[birdky] Waterfowl Survey

I flew my first waterfowl survey of the season today.  My survey route
covers much of north eastern Kentucky.  Conditions were good with overcast
skies and intermittent snow showers.  Wetland areas are mostly dry with
water only in deep water lakes/ponds and rivers.

Cave Run Lake had much fewer waterfowl than I saw last year.  Ducks were
mostly gadwall (~400) with a few mallards mixed in.  There were a few groups
of bufflehead and a good number of hooded mergansers around the lake, but no
other divers were seen.  The best waterfowl in the lake was a group of
swans.  They were not mutes, but from the air distinguishing between tundra
and trumpeter swans is beyond my ability.  There were 2 adult and 2 juvenile
swans.  To make up for the lack of ducks, there were good numbers of gulls.
I counted more than 200 Bonaparte's gulls and more than 100 ring-billed
gulls.  There was also a loon on the lake (unknown species).

From Cave Run Lake I hit Grayson Lake and Yatesville lake with not too much
to see on these lakes.  We then flew to Ashland and flew down the Ohio
toward Cincinati.  There were several hunderd black ducks, a little over 100
mallards and a couple scattered groups of buffleheads.  There was a
remarkable lack of waterfowl diversity compared to past years.  The Ohio
River was lower than I have seen it in the last couple years.  The best
waterfowl seen on the Ohio River was a group of 10 white-winged scoters
(~1/2 were adult males).  They were ~.5 miles east from where the Cioto
River empties into the Ohio River.  In addition to waterfowl, there were a
couple other interesting birds.  There were 8 bald eagles in the stretch.
There were also good numbers of gulls on the river.  The first lock/dam west
of Ashland had >500 gulls (all I could see was Bonies and ringers but more
could be there).  There were also more than 100 cormorants on the river.
One last bird of interest was a great egret ~1 mile east of the second dam
along the river

Hopefully a few more ducks will be around by my next flight on the 15th.

John

-- 
John H. Brunjes
Frankfort, KY

Other related posts: