I birded these two south Columbus Metroparks in a mix of rain and sleet
this morning, with the weather only letting up at the very end.  Three
Creeks was fairly quiet except for a roost of vultures and roaming flocks
of Robins and Waxwings, plus a Peregrine at nearby Cruiser Pond.  Pick
Ponds had a good variety of birds, including the vanguard of migrant
waterfowl.  Notables for the morning included:

Waterfowl - Pick Ponds had 150 Green-winged Teal and 30 N.Shovelers at Teal
Pond, while Ellis Pond had a few Ruddy Ducks.

OtherWaterbirds - 8 Pied-billed Grebes and 8 Coots were also at Teal Pond

Shorebirds - Teal Pond had 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Killdeer, 1 Pectoral
Sandpiper, and 1 Dunlin

Gulls - Ellis Pond had 3 Bonapartes Gulls circling over the pond

Sandhill Cranes - 6 of them were hanging out by Mallard marsh, north of the
Wood Duck observation platform

Vultures - a roost of 30 Turkey Vultures and 1 Black Vulture were at Heron
Pond in 3-Creeks

Bald Eagles - a pair of adults was sitting in a snag across from the Wright
Rd viewing access at Ellis Pond.
Peregrine - 1 was sitting on snags at Cruiser Pond in the rain, making
half-hearted attempts to harass Mallards on the pond

Fruit-eaters - flocks of Robins & Cedar Waxwings were foraging on
hackberries at many locations around 3-Creeks

Kinglets - Golden-crowns were at many locations, probably migrants stranded
by the morning rains.  The Turtle Pond area of 3-Creeks had 6-8.

Warblers - nothing but Yellow-rumps, but they were at virtually every stop

Sparrows - Pick Ponds had a good mix for a rainy morning, with Field,
Songs, Swamps (7), White-crowns, White-throats, and Towhees.

Blackbirds - surprisingly scarce, with only a few Redwings at each park

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