Who would have thought one small location would provide such a variety of birds just days apart. On a recent trip to Ohio, we stopped by Saint Marys State Fish Hatchery three times in one week with widely varying results. St. Marys Fish Hatchery is located on over 150 acres in western Auglaize County on the eastern shore of Grand Lake St. Marys. The hatchery has 26 ponds containing a total of 43 water acres. Prior to our visit, BirdsEye showed a recent siting of a Baird’s Sandpiper so we detoured slightly on our way to Mom’s.
In past visits, we’ve seen LOTS of Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gulls and Mallards. On Wednesday, all but 2 of the ponds had been drained. As we came in the back entrance, we saw many birds. It took us a while to realize that many of the birds were Mourning Doves…no wonder there was a designated parking spot for dove hunters! There were swallows swooping everywhere….but what kind? Dean snapped away with his camera but swallows are hard to get clear pictures. The Birdseye had reported Bank Swallows (which I needed for the year) but we couldn’t identify any. We were able to ID Barn Swallows and a larger number of Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Killdeer were everywhere. Shorebirds were enjoying the mud bottoms of the empty ponds and we were able to identify Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, and Lesser Yellowlegs but no Baird’s Sandpiper. When I told my South Carolina friends what we saw, the question was….Shorebirds in Northwestern Ohio? Yep! We also saw a low 75 Canada Goose for this location. 14 Mallards, 30 Ring-billed Gulls and 50 European Starlings were also seen. More Blue-winged Teal than normally seen were there with the Mallards.
I continued to check BirdsEye and the Baird’s Sandpiper was continued to be seen by others so we returned on Friday. To our surprise, all but 3 of the ponds were now full! Only 19 Canada Goose and 12 Mallard. We don’t know where the swallows went because there were only a handful of each. Even more Mourning Doves were present and lots of Killdeer. 20 Turkey Vultures were kettling overhead. Belted Kingfisher, Forster Terns, and 4 Bonaparte’s Gull were also seen….but no Baird’s Sandpiper. A rather slow day at the fish hatchery.
On Sunday, we decided to try one more time. 50 Mallard on that day and 100 European Starlings and only 7 Mourning Dove. No Turkey Vultures or Blue-winged Teals. Amazing, only 3 Canada Goose and 4 Killdeer. Since no workers would be present, we decided to focus on the larger upper ponds which were still dry. Jackpot! Foraging in the mud at bottom of the “dry” pond was the Baird’s Sandpiper. We even saw the Red Knot that had been reported the previous day. Hanging out with the shorebirds was a Horned Lark.
So 3 different days, 3 different birding experiences. I can’t explain why the numbers of Canada Goose, Mallards, Killdeer and Mourning Doves varied so greatly. The differing water levels in the ponds and perseverance helped to increase my species count. I can’t leave this discussion without mentioning this is usually the spot I visit to get my yearly sighting of American Tree Sparrows. In December 2023, I had my life bird of Greater White-fronted Goose who was hanging out with over 200 Canada Goose….the DNR worker was able to tell me exactly which pond it usually visits. In December 2021, a Trumpeter Swan was reported. I “chased” these last two birds after seeing the report on BirdsEye. Definitely a favorite tool when I travel.
Submitted by: Judy Morr
Photos by: Dean Morr
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