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from 07:50 to 11:50 I visited most every access point to Lake Ellsworth ( Mileage = 27 )
The lake was rimmed in ice making for some interesting photo opportunities, but this proved just a back drop to another large flock of geese that spent much of the morning moving around various fields. These I largely ignored, keeping to a census of watefowl on the lake, until I came across several fields with geese just north of Cove Acres on the lake's east side. After taking in the bulk of the roughly 6000 geese already in the fields around the intersection of NE Happy Hollow Rd and NE King Rd, I went a few hundred yards toward the lake along King Rd. There I spent the next 30 minutes (10:30 to 11:00 am) counting wave after wave of white geese which proceeded to settle in a half mile to the north. These broke down as 420 Snows and 7 Ross's Geese. Again, much of the goose flocks were photographed for documentation (and as a verification tool in estimating flock sizes). Here is the morning's tally for Lake Ellsworth:
Canada Goose (all forms) - 14,000
Greater White-fronted Goose - 235
Snow Goose - 565 (includes 19 blue morph)
Ross's Goose - 7
Gadwall - 410
Wood Duck - 18
(cove at end of NE King Rd on west side)
Mallard - 1565
Northern Pintail - 66
Northern Shoveler - 68
American Wigeon - 74
Green-winged Teal - 230
Redhead - 3
Lesser Scaup - 93
Ring-necked Duck - 67
Bufflehead - 17
Common Merganser - 7
Hooded Merganser - 38
Pied-billed Grebe - 1
Great Blue Heron - 13
American White Pelican - 78 (resting on island N of dam)
Double-crested Cormorant - 680
American Coot - 197
Killdeer - 2
Least Sandpiper - 15 (near Fisherman's Cove boat ramp)
Wilson's Snipe - 3 (where EW149 Rd meets the lake)
Ring-billed Gull - 7000
(with the wind chill and iced-in coves I almost
got the sense I was back gulling on Lake Erie)
Other notables:
an American Pipit was keeping company with the Least Sandpipers.
an adult Red-shouldered Hawk was perched at the bridge over Tony Creek (on Tony Creek Rd.) 4 miles west of Fletcher.
all around good songbird variety, especially around Cove Acres (a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers for example).
the only Golden-crowned Kinglet and Swamp Sparrows (4) on the day were at the Wood Duck site (see above).
cheers
Vic Fazio
Shaker Hts, OH
Page established 13 January 2006