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lots are two legged waders- and the birdwatchers that follow them. This year, many of my best looks at birds were - at close range- from a kayak. It is surprising how much tolerance shorebirds have for a person well ensconced within a giant orange plastic bobber.
...Greg Cornet shot some great photos of this Western Sandpiper at Hoover Reservoir in late October. Western Sandpipers and Dunlins are some of the later fall migrants to pass through Ohio on their southerly route.
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Saturday we floated along with three Dunlins who were foraging on a sandbar mudflat at Pleasant Hill Lake near Mohican State Forest. Many species can be targeted simply by the habitat they prefer. Both Dunlins and Westerns tend to hang out on moist mudflats, where one might also expect to find Pectoral Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers or Common Snipe.
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Today at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, the shallow water along the drive held good numbers for Canada Geese and various ducks. I was intrigued by the 4 Sandhill Cranes peeking out of the taller grasses in the back. Often I hear folks criticize DOW or the Feds for "only managing for ducks." But if it is good for ducks, other species benefit as well. Even mudflats covered with 2-4 inches of water will attract shorebirds; they are just more difficult to see! Fly a Peregrine Falcon over and you soon find out how many were hiding in that stubble!
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Ottawa NWR hosted Mark Shieldcastle of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory for an informative program on Shorebird Monitoring and the management of wetlands. It was a scientific look at the habitat needs and preferences of migrating shorebirds, and the management portion is much more complex than it looks to be!
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Mudflats are a fickle habitat, in need of constant rotation. What provides excellent habitat one year, may be poor habitat the next. And not too surprising, much of it is based on vegetation. Vegetation has in important role in feeding the invertebrates, which in turn feeds the shorebirds. It is a complex cycle of drying and flooding at the proper times to encourage specific species.
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Why am I not surprised that botany plays a huge role?...
This close-up photo, a mudflat covered in emergent vegetation, was taken at Hoover Reservoir a couple of years ago. The minute pink flowers of Sessile Tooth-cup (Ammannia robusta) would barely be notable, unless you were on your knees admiring all those micro-sedges no bigger than a dime. And yes, I got muddy.
...It is a fascinating world of wet- and one I hope to delve much deeper into understanding. The intricate relationships between invertebrates, mud and plants that makes finding the birds all the more interesting!
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Hope you enjoyed the balmy weekend weather long enough to visit some mudflats and the of the last of 2010's migrant shorebirds. Like old friends, we will really miss them when they are gone.
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