I spent the morning checking out rockpits, old quarries, & reservoirs along the Scioto River from Route 104 north to Upper Arlington, including Whittier, Long St. dam, Marble Cliff, and the Griggs Dam area. I was hoping for a waterbird fallout but found very little. Water levels in the river and quarries are very high, but waterfowl seem to be few & far between here. Highlights & lowlights included:
Dabbling Ducks - nothing other than the expected Mallards and a few Black Ducks
Diving Ducks - Hooded Mergansers at several locations: Whittier, Haul Rd ponds, and Griggs
Loons & Grebes - only 1 Common Loon, on the Dublin Rd Rockpit, but Pied-billed Grebes were at many locations, totaling 8 birds.
Gulls - steady trickle of Ring-bills overhead, but only 1 Herring and not a single Bonapartes (which was unexpected).
Raptors - nothing as spectacular as the adult Bald Eagle seen at Whittier on Friday, but Cooper's Hawks were at several locations.
Corvids - surprisingly few, with only a few Blue Jays (Marble Cliff & Griggs), and a few Crows
Wrens & Creepers - No Winter Wrens, but Carolinas were abundant at most areas. 2-3 Brown Creepers were at several sites, including Whittier, Marble Cliff, and Griggs.
Thrushes - hardly any Bluebirds (1 flyover) but many flocks of Robins at Marble Cliff and points north, feasting on a good crop of Honeysuckle berries.
Sparrows - large #s of White-throats hiding in the honeysuckle at several sites, including 80+ at Whittier and 40+ at Marble Cliff. The big Whittier flocks also had tag-along Song Sparrows (5+) and Fox Sparrows (3).
Rob Thorn
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