Most of our Midwestern reservoirs have a shallow, backwater zone, characterized by flooded timber, marsh and mudflats. Naturalists know that these backwater areas are among the best habitats for wildlife viewing and late April is an excellent time to visit.
Red-headed woodpeckers are usually common in these areas, carving out nest cavities in the drowned trees. In later years, the abandoned holes are used by cavity nesters such as eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, prothonotary warblers and wood ducks. Great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, double-crested cormorants, ospreys and bald eagles also nest in the flooded timber or use the dead trees as rest stops between their fishing runs. Below the surface, the tree trunks attract schools of fish, drawing hooded mergansers, belted kingfishers, pied-billed grebes and, in some areas, river otters to these shallows.
By mid spring, aquatic turtles and water snakes sun themselves on logs that jut from the surface while muskrats feed in the marsh or repair their conical dens. Wetland birds include soras, Virginia and king rails, marsh wrens, common yellowthroats, red-winged blackbirds, green-backed herons and American bitterns. Killdeer, spotted sandpipers and a variety of migrant shorebirds feed on the mudflats while red-shouldered hawks patrol the area from nearby trees.
Those who visit at dusk have a good chance to see nocturnal species. Raccoons emerge from the woods to scour the shallows for crayfish, snails and freshwater muscles. Mink search the marsh, hunting for frogs, mice, muskrat and waterfowl. Beaver are especially active at dusk, gathering fresh saplings or repairing their lodge. Finally, the call of the barred owl is almost certain to be heard and you may spot its bulky frame at the edge of the woods.
