10 April 2015 Western Basin Birding

We try to set aside on day each April to visit Sheldon Marsh to look for birds. Today we had the opportunity to make a few additional stops. Old Woman Creek is a tough place for images. It is a great place for birding, but often the birds are off in the distance and hard to capture. This morning we were not helped by a stiff wind that made keeping the camera stable a daunting task. We were happy to see a number of great egrets and great blue herons. We were also pleased to see an immature bald eagle on downed trees in the water. It moved around a couple times while we were watching, but did not appear to have any success fishing.

We made a stop at the beach in Huron to find two caches hidden along the breakwall. We were surprised walking along the beach to spot a flotilla of ducks on the water. Once we reached the breakwall, we surrounded by birds Ali quickly identified as kinglets. A few good images confirmed they were golden-crowned kinglets. The ducks and varieties were plentiful. Near the end of our walk they were joined by a great blue heron fishing the surf along the beach. During this walk, the winds began to die down, the sun came out, and the day got much warmer. This is springtime in Ohio?

Our path to the caches along the breakwall

Gave us views of golden-crowned kinglets...

And lots of ducks.

Our next stop was Sheldon Marsh. By now the day was amazing. Sheldon Marsh is usually a certain spot for egrets and great blues herons, but today was different. We spotted one egret far out of camera range and a shy heron hidden in the grasses. We were able to spot dozens of turtles which always seem to be a part our visit.

Whistling swans in the pond on the golf course side of the were an unusual site today. We've seen them once before at Chapman State Park. Today they were spending time on their journey north.

A red tail hawk passing overhead

Greater scaups on the Lake Erie side of Sheldon Marsh

Spotting a brown creeper on our walk through the woods was an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Our last stop was at Eagle Point. We've often seen eagles at this viewing area. This year we spotted one a far distance away, but none in camera range, Instead we were able to spot the egret below on a fishing expedition.

A heron arrived as our last bird view of a fun day.

Our last stop was a visit to Tofts in Sandusky for ice cream. :)