Thought I'd try to make something relevant and possibly useful from
eight days of lounging at the beach in S. Carolina, by passing along
some observations of migrants that undoubtedly had earlier passed
through Ohio, or at least our latitude.
        A broad SC beach with barrier dunes has a fairly narrow spectrum of
migratory species during the second and third weeks of October.
Southbound ospreys were strikingly prominent, and nearly constantly
visible over the surf and offshore for a few hundred meters. Kettles of
10+ ospreys were often noted over the ocean, though most straggled by
singly or in smaller numbers. Overall they outnumbered birds like brown
pelicans and herring and ring-billed gulls during my stay. Apparently a
bald eagle was also aware of this; posted nearby, it stole fishes from
ospreys pretty much at will. The osprey migration has tailed off in
Ohio, but seems to be peaking in SC, where a coastal route seems to be
preferred.
        Southbound butterflies were abundant over the dunes: most numerous were
Gulf fritillaries, followed closely by monarchs, then many long-tailed
skippers, plus good numbers of buckeyes and large sulphurs I didn't get
a good look at.
        Tree swallows were numerous, zipping in small numbers over the dunes,
and in churning flocks of thousands further inland over marshes and even
human neighborhoods. They were not obviously moving south. Many seemed
to be eating wax myrtle berries, to which they resort when insects are
scarcer; their fruit diet perhaps accounts in part for this having the
longest Ohio season among the swallows.
        Migrant shorebirds were scarcer than usual on the beach for this time
of year (no piping plovers seen, and only two willets in eight days!).
Fifteen species (twelve of them winter residents) were found, mostly in
the marshes, where their overall and even relative abundance is almost
impossible to judge. There, two Ammodramus sparrow October migrants (and
local winter residents)--Nelson's and salt-marsh--had joined the
resident seaside sparrows.
        Over the ocean I saw no northern gannets, and only a couple of jaegers.
Herring and ring-billeds constituted a small proportion of the gulls
present, and apparently usually arrive later in the month. Migrant
waterfowl were very scarce: I saw a single ruddy duck, and a flight of
five scoters, probably black scoters, the whole time. No ducks were
found in the marshes either, and apparently they are not in SC yet.
        That few ducks had arrived was clear on 16 Oct when I visited Merritt
Island NWR in Florida. One of my favorite spots, this is a major
wintering area for huge flocks of ducks, but an hour of birding
productive marshes yielded only ONE duck species--a few hundred of the
resident mottled ducks. Nevertheless, I dropped a double-sawbuck into
the donations pylon at the beginning of the wildlife drive. I look
forward to reading what others have had to say about the migration here
while I was gone.
Bill Whan
Columbus


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