Berlin Lake: Chasing the Gulls

8 November 2014

Lake #2    Berlin Lake, Stark, Mahoning, and Portage Counties

After successfully purchasing new gloves, I was off to kayak the second lake of my BHAG project.  Berlin Lake is the fifth-largest inland lake in Ohio at around 4,000 acres.  Berlin Lake began as a back-up reservoir for nearby Lake Milton (which is next on my list).  The 18-mile long reservoir was not looking too pretty on the day I kayaked.  The lake had been drawn down (about 6 feet) already in preparation for winter's anticipated snowfall.  I put in at the campground boat launch at 41.00672, -81.00360 which is accessible through the Mill Creek Recreation area.  Take Bedell Road south from US-224 (Akron-Canfield Road) to Berlin Station Road and go west.  There was a portable sign with do not enter at the gate but the gate was open so being stubborn and on a schedule I entered.  There was a restroom but it was locked up for the season.  There was a fee collection box with instructions to pay $3.00 to park at the boat launch but it was locked up as well.  Given this I probably should have looked for another put in spot but I continued on my mission.

With the water level down there were many exposed mudflats that the gulls were taking advantage of.  

The four most common gull species that we have in Ohio are Bonaparte's Gull, the Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull.  I am just starting to get into birding as a result of my kayaking.  The birds I see when I am out on the water bring me great joy, this is even more true now that the weather is not so nice and the scenery is lacking.  To be honest I am not sure what kind of gulls these are, like I said I am just learning.  If you know please email me and I will share the information.

After kayaking for about an hour the wind started to really pick up and the water became quite choppy so I headed back to the boat launch area.  As I was getting ready to leave the lake, a fisherman came along (the only other person around) and asked how I was able to launch from the campground.  He explained that the campground launch area is only open Memorial Day through Labor Day when the campground is open.  Oops, ok I had already figured out that I probably wasn't suppose to be there.  He gave me information about the Bonner Road boat launch site which was where he put in.  I then started to worry (a little) that I would get locked in the campground.  Luckily, the gate was still open so off I went to find the Bonner Road boat launch.  The Bonner Road boat launch is located at 41.03620, -81.00993.  It is open year round and has no restroom.  It is located near the dam east of Deerfield on Bonner Road approximately 1/4 mile south of Mahoning Road.

The water was still looking choppy so I decided to head to Milton Lake to see if it was looking any better.