COLUMBUS, OH -- Lake Erie's coast will abound with shorebirds and rare plant life this spring as a result of lower-than-average lake water levels, according to experts with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
At state nature preserves such as Sheldon Marsh, Headlands Dunes and Old Woman Creek along the Lake Erie shore, receding waters have exposed growing fields for wetland plant species that are only rarely glimpsed in the region. More plants and more marsh and wetland areas will attract larger flocks of migratory shorebirds that rest and feed along Lake Erie as they move north from winter habitats in the southern United States and South America.
According to staff with the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves (DNAP), more than 30 species of plovers, sandpipers, waders and other shorebirds were spotted along Lake Erie last fall, with nearly that many expected for this spring's migration.
Ohio's Lake Erie shore is an important stopover point for a number of migratory birds visiting favorite North Coast haunts such as Conneaut Creek in Ashtabula County and the lower reaches of the Huron River and Sheldon Marsh in Erie County. Masses of semipalmated plovers congregated in coastline inlets last year. There were even several reported sightings of rare piping plovers and above average numbers of western sandpipers and golden plovers.
Birders are not the only outdoor enthusiasts focusing binoculars on Lake Erie's expanding mudflats this year. Professional and amateur botanists expect the coast to come alive with unusual and seldom-seen plant life.
According to DNAP botanist Jim McCormac, this year's low water levels are exposing the mudflats behind the barrier beach at Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve in Erie County to light and air. And that exposure allows rare seeds long buried in those mudflats to germinate.
In most instances, the seed banks have been water covered for decades. Thick, bony outer coats allowed the seeds to remain viable despite years of submersion. The warm spring sun and a bed of thick, wet mud will provide an ideal habitat for plants like the low umbrella-sedge, Engelmann's spike rush and Smith's bulrush to germinate, bloom and flourish.
The low umbrella sedge is a rich purplish-brown plant with tinges of white. The Engelmann's spike rush is a low, grassy plant that produces large numbers of extremely durable and hearty seeds. Smith's bulrush, an obscure plant that grows only 6 to 8 inches high, was last seen at East Harbor State Park in the 1960s - also a time of low water levels. DNAP botanists will be looking for these rare plants again this spring.
At Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve in Erie County, site of a freshwater estuarine research center, scientists expect to see a shift in vegetation. As lake levels drop, shallow-water grasses, sedges and smartweeds will replace deep water species such as American water lotus and fragrant water lily, according to Linda Feix, education coordinator at the preserve.
Seeds from shallow-water plants are an important food source for migrating songbirds and waterfowl that frequent creek waters. Feix expects to see increased numbers of these birds in the estuary this spring. Shallow-water plants also provide increased cover, nesting and resting places for wetland mammals such as muskrats.
"Last year, receding Lake Erie waters allowed more button bush, cardinal flower, arrowhead and iris to grow as more moist shoreline habitat was exposed," Feix said. "Research is currently underway at Old Woman Creek to examine the effects of fluctuating water levels on wetland plant communities."
Farther east, at Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve in Lake County, DNAP botanists predict an explosion of plants this year as low waters expose broad tracts of sand. Most years, only a handful of these plants struggle for survival on the strand. Wider beaches mean more beach plants in a year when lake levels are low.
Twelve thousand years ago, Headlands Dunes was part of the prehistoric Atlantic coastline of North America and many plants native to the dunes are a remnant of that period. Finding inland sea rocket, seaside spurge and winged pigweed anywhere else requires travel to the Mid-Atlantic shore.
The inland sea rocket is a fleshy succulent that soaks up water from moisture-laden breezes and grows about 12 inches high. Seaside spurge is its evolutionary opposite, lying nearly flat on the sand so it can survive buffeting by strong winds and waves. The spurge features interesting geometry, growing in a near-perfect circle from one central stem buried in the sand.
Tumbleweeds such as the winged pigweed and Russian thistle blow across the beach in late summer. Winged pigweed, which has thorny, spiked branches, distributes vast numbers of seeds as it travels. The non-native Russian thistle can invade and take over a habitat when conditions are ideal, DNAP botanists caution.
Visitors are encouraged to experience first-hand how the changing water levels of Lake Erie affect wildlife and plant communities at nature preserves like Sheldon Marsh, Headlands Dunes and Old Woman Creek. All three preserves are open to the public seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. To learn more, visit the ODNR web site at www.dnr.state.oh.us