I stopped for a few hours yesterday morning at this MetroPark 10 miles west of Columbus along Darby Creek.  The creek was high and the snow soft, so hiking around was treacherous.  Landbird migrants were almost non-existent, save for a handful of Redwings & Grackles flying over.  Waterfowl were much better, with one of the old quarry ponds at the Darby Bend area having a large unfrozen area.  In and around this area were
Canada Geese - 30 (much less than the morning flock according to the Ranger on duty)
Wood Duck (4 in the creek)
Mallard (few compared to the morning flocks according to the Ranger there)
Gadwall - 5
Wigeon - 1
Ring-necked Duck - 20
Redhead - 20
Canvasback - 15
Bufflehead - 5
Ruddy Duck - 1
Pied-billed Grebe - 1
Coot - 14

Waterfowl were continuously coming & going, so this should be a good spot over the next few weeks.  The Ranger mentioned a small squad of 4 swans that had stopped by earlier in the morning, and just about anything could show up here.


Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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