I biked down part of the Alum Creek Greenbelt yesterday afternoon, running between Innis Park and Mock Park, and was taken back a bit by how warm & summery it seemed.  The wildlife appeared to concur, and I had lots of lingering singing birds, as well as large late broods of butterflies and skippers.  Bird highlights included:

Swifts - small groups of Chimney Swifts all along the riparian area
Hummingbirds - at least 4, despite no large clusters of bird-attracting flowers
Flycatchers - still plenty of Wood Pewees, but also had Olive-sided, Least, E.Phoebe, and GreatCrested
Vireos - at least 6 Warbling, most of which were sining, along with 3-4 Red-eyed
Wrens,Gnatcatchers - quite a few House Wrens (4-5), along with 4 Gnatcatchers
Thrushes - surprisingly few, with only 1 Swainsons and a few groups of Robins
Mimids - plenty of Catbirds,with a few singing, plus 1-2 Mockingbirds
Warblers - few and hard-to-find, but I did scratch up 8 species (Nashville, Tennessee, Parula, Magnolia, Chesnut-sided, Redstart, Bay-breasted, ComYellowthroat).  No singers except the Yellowthroat.

Notice all the late summer lingerers.  This was reinforced by the butterflies, which included late broods of Peck's Skippers, Summer Azures, and Pearl Crescents, along with the typical smattering of Whites, Sulphurs, and a few Monarchs.  This greenway is well inside the Columbus urban sprawl, and may have temperatures more stable & mild than outlying areas.  It was certainly warm yesterday.

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