The changeover is upon us.  Morning trips to Alum Lake yesterday and Hoover today found the last landbird migrants and the early waves of waterbird migration underway.  I was able to visit southern ALum yesterday (and Hoover dam), while today I focused on parts of the Hoover Nature Preserve (north Hoover) until the rain started in earnest (around 11 AM).  Lots of early waterfowl, especially in the bay south of the boardwalk, which was filled with small flocks.   Highlights included:

Dabbling Ducks - few on ALum, although a few Mallards & Wigeons were found; hunting may have been too recently there.  At Hoover, the northern end off Wiese Rd and the boardwalk was festooned with rafts of dabblers, including Mallards (250+), Black Ducks(30+), Shovelers (40-50), Green-winged Teal (60+), Gadwall (2-4), Wigeon (4-5), and Coots.  A late pair of Wood Ducks was still at Oxbow Island as well.

Diving Ducks - these haven't much come in yet, except for Hooded Mergansers.  The best bird was a female SURF SCOTER off the east end of Oxbow Island; she sat on the water for about 5 mintues, then flew north.  Otherwise, flocks of Hoodies were off Oxbow, WIese, and the boardwalk.  The boardwalk flock of 25+ Hoodies seems particularly approachable & photogenic; perhaps they're getting used to humans there.

Loons,Grebes - 6 Common Loons were at Alum, while 4 were at Hoover.  7-8 Horned Grebes were at Alum, while twice that number were at Hoover.  Hoover also had 6+ Pied-billed Grebes (most off Oxbow), as well as the Eared Grebe that continues to be off the boardwalk.

Cormorants - a large migrant flock of 80 birds was gathered just above Alum dam, while at Hoover some 10-15 were with the dabblers off Wiese Rd.

Gulls - Bonaparte's are now the dominant gull on both reservoirs, although good numbers of Ring-bills continue to be seen.  Many Bonies were in the northern reaches of Hoover this morning.

Raptors - a good-sized flock of Turkey Vultures (80+) was roosting east of the Sunbury causeway at Hoover, while an adult Bald Eagle was perched in a snag along the shore off Wiese Rd.  A juvenile Harrier at New Galena yesterday probably represented a late migrant.

Woodpeckers - 2-4 Flickers at most stops at both reservoirs, along with resident Downies & Red-bellied, but little else of note.

Blue Jays - still continuing their protracted migration.  I had 20+ scattered along the Alum shore in 2+ hours yesterday, while today found 14+ filtering south along the shoreline between Oxbow Island & Wiese Rd along the northwest shore of Hoover.

Thrushes - E,Bluebirds are coming through in numbers now, combining with jays to make for a 'blue November'.  22+ were along the same stretch of Alum shore yesterday, while 8-10 were along the northwest Hoover shore, almost all in high-flying small groups.  Robins were much less conspicuous around  either reservoir than they were in the Columbus suburbs.  I had more roaming around our backyard in Gahanna this afternoon than at any site on either reservoir.  Of course, we have more fruiting trees & shrubs as well as more leaves still on the trees than any site on either reservoir.

Horned Larks, Pipits - a few of these late migrants were flyovers at Alum (New Galena) and Hoover (Wiese).

Sparrows - the first Tree Sparrows I've seen in central Ohio this Fall were at Alum (New Galena).  Flocks of White-throats are becoming less common than they were last week.  Now instead, flocks of juncos have shown up in several locations (New Galena, Cheshire, Oxbow).

Blackbirds - several morning flocks of 30-100 Redwings were streaming south along the Hoover shore near the dam yesterday, but the flocks were much smaller and more scattered since then at both Alum and north Hoover.

I would guess that yesterday may represent the last nice weather that we'll see this season.  Traditionally the few weeks surrounding Thanksgiving have often harbored miserable weather.  Think about how often Turkey-day has been marred by foul weather or power failures.  By the time we get past Thanksgiving, we're looking at early winter weather and early winter birds. However, this ugly weather usually coincides with the best waterfowl numbers of the season, so now is the time to get out to those reservoirs & lakeshore.  Just don't forget your raincoat!

Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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