I surprised by the numbers of temperate migrants along urban stretches of Alum Creek in Columbus in only an hour yesterday, so I repeated the hour on a different part of the Creek today.  I spent a little less than an hour walking along the Alum Bikepath at Strawberry Farms PArk and Tanager Woods, and the pulses of temperate migrants were still noticeable.  I would guess that they're taking advantage of the milder weather to move through, but it still seems a bit late for this.  Highlights included

Raptors - both Red-tailed & Red-shouldered were along the bikepath, but they were likely residents
Woodpeckers - lots of the expected residents (Downies, Red-bellies, & Flickers), but nothing else
Flycatchers, Swallows - a single late E.Wood Pewee, but no other flycatchers or swallows
Corvids - 10-12 Blue Jays was a good number for here, so they may be having a minor movement now
Vireos - 1 Blue-headed, but nothing else
Nuthatches, Creepers - lots of White-br.Nuthatches (5-6), but no Red-breasteds; also present were 3 Brown Creepers
Kinglets - good numbers of both Ruby-crowns (12+) and Golden-crowns (4+)
Wrens - more Winter wrens (3), plus an out-of-place MARSH WREN, to go with the many resident Carolinas
Thrushes - 2 Hermit Thrushes, as well as the expected flocks of Robins
Mimids - a singing Mockingbird and a calling Catbird, both near where the power line swath cuts across the riparian area
Warblers - Yellow-rumps were abundant (35-40), but also present were 2 Nashvilles and a single Black-thr.Green
Sparrows - White-throats were abundant (40-50), but there were also 10 Chippings, 6-8 Songs, and 1 Lincolns
Blackbirds - small numbers of grackles and redwings flying south overhead, but no big flocks

This bikepath can be accessed from a parking lot at Strawberry Farms park (end of Harborough Dr.) or from the circle at the end of Mt.Hood Court.  This latter site is where a big power line swath cuts across the Alum Creek greenbelt, and the edges of that swath were terrific this morning.  It's a good site to watch as migrants pile up and straggle across the open strip, and also give a good sky view for flyover flocks.

Rob Thorn
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