Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pickerel Creek WA borders U.S. 6 along Sandusky Bay about seven miles northeast of Fremont. On the fourth accompanying map Pickerel Creek WA is bordered on the north by Sandusky Bay and on the south by U.S. 6, and it extends east-west from just west of Ohio 510 to just east of county road 268. To get to Pickerel Creek from Ottawa NWR or Crane Creek State Park, take Ohio 2 to Ohio 19 just east of Crane Creek. Take 19 south to Fremont (17 miles) and then connect to U.S. 6 east via U.S. 20. Continue seven miles on U.S. 6 to Pickerel Creek and another two miles to the observation tower. If you are going to Pickerel Creek from southeast Michigan and want to skip Ottawa and Crane Creek, a much more direct route is to take I-75 south from Toledo and get off onto U.S. 20 just east of Perrysburg. U.S. 20 will then take you southeast 30 miles to Fremont. Take U.S. 6 east to Pickerel Creek. Look for the observation tower beside the road. The good shorebirding area at Pickerel Creek is reached by walking dikes more or less north from the observation tower. (First, look over the area from up on the observation tower.) Specifically, take the path north from the right side of the tower, take the first left, then the next right, and shorebirds are good from there for several hundred yards. Since you will be looking primarily to the east when viewing the birds, light conditions will be much better after noon than in the morning. ------------ Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:36:06 -0400 From: sparksjackson@aol.com Subject: Pickerel Ck Closure, Willow Pt. Am. Avocet, more 8/29 To: ohio-birds@envirolink.org The Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area between Fremont and Sandusky is currently closed for duck hunting as of last Friday. The staff was very kind, but made it clear that it is now the hunters' turn to enjoy the facility. Fair enough. I didn't think to ask when the current "Teal Season" ends. As a consolation prize, the Pickerel Creek staff directed me towards Willow Point Fish Work Unit, just east of the Pickerel Creek complex (signs off rte 6). This open-year-round facility is quite a bit smaller, but held a couple really nice surprises, nonetheless: 12+ Snowy Egrets 1 American Avocet 4 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 (presumably SB) Dowitcher (Sorry; I was too busy enjoying the Avocet to properly i.d. this bird.) The shorebird habitat in both facilities has been pretty well inundated by the recent rains. The Avocet was last seen at 4:45 PM in the southern cell of the diked complex just east of the Willow Point FWU buildings. To reach this area, park in the lot in front of the large garage, making sure to obey parking restrictions (don't block the drive or access to the buildings). On foot, bear right around the eastern side of the large garage. Follow the sometime gravel, sometimes grassy, two-track up and onto the dike on your right. Proceed just a little further to the central E/W causeway dike between the two eastern cells. The Avocet was associating loosely with the Snowy Egrets towards the east (far) end of the south cell. A Willow Point site map can be obtained at the Pickerel Creek HQ. Additionally, I birded Magee Marsh Boardwalk early this AM. I saw 18 warbler species of the 19 recorded in Mary Warren's earlier post, all found at boardwalk marker #5, near the west entrance to the boardwalk). A very localized fallout ("smallout?"). The rest of the boardwalk was snoozy -- mostly Icterids & Veeries. Thanks goes to Mary for posting this info much earlier than I could've. One question still remains: how in the heck did I dip on the Common Yellowthroat? I rounded out the day at Oak Openings Metropark West of Toledo. Quiet evening except for the gang of noisy immature Red Headed Woodpeckers and a duo of Olive-Sided Flycatchers vying for airspace. These birds were all see in the snags located south of the W/C Bike Trail, east of Girdham Road. I accessed this area via the sandy trail at the north end of the dune/prairie area behind the split rail fence. Joyous migration! Dan Sparks-Jackson Chelsea, MI