Sandusky County Park District

Sandusky County Park District -- RESEARCH
(updated 7-22-09)

The Sandusky County Park District is involved with numerous research projects. This provides historical record as well as information for the scientific community and an excellent educational experience for the public. The information gathered also provides guidance in managing natural areas for wildlife habitat, education, and recreational use.

Please keep checking this page as we continue to add Park District Research Information.

Monarch Butterfly Tagging

Fish Research at Creek Bend Farm

Rare Birds Banded
Park Naturalist and Bird Researcher, Tom Kashmer, made ornithological history in the fall of 2009 when he became the first person in Ohio to capture and band two shorebirds that are uncommon in the east and midwest.

Tom Kashmer with Wilson's Phalarope bird

Wilson's Phalarope is common in the prairie marshes and western lakes of North America. The bird winters in Argentina. The Red-necked Phalarope breeds in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Canada and Alaska and spends the winter at sea off the coast of South America. Both species are rare to Ohio.

Wilson's Phalarope - Bird Species Wing
Wilson's Phalarope - bird close-up

Both birds were captured on the mud flats at the western end of Muddy Creek Bay. The birds were part of a much larger research project conducted by Kashmer and fellow bird-bander Tom Bartlett of Tiffin. The shorebird research project is a cooperative venture with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, The Ohio State University, Winous Point Marsh Conservancy, and local private marsh owners . Photos taken by Tom Dorobek .