I birded several areas near this town along Darby Creek in far SW Franklin County, since it is often a bottleneck for migrants. The cool overcast morning, made for an early flush of warblers & sparrows, but as the skies partially-cleared, they disappeared and flocks of grackle, robins, waxwings, and blue-jays became more prominent. The main areas were Osprey Lake and the trails around the St 665 bridge over Darby Creek. Highlights included:
cormorants - a high flock of 30 in a perfect 'V' couldn't be anything other than migrants
waterfowl - hardly any, save few Mallards and Canada Geese. No movement of these yet.
raptors - lots of Turkey Vutlures, perhap 50 for the morning (30 at Osprey Lake was the largest flock), with only a few scattered Red-tailed Hawks (which were most likely residents).
swifts,swallows - steady trickle of Chimney Swifts, mostly in high, small flocks. Had Rough-winged Swallows at several locations, with the biggest # being 12 at Osprey Lake
Flycatchers - Phoebes at several locations. The only other flycatcher was a Wood Pewee at the 665 bridge.
Thrushes - a few Swainsons were lurking at most stops, but never enough to be common. Small flocks of Robins were flying over most locations.
Waxwings - perhaps the most common bird of the morning, with 200+ in a few hours; lots of small-medium flocks, especially around Osprey Lake
Warblers - 8 species, mostly cold-hardy 'late' migrants: Yellow-rumps, Palm, Cape May, Black-thr.Green, Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Common Yellowthroat, Redstart. None had more than 3 individuals.
Grosbeaks,Buntings, Tanagers - No grosbeaks, but Indigo Buntings at several spots, and a Scarlet Tanager was feeding in bushes around the north edge of Osprey Lake.
Sparrows - still slim pickings, with Songs, Chippings, and Fields at most stops, but none of them very common, and no rarer or later migrants yet.
Blackbirds - small flocks of Redwings and some not-so-small flocks of grackles signaled that these birds were on the move.
______________________________________________________________________
Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
|