I went camping at Penland Lake in the Blue Mountains in Morrow County for
the last 2 nights. It's a beautiful spot (elevation 4200') with a few
campsites right on the lake. We had both some good sightings and some
interesting ones.
The highlight for me was my life Dusky Grouse, seen on the Bald Mountain
Loop hike (trailhead at Cutsforth Park), about 1/2 mile from the top. We
didn't see it before flushing it when we were only about 10 feet away. It
flew right by us and it was both very startling and very exciting. We also
got to see 2 Ruffed Grouse at other locations near Penland Lake.
On Friday night a Great Blue Heron kept calling periodically long after the
sun set. It would call every 20-30 minutes and we last heard it about
9:30PM. We then went to sleep and so I don't know if it kept on calling.
Having not camped right by a lake in a very long time, I'm not sure if this
is unusual or normal behavior for them.
Another surprise was hearing a Greater Yellowlegs calling while flying
across the lake about 7:30PM when it was completely dark.
It would up being a good spot for owls- we heard a Great Horned Friday
night and a Northern Pygmy-owl this morning shortly after dawn. I find
Gray Jays always fun and several came by our campsite. The lake had about
6 Western Grebes, 2 Pied-billed Grebes and 1 Horned Grebe as well as
Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeon and American Coots. A somewhat late
Osprey was still around.
Andy Frank
