April: Following Nature's Ups and Downs

April's annual weather roller coaster was marked with record highs -- with the better part of a week pushing into the 80s (even upper 80s) -- and then near record lows (with 6" of snowfall on April 20/21 in southern portions of Erie County). But things stayed plenty active on and around the marsh.

The stately parental pair of "our eagles" standing guard on their bayfront nest.

Roy witnessed a very unusual drama playing out at our eagle nest on our Sandusky Bay shoreline. It all started the afternoon after an arctic blast interrupted what was starting to feel like early summer. While the marsh itself did not get any accumulating snow (due to the lake and bay warming into the 50s), the abrupt change may have upset the balance at the eagle nursery in the sky. 

An unexpected intruder to the nest on April 21.

Even if it wasn't the weather, it was a third eagle (above) that tipped us off that something was amiss. While the proud parents were reluctant to do so, Roy watched as they relented to the persistent intruder, ultimately giving up their rightful spots on the nest to take up agitated perches on a nearby cottonwood tree. Roy's first instinct was that he might be witnessing a rare golden eagle predating on fledgling bald eagle chicks.

A close-up of the intruder's heavy bill helped to confirm its identity.

But with the help of a telephoto lens (even in strong bayside winds) we could confirm that Roy was looking at a two- or maybe more likely three-year-old immature baldie. And its presence did not bode well for the welfare of the young eaglets.

While it is difficult to make out what the immature eagle was scavenging on, we feared the worst for the success of the eagle nest -- one of three at the marsh at present.

A lack of activity on the nest since a day or two after the "invasion" makes it clear that this particular brood was unsuccessful. Since bald eagles aren't known (to our knowledge) to predate on their own nests, its our hunch that the eaglets simply perished, perhaps due to bad timing of weather extremes. And is nature is prone to do, the immature eagle (very possibly the offspring of the nesting adults) was just making sure nothing went to waste.

More green in the Rest Pond -- largely broadleaf cattail and soft-stemmed bulrush -- is an indication that things are at least
trending toward warmer and brighter.

New growth through last year's decay.

Roy could only manage to scramble for his smartphone to capture this passing group of nearly three dozen American white pelicans.
Since I first wrote about them in May of 2017, we've seen them sporadically, each spring. It's fun every time.

April wasn't all just wildlife watching -- it also marked the beginning of Roy's labor intensive and relentless annual assault on invasive species.
First target victim: poison hemlock.

Three Birds of Note: Ibis & Pelicans

This glossy ibis was one of four that visited the millet late last week. By Saturday morning, they were accompanied by an equally rare relative, a pair of white-faced ibis.

Birding is all about timing. Right place, right time. And speaking of time, I just haven't had much to report on several exciting visitors over the last several days. But before I do, some backstory . . .

Millet by Thursday afternoon
(note egrets in mud to right of channel,click to enlarge)

Last Thursday, we started the West pump in an effort to expose more "mud" in what was 40-acres of millet last fall. We were at a tipping point. What might have been 4-8" of water over 20 acres to start the day shrunk to maybe half as much water over half as much area over the course of the entire day of moving water.

Our goal in pumping this unit at this point in the season is to expose more soil to direct sunlight because even a few inches of water can prevent the germination of the desirable vegetation we are trying to promote. It's somewhat of a cat and mouse game with precipitation.

This stage of a drawdown tends to be pretty dynamic -- not only in terms of the change in water levels, but in how the wildlife responds. I unfortunately couldn't be there myself, but Roy tells me that by early afternoon, the dwindling water was simultaneously visited by 146 great egrets (he counted!) and four individuals that literally had cars pulling over on the Route 2 overpass. Glossy ibis are known for their curved bills and their propensity to East Coast living. This burgundy to black wader looks like something out of Dr. Seuss, and it typically resides along the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to Florida, into the Caribbean and even Central and South America. But according to the ODNR, this species may not make it into Ohio for multiple years at a time, so seeing four at once (three in one blurry camera frame) was pretty exciting!

Eager bird watchers (apparently alert even when driving by at 65 mph) congregated on the shoulder of our exit with spotting scopes from Thursday until Saturday morning -- when the ibis ultimately pulled out. Fresh rains pushed the water up another few inches, making a mealtime dip uncomfortable even for the larger egrets. [They are like walking staff gauges; great egrets only like water <6" deep, while great blue herons will frequent water up to 12" deep.]

But before the rains fell, one particularly enthusiastic and seasoned birder from Cincinnati confirmed Roy's hunch. Four ibis had become six, and the last two to join the party were an even rarer visitor, the strikingly similar white-faced ibis. The two share feeding behaviors, and both apparently like to wander far afield of their typical range. The white-faced is widely distributed west of the Mississippi, and even takes up year-round residence in mid- to southern South America. Unfortunately for us, they don't like to have their pictures taken!

Documented on "East Medusa Marsh"
through former site Aves.net

One final birding note worth noting: as we closed up shop for the evening today, we were treated to a flyby from three of the biggest birds one can see in Ohio: the American white pelican. With a wingspan up to 9.5', they are tough to miss, but again, they are not a common sight in the Buckeye State. I have come across historical photo evidence that they have been documented on our East Marsh in the past. While they seemed to give it a look (breaking their wings to interrupt their telltale glide), they apparently had their minds set on something even further east -- even further from their typical range.

Pretty neat stuff.