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February 2007

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From:
Robert Royse <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:24:13 -0500
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There are good numbers and variety of waterfowl in the Scioto River in Columbus now. Quarry ponds and areas above dams are still covered with ice, so the open river is where the action is at now.


The largest concentration was in my "backyard stretch" of the Scioto River south of 5th Ave. This area can also be viewed from the other side of the Scioto along Rt.33 from the parking lots of businesses between 5th Ave. and the I-670 exit. Birds here today included :

Canada Geese
2 Wood Ducks
Mallards
Am. Black Ducks (several)
Canvasback (1)
Redheads (12)
Ring-necked Ducks (~85)
Lesser Scaups (~20)
Common Goldeneyes (~40)
Hooded Mergansers (~20)
Red-breasted Mergansers (2)
Common Merganser (1)

I'm not sure how many of the ducks here really qualify as migrants. I suspect that a majority have been somewhere in the area all winter. The Redheads, for example, could possibly be the same birds that were in the Haul Rd. quarries last month before they froze up. Red-breasted and Common Mergansers are never numerous in the river, but those same birds have been seen somewhere or another around here for a few weeks now. Only the Wood Ducks were new for me today.

Below Griggs Reservoir, the river is flowing a bit quicker now, There were plenty of Mallards and Canada Geese, but  lesser numbers present of  Ring-necked Ducks. Lesser Scaups, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Goldeneyes.

The quarry along McKinley by the Indian mound is still frozen, but the resident Great Blue Heron colony is already arriving.  I counted 26 GBH's sitting on nests already.

This evening the surest sign of spring around the corner was the arrival of some huge flocks of staging blackbirds. I had about 2000 in my backyard, and another ~2000 was at the McKinley quarry or nearby. There seemed to be about an even mix between Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles, but a few Brown-headed Cowbirds and a couple of Rusty Blackbirds were picked out of the mix. Sorting through those blackbirds flocks at dusk against a cloudy sky is an annual event here and can really tax the limit of  binoculars' optics. Last month I replaced my trusty 15+ year old Zeiss 10x40 BGA model (certainly great optics in its day) with the new Zeiss Victory FL 10x42's. I had been enjoying the easy focus with gloves on this winter, but never really fully appreciated the improvement in the optics until this evening. All I can say is WOW!

Bob Royse, Columbus


Robert Royse
[log in to unmask]
www.roysephotos.com

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