Spent part of the last 2 mornings looking for migrants at the lower end of these 2 reservoirs north of Columbus. Yesterday I hiked around the Hoover dam area, while today I visited New Galena and the Visitors center & beach at Alum Lake. Waterfowl migration here is still a no-show, while landbirds have definitely switched to temperate migrants. Notables included:
Mute Swan - must be the time for these exotics to be on the move, as 1 dropped in to the lower part of Alum Lake. Several other folks (e.g. Tom Slemmer) have noted their sudden appearance around central Ohio.
Shorebirds,Gulls - the Ring-billed Gull flocks at both Hoover (120+) and the Alum Lake Beach (50) are definitely waning, or else the gulls have found greener (or grayer) pastures. The Alum beach did host 6-8 Kildeer and 8 Dunlin.
Red-br.Nuthatch - the pine plantation in the disc golf course at Hoover dam hosted 2 of them yesterday, but none were around the Alum Visitor's Center today.
Kinglets, Creepers, Wrens - lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets at both Hoover (15+) and Alum (10+). Ruby-crowns and Brown Creepers were fewer at both spots. 3 Winter Wrens around Hoover was a good sign.
Mimids - a Catbird was calling along the Hoover Nature Trail (HNT) yesterday, while a Brown Thrasher was at New Galena today. A Mockingbird was singing in the scrubland east of the Alum Lake Visitor's Center, a spot where they have wintered before.
Thrushes - Robins were on the move with 60+/1 hour at Hoover and 90+/1 hour at New Galena; watch for fly-over flocks this week. Hermit Thrushes were also very apparent, with 2 on the HNT, 2 at New Galena, and another around the Alum Visitors Center. 3-4 flyover E.Bluebirds were at both Hoover dam and New Galena.
Cedar Waxwings - another species on the move, with 40+ at Hoover and 50+ around New Galena this morning.
Warblers - nothing but Yellow-rumps, but there were lots of them at all stops.
Sparrows - good numbers at Alum Lake, with 75+ White-throated, 25+ Chipping, 20+ Field, 10+ Song, 5 Juncos, 1 White-crowned, and 1 Fox in 1.5 hours at New Galena and the Visitor's Center. Hoover had fewer, but had flocks of White-throated and Chipping around the overgrown prairie along the HNT.
Blackbirds - surprisingly few, with only a handful of Redwings at each spot.
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