Katherine Payne of Morgantown and I visited the reservoir this
morning. The gate at the end of Old Morgantown Road on the west side
of the reservoir north of Friendsville is still locked, so we had to
walk out nearly 3/4 mile to the north to get to the existing mudflats,
where we found:
Killdeer--47
Spotted Sandpiper--4
Lesser Yellowlegs--3
Solitary Sandpiper--1
Least Sandpiper--10. Most at limit of scope range, so there could have
been some other peeps mixed in.
Pectoral Sandpiper--5
Other birds of note:
Canada Goose--55
Wood Duck--78
Mallard--40
Great Blue Heron--3
Green Heron--2
Bald Eagle--1 adult
Belted Kingfisher--8, with 5 along the trail south of Old Morgantown Road
Eastern Pewee--3, 1 north and 2 south of same road
Common Raven--2
Note: The exposed floor of the reservoir north of Old Morgantown Road
is completely vegetated for over a half-mile to the north contrary to
past years where the vegetation extended only half as far. I presume
the hot dry conditions of this summer led to that area not being
covered with water, allowing the vegetation to proliferate. Indeed,
near the end of Old Morgantown Road that vegetation is over 2 feet
high and the vehicle ruts are barely discernible.
--
Terry Bronson
Morgantown, WV
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