Seven Avid Birders met at the  Worthington Mall at 5:30 am to begin our quest for waterfowl, gulls, geese and grebes in the lightly birded areas of Lima and Findlay. After a quick breakfast at the Russell Point McDonalds, we headed to Oldfield Beach at Indian Lake. (In traditional Avids fashion, a U-turn was required.) We watched a lovely sunrise over the mist covered lake — but the lake was essentially devoid of birds except for a few Mallards. The beach was a slight improvement, as a flock of resting gulls revealed the small, medium, and large gulls common to Ohio. OK, for those who want specifics: Bonaparte’s, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. A half dozen Killdeer were also spotted along the waters edge.
Our next stop was some farm ponds, on which former Avids trips reported five kinds of geese. For us, there were only a few dozen Canada Geese, but we enjoyed Horned Larks on the road. We continued to the St Mary’s Fish Hatchery in our quest for elusive waterfowl. Very few birds here either: a few Ring–necked Ducks, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, and more Killdeer.
Bressler Reservoir was our next stop and we were relieved to see a nice assortment of waterfowl, including Canvasbacks, Redheads, Gadwall, Pied-billed Grebes, and American Coots. We reconnected with the rest of the group, and had point blank looks at a very photogenic, Long-tailed Duck, right at the waters edge. Then we spotted a second Long-tailed Duck! We drove to the other side of the reservoir and the Long-tailed Ducks followed. While we were there, another birder reported Black Scoters, which we also located. Several observers said these were life birds for them. And with all this, the sun was shining and temperatures were in the low 50s, very pleasant for November.
Our final reservoir of the day was Findlay, where we stopped after having a quick lunch of fast food. Ring-billed Gulls abounded on the water and the trails. We were able to pick out a half dozen Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Walking along the top of the reservoir we saw a flock of Snow Buntings. The group took over 300 photographs of the 20 birds that flew around us, moving back and forth between the rocks and the path. These also were life birds for several in the group. We finally pulled ourselves away to go searching for owls.
On arriving at Killdeer Plains, we saw our first Bald Eagles of the day.  A Ring-necked Pheasant taunted us, refusing to flush so we could see him. We walked through the owl grove, but were unable to locate any owls. We walked along the road by where the stables used to be, seeing several Northern Harriers as the Super Moon was rising. A Wilson’s Snipe flew overhead. As darkness approached we were able to observe at least three Short-eared Owls in flight. We also had great looks at one owl perched in a low shrub.
We totaled 52 species for the day. Great birders, great birds. Here’s our species list:
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Redhead
Gadwall
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring Necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Coopers Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Wilson’s Snipe
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
American Pipit
Snow Bunting
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow