we can to
maintain good relations with the people in this area.

Ken K

Topic: Bellevue: Cattle Egret, Am Golden-Plover
Posted: Aug 16, 2008

Greetings Birders -

These reports are from FRIDAY, Aug 15:

BELLEVUE continues to provide awesome habitat. Kenn's report from the 14th is
more detailed, but here are some additional/updated sightings:

CATTLE EGRET: adult in breeding plumage, 292 (T81 or railroad track ponds).

Baird's Sandpiper: 2 juveniles on 292

American Golden-Plover: One molting adult on T80 pond, with Killdeer

Peregrine Falcon: 2 Juveniles; one on 175 north of Rt 20, one on C34 pond with
amazing dramatic minute-long aerial chase of Lesser Yellowlegs (got away).

NOTES: No dowitchers, no phalaropes, no stilts....

LOCATIONS:

T81/292 (railroad track ponds): Still producing great numbers of birds, mostly
"peeps" and Pectoral Sandpipers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs. Certain patches
here are perfect for Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

T80 Pond (closing in): Small but good mix of birds, more peeps, yellowlegs,
Pectorals.

C34 Pond: mudflats receding, but great number of birds (150+ total).
Unfortunately, pond was dive-bombed by Peregrine before we could get a good
grip on species diversity.

175 Pond, north of Rt. 20: large number of birds (200+). VERY unfortunately,
pond was dive-bombed by Peregrine within minutes of our arrival, again could
not get good grip on species diversity. At least 60+ yellowlegs, many
Pectorals, tons of peeps.

Subject: Sandusky and Erie County
From: Craig C
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:48 -0700

Highlights of several stops -

Sandusky Co, TR 282, flooded area by RR tracks (numbers >10 VERY approximate):

Killdeer - 100
Semipalmated Plover - 30
American Golden-Plover - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs - 30
Least Sandpiper - 100
Pectoral Sandpiper - 5 or so
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 5 or so
Spotted Sandpiper - 2
Buff-breasted Sandpiper - 1
Short-billed Dowitcher - 2

The apparently-regular immature Peregrine came through.

Sandusky Co. TR 175 between TRs 278 and 288 (pond) (no quantities recorded):

Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher

Willow Point SWA (Erie County) - the two ponds northeast of the office (again,
most quantities not recorded):

Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Black-bellied Plover - 1
American Golden-Plover - 1
Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper - 1
Short-billed Dowitcher

Subject: Bellevue 8/22, 16 shorebird species
From: Kenn K
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:25:16 -0400

This afternoon (Friday August 22) I made a quick check of five of the
flooded-field shorebird spots near Bellevue, on the Seneca-Sandusky county
line. Water levels are dropping at all of these spots but numbers of birds
were still high, with a total of 16 shorebird species seen.

Pond north of C34 between T79 and T80, a mile south of the county line: the
water level is a lot lower from last week but the pond still had 163
Killdeer, 71 Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, 4 Pectoral Sandpipers,
2 Short-billed Dowitchers, about 20 Least Sandpipers, and one Baird's
Sandpiper.

Pond on T80, half a mile south of the county line: again, water level is
down, but the pond had a surprising 9 Stilt Sandpipers. Other birds
included 14 Pectoral, one Solitary, 2 Spotted, one Semipalmated, and 28
Least Sandpipers, 41 Killdeer, and 6 Lesser Yellowlegs. One female
Yellow-headed Blackbird was with the starlings and Red-wings on the shore.

Flooded area on both sides of the railroad tracks on T292 (Riddle Rd) just
north of the county line: The "road closed" signs are still there, but
there's no longer any water across the road south of the tracks, and only a
narrow strip across the road north of the tracks. Off to the sides, though,
there is still a very large flooded area, with hundreds of shorebirds
present. When I arrived, Jen Brumfield and a group from Cleveland
Metroparks were just leaving. Jen had checked out the area thoroughly so I
didn't spend a huge amount of time, but there were some nice things there,
including a juv. Wilson's Phalarope, 2 adult Black-bellied Plovers, and
several Semipalmated Plovers. In one section I counted 57 Stilt Sandpipers,
with only two of those being adults, the rest juveniles. A couple of quick
sample counts indicated that there were well over 300 Lesser Yellowlegs and
over 200 Pectoral Sandpipers here, and at least 150 Semipalmated Sandpipers,
surprising considering how few Semis I'd seen at the two previous stops.
The numbers of birds were in stark contrast to their scarcity last Saturday,
when repeated passes by a young Peregrine Falcon apparently had moved some
things out.

Flooded area on 205 (Bonham Rd) between 296 and 288, north of US 20: no
shorebirds here except a few Killdeers and a Solitary. Still a lot of
water. I stop here mostly hoping for something like a Purple Gallinule, not
shorebirds.

Flooded area on 175 (South Ridge Rd) east of 278, or about 2 miles
east-northeast of US 20: Most of the water is gone, but the remaining four
patches of water and the surrounding flats were crowded with birds,
including a beautiful juv Red-necked Phalarope, 5 juv Baird's Sandpipers,
one adult White-rumped Sandpiper, and 3 adult Black-bellied Plovers. Other
birds there were 5 Semipalmated Plovers, 100-plus Killdeer, 4 Spotted
Sandpipers, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, 100-plus Lesser Yellowlegs, 50-plus
Semipalmated Sandpipers, 100-plus Least Sandpipers, 100-plus Pectoral
Sandpipers, 42 Stilt Sandpipers, and 18 Short-billed Dowitchers.

Notes on ages of birds: Lesser Yellowlegs -- mostly juveniles today, but at
least 10 percent were faded adults. Semipalmated Sandpiper -- I saw only
two adults today, so 99 percent of those seen were juveniles. Least
Sandpiper -- at least 95 percent juveniles. White-rumped -- just the one
adult; juvs are fairly late migrants. Baird's -- all 6 seen were juveniles.
Pectoral -- with some of the distant birds I couldn't tell, since the
difference between adults and juveniles is less obvious with Pectoral than
with some other sandpipers; but of the birds seen close, at least 30 percent
were juveniles, the first substantial numbers I'd seen this fall (as with
all of these species, the adults arrive here before the juveniles on
average). Stilt Sandpiper -- two adults for the day, all the rest (106)
were juveniles. Short-billed Dowitcher -- all juveniles.

The numbers and variety are excellent right now, and should continue to be
until the last of the water dries up. I didn't see anything really unusual
today but I expect there's daily turnover, and some of these spots would be
worth checking every day. All of these spots are easy to find by reference
to a DeLorme or some other detailed road atlas.

Ken K

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