Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area 5/13--Marsh Wren

Photo: Shari Zirlin

 On Monday we headed east toward Sandusky Bay, a little south of Port Clinton, to bird the Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area. It was still cold in the morning. We got off to a rousing start there when around the office we found a startlingly bright Prothonotary Warbler. The refuge is spread out along Highway 6. Our first stop after the office was a nice observation platform overlooking the marsh. Unfortunately, not much was there aside from a hen Hooded Merganser, a good find in the Spring. The area I really wanted to see is called Boggy Bottoms, a little to the west. One of the rangers showed me where it was on the map and where to park but they don't make the parking obvious and we drove right by until the paved road turned to dirt (not a big deal, happens all the time around the Pine Barrens) and the dirt road lead to a wooden bridge that looked none too stable. We were turning the car around when the landowner drove up and informed us nicely, but with a certain gruffness, that we had long passed Boggy Bottoms and were on private land. He told us to go back about a mile and park by the old white barn. Everything along that road looked like an old barn and white means "not red" out there, but we doubled back and found the spot.

Old White Barn
Photo: Shari Zirlin

By the old white barn I saw a Brown Thrasher fly by and go into a tree. Now there's an occasion--me seeing a thrasher before Shari does. It's a little thing but I was quite pleased.

We had to go under a locked metal gate and walk along a path next to a plowed field for about 3/4 of a mile before we sighted water. Along the way we were seeing orioles and flycatchers and we saw our first Northern Harrier of the trip hunting in the field.

Boggy Bottoms

Once we got out there the birding
started to get a little more interesting. We saw shovelers and wigeons, ducks that would not be in NJ this time of year, and a couple of Trumpeter Swans. Trumpeter Swans are aptly named--they really do sound like trumpets, albeit very badly played trumpets--it is like listening to a beginners group of horn players warming up.

There were a few Dunlin, a few yellowlegs, one Killdeer making a racket and when it flew off, I finally heard a Marsh Wren, out on the bottoms, far enough away from most distracting noises.

Trumpeter Swans
Photo: Shari Zirlin

By now it was starting to warm up. For the first time since we got out there it really seemed like Spring. We had 47 species before lunch--not bad for knocking around a strange area for the first time.

Canada Goose  100
Trumpeter Swan  2
Gadwall  15
American Wigeon  4
Mallard  5
Northern Shoveler  10
Hooded Merganser  1    Observation deck
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Great Blue Heron  4
Great Egret  6
Northern Harrier  1
Bald Eagle  4
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Killdeer  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  5
Dunlin  5
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2    Heard
Eastern Phoebe  1
Eastern Kingbird  3
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  5
Tree Swallow  10
Barn Swallow  10
Marsh Wren  1    Heard
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  5
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  2
Ovenbird  1    Heard
Prothonotary Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  5
Yellow Warbler  5
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  1
White-crowned Sparrow  10
Northern Cardinal  2
Bobolink  2
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Common Grackle  10
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Orchard Oriole  1
Baltimore Oriole  1
American Goldfinch  2