I squeezed trips to these two areas this morning around my son's cross-country meet in Westerville.  Inniswood is a great garden in south Westerville with adjoining woods, while Oxbow is an island in the northwest side of Hoover Reservoir.  I also made a brief run through Mudhen Marsh, which is just south of Oxbow.  All of these sites can be reasonable migrant traps, and they had some interesting things this morning.  Highlights:

Red-br.Nuthatch - 1 was calling in the dense conifer plantings at Inniswood.  This is a bit early, but  most years have a few migrants in mid September, probably birds bound for the Cumberland plateau or southern Appalachians.  The numerous reports of them suggest that a big migration is underway this year.

Red-headed Woodpecker - 1 juvenile was at Mudhen marsh, but not in the typical spot by the observation cabin.  Instead, this bird was in the dead trees along the slough that crosses under Big Walnut Road.

Flycatchers - 5 Acadians and 4 Pewees were calling and feeding around the edges at Inniswood

Vireos - Red-eyed were all over Inniswood, with 10-12 individuals.  1-2 Warbling were at Oxbow Island

Thrushes - 1 Wood and 1 Veery were at Inniswood.  The former could've been a resident, but the latter was definitely a migrant.  A flock of 6-7 E.Bluebirds was along the road heading into Oxbow.

Warblers - Inniswood had a Chesnut-sided, Magnolia, and Ovenbird,  while Oxbow had accumulated a Cape May, a Magnolia, a Blackburnian, and a Blue-winged.  I used to think this was late for Blue-winged, but the last few years have seen many September records for this species.

Grosbeaks,Buntings - a Rose-breasted Grosbeak was along the wood edge at Inniswood, while an Indigo Bunting was calling at Oxbow.


Rob Thorn
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