PUBLICATIONS

Publication TYPE: Ohio-birds listserv posting
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 08:26:30 -0500
Subject: Sandusky Bay Region

Sandusky Bay Region, Ottawa & Erie Counties Ohio

Once on the mainland yesterday afternoon, I made some brief stops ..

  
Port Clinton - 2:30 pm
- failed to locate either the Snow Goose, the hybrid, or the Cackling Geese;
  the Canada Geese were once again spread out the length of the Port Clinton
frontage.


Medusa / Bay View - 3:00 pm
- Mute Swan numbers were up (but as I did not visit East Harbor these may
simply have been a displacement) with 30 birds present. The Barrett Rd. pool
held a variety of waterfowl dominated by Gadwalll plus a few wigeon, shoveler,
Ruddy Ducks, a half dozen pintails, and 62 hooded Mergansers. Only
16 Great Blue Herons to be seen (prior mild seasons have had 100+
remain into January so where are they?).


Castalia Pond - 3:30 pm
- nothing new here ... very few birds in keeping with the mild weather.

 
Turning Point Island - 4:00 pm
- a single Great Blue Heron but NO night-herons as was the case last
winter. My
excitement over the half-dozen cormorants at Port Clinton and 4 at Bay View
was premature as on the adjacent breakwall to the Shelby Boat Basin (
the main viewing point for Turning Point Island) were 177 resting birds.
 

Huron Harbor - 4:30 pm
- in fading light, it was apparent the gull numbers here are finally
increasing.
Poor visibility precluded a count, but I'd ballpark the numbers at 22-24,000
Ring-billeds and 3 to 4000 Herring Gulls; the latter number more telling as
concerns the chances one of the more interesting larger gulls may be 
around.

cheers

Vic Fazio
Shaker Hts, OH