The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, Steve Pollick column: Tundra swans the talk of Ottawa County.

Byline: Steve Pollick

Jan. 19--Tundra swans have become real car-stoppers in western Ottawa County, turning up in such numbers that it has kept the outdoors desk's telephone ringing and the e-mail address full.

As many as 2,000 to 3,000 of the birds are wintering here. Hundreds daily are piling into corn stubblefields along State Rt. 163, west of Elliston-Trowbridge Road, about four miles east of Genoa. Afternoons appear to be the best time to view the birds.

"This is what we would expect to see in November," said Mark Shieldcastle, the state's head waterfowl biologist based at Crane Creek Research Station north of Oak Harbor. "There is no reason for them to go any farther [south]," he explained. "We've got open water and places to feed. Migration is expensive."

Adult tundra swans are white with black legs and feet and black bills. They are roughly twice the size of familiar Canada geese, with wingspans to seven feet. The geese have four to five-foot wingspans, depending on race. The swans weigh roughly 16 pounds.

Juvenile birds are brownish gray with darker heads and necks, flesh-colored feet and pinkish bills with black tips. Adults, however, also may appear off-color, even sooty, depending on where and what they have been eating.

The species breeds and summers in arctic and sub-arctic coastal zones and usually winters on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The abnormally mild winter here, however, has allowed them to shortstop their southbound migration, so they do not have to spend any more energy than necessary.

"They seem to prefer an overcast day," said Lloyd Fisher Jr., of Oak Harbor, who sees them as early as noon and who is fascinated by the sight. "I have been able to see small flights of swans heading into the larger gathering in flight over the highway."

"They're just magnificent," says Kim Danes, of Rossford, who has watched the great white waterfowl by the hundreds while visiting in the county, her home grounds. She has been seeing the gatherings about 4 p.m. "When they're in flight they're just magnificent."

John Hageman, manager of Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory at Put-in-Bay, has been seeing swans along Route 163 just east of Nissen Road during mainland trips. The birds are congregating in stubblefields there too.

"I saw them on Friday around sunset, probably 300-plus, then again the next morning, but only 30 or 40 at that time of day. It's a field I've seen migrating swans use for many years," Hageman said.

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Fly fishing clinics for adults and youths at the half-mile section of Cold Creek at Castalia State Fish Hatchery in Erie County are being offered by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

A lottery is being held for 135 adult slots for morning and afternoon sessions on Fridays between April 27 and June 1. Deadline for entering is April 2. In addition to instruction the sessions will allot time to fish for rainbow trout in Cold Creek.

To apply send a postcard with name, address, and telephone number and mail it to: Ohio Division of Wildlife District 2, 952 Lima Ave., Findlay, Ohio 45840. Attention: Linda Keesecker.

Anglers can bring a guest but must list the guest's name on the postcard entry. Only one entry is allowed, and successful applicants will be notified about session time and date. Permits cannot be transferred.

In addition a youth-only clinic is set for June 8, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fifteen slots are available by lottery drawing. To apply send a postcard with name, age, address, and telephone number by May 1 to: Ohio Division of Wildlife District 2, 952 Lima Ave., Findlay, Ohio 45840. Attention: Youth fly fishing clinic.

No duplicate entries are allowed, and applicants must be age 15 or under and accompanied by a nonfishing adult.

For other details on either program, visit on-line www.ohiodnr.com or call 1-800-WILDLIFE. Castalia Hatchery is located off State Rt. 269 near the village of Castalia.

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Boating, fishing, and personal watercraft and marine and fishing equipment will be on display at the 2007 Fun Afloat Boat Show scheduled to begin next Friday through Jan. 28 at the Erie Street Market, 237 South Erie St. next to the Libbey Glass Outlet.

Hours for next weekend's show will be noon to 8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer

E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com

Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick

Copyright (c) 2007, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, Steve Pollick column: Tundra swans the talk of Ottawa County.

Byline: Steve Pollick

Jan. 19--Tundra swans have become real car-stoppers in western Ottawa County, turning up in such numbers that it has kept the outdoors desk's telephone ringing and the e-mail address full.

As many as 2,000 to 3,000 of the birds are wintering here. Hundreds daily are piling into corn stubblefields along State Rt. 163, west of Elliston-Trowbridge Road, about four miles east of Genoa. Afternoons appear to be the best time to view the birds.

"This is what we would expect to see in November," said Mark Shieldcastle, the state's head waterfowl biologist based at Crane Creek Research Station north of Oak Harbor. "There is no reason for them to go any farther [south]," he explained. "We've got open water and places to feed. Migration is expensive."

Adult tundra swans are white with black legs and feet and black bills. They are roughly twice the size of familiar Canada geese, with wingspans to seven feet. The geese have four to five-foot wingspans, depending on race. The swans weigh roughly 16 pounds.

Juvenile birds are brownish gray with darker heads and necks, flesh-colored feet and pinkish bills with black tips. Adults, however, also may appear off-color, even sooty, depending on where and what they have been eating.

The species breeds and summers in arctic and sub-arctic coastal zones and usually winters on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The abnormally mild winter here, however, has allowed them to shortstop their southbound migration, so they do not have to spend any more energy than necessary.

"They seem to prefer an overcast day," said Lloyd Fisher Jr., of Oak Harbor, who sees them as early as noon and who is fascinated by the sight. "I have been able to see small flights of swans heading into the larger gathering in flight over the highway."

"They're just magnificent," says Kim Danes, of Rossford, who has watched the great white waterfowl by the hundreds while visiting in the county, her home grounds. She has been seeing the gatherings about 4 p.m. "When they're in flight they're just magnificent."

John Hageman, manager of Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory at Put-in-Bay, has been seeing swans along Route 163 just east of Nissen Road during mainland trips. The birds are congregating in stubblefields there too.

"I saw them on Friday around sunset, probably 300-plus, then again the next morning, but only 30 or 40 at that time of day. It's a field I've seen migrating swans use for many years," Hageman said.

--

Fly fishing clinics for adults and youths at the half-mile section of Cold Creek at Castalia State Fish Hatchery in Erie County are being offered by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

A lottery is being held for 135 adult slots for morning and afternoon sessions on Fridays between April 27 and June 1. Deadline for entering is April 2. In addition to instruction the sessions will allot time to fish for rainbow trout in Cold Creek.

To apply send a postcard with name, address, and telephone number and mail it to: Ohio Division of Wildlife District 2, 952 Lima Ave., Findlay, Ohio 45840. Attention: Linda Keesecker.

Anglers can bring a guest but must list the guest's name on the postcard entry. Only one entry is allowed, and successful applicants will be notified about session time and date. Permits cannot be transferred.

In addition a youth-only clinic is set for June 8, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fifteen slots are available by lottery drawing. To apply send a postcard with name, age, address, and telephone number by May 1 to: Ohio Division of Wildlife District 2, 952 Lima Ave., Findlay, Ohio 45840. Attention: Youth fly fishing clinic.

No duplicate entries are allowed, and applicants must be age 15 or under and accompanied by a nonfishing adult.

For other details on either program, visit on-line www.ohiodnr.com or call 1-800-WILDLIFE. Castalia Hatchery is located off State Rt. 269 near the village of Castalia.

--

Boating, fishing, and personal watercraft and marine and fishing equipment will be on display at the 2007 Fun Afloat Boat Show scheduled to begin next Friday through Jan. 28 at the Erie Street Market, 237 South Erie St. next to the Libbey Glass Outlet.

Hours for next weekend's show will be noon to 8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

Steve Pollick is The Blade's outdoor writer

E-mail him at spollick@theblade.com

Read more Steve Pollick columns at www.toledoblade.com/pollick

Copyright (c) 2007, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.