Fox Sparrows, Ducks, and Woodcocks - Those were the popular birds I saw last Saturday afternoon and evening, March 22. The weather Saturday afternoon was partly cloudy with temps around 50.

On the drive out, I saw three Bald Eagles sitting on the ground in a field near the Bono curve -- one Adult, two Imm. I saw a few American Kestrels sitting on the wires. I arrived at the boardwalk at Magee around 4:00 P.M. I made a quick walk around the boardwalk. Near the west entrance, I saw at least 25 Fox Sparrows (conservative estimate). They were singing and scratching on the ground. Multiple times I had four or five in the same field of view. Nice bird. Nothing else really on the boardwalk. No Golden-crowned Kinglets. I didn't try real hard. I was mainly there for the Fox Sparrows, which didn't disappoint.

The water in the marsh by the nature center was still mostly frozen. Lake Erie looked slushy to mostly frozen, with some large ice flows or formations. (The borrow pits along the highway ranged from open to completely frozen.) The streams were open. There was a lot of water in the farm fields, and most contained a few ducks. The Crane Creek parking lot was open. Those big walls of snow that existed the previous weekend, blocking off parts of the parking lot, no longer existed.

There were a lot of American Coots along the causeway at Magee. Also present were Scaup, Hooded Mergs, Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Pied-billed Grebe, Am. Wigeon, Great Blue Heron. I saw an American Tree Sparrow by the nature center. I drove into Ottawa to checkout the ducks in the water bordering the entrance. While there, a flock of 14 Sandhill Cranes flew toward me from the northeast. They circled overhead, then flew to the southwest. Some of the cranes sounded off. In the water at Ottawa there were several Northern Shovelers (8+ males) and a couple female Buffleheads.

Along Lickert-Harder road, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk and a few Horned Larks. I stopped at the Bono curve, if that's the curve where the entrance to Metzger meets Rt. 2. I was viewing the flooded field on the other side of Rt. 2. The water and birds were next to 2, so I had good views. There were several more Shovelers (11+ males), Am. Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, and Green-winged Teal. I don't see Green-winged Teal very often.

I then drove to Irwin Prairie, arriving at 6:30 P.M. More Fox Sparrows were singing. The sky was mostly clear at sunset. I entered the preserve and stood near Irwin Rd. The first "peent" begin at 6:56. Shortly after 7, I heard Woodcock flying. I watched three Woodcock in the low light. They were tough to see, but fun to listen to. I wish they started a little earlier. Between Irwin Rd and the parking lot, I identified at least a dozen different Woodcock "peenting".