With early & late work, I was only able to run through a few of the access points at Hoover quickly, but it was enough to get a feel for the migration change, despite the chilly weather.  I was able to hit most of the major access points from the dam to Galena.  Virtually all of the reservoir is ice-free, which means it is now just a stopover site for most migrant waterfowl.  The chill conditions also seem to be retarding landbird migration as well, but the morning still had many noteworthy birds.  Highlights included:

Geese - only Canadas now, and migrant flocks have given way to noisy, defensive pairs in most shore areas

 Dabbling Ducks - numbers much reduced, and mostly Mallards.  A pair of Wigeon were at Twin Bridges inlet, while 5 N.Pintail were flyovers at the Sunbury Rd. causeway.

Diving Ducks - fair diversity, but numbers much smaller than the prior day at O'Shaughnessy.  Small flocks of scaup were off Walnut St. ramp and the dam, along with a few Ring-necks.  3 Bufflehead were also at the latter site, while a pair of Goldeneye were at the former.

Mergansers - good movement of Red-breasteds, with 200+ over the afternoon.  Flocks of 120 were south of the Sunbury Rd causeway and 60 were at the dam.  Smaller numbers of Hoodeds were at most inlets, with 30 off Oxbow Island the largest numbers.

Grebes, Coots - 2-3 Horned Grebes were off Maxtown launch and off the dam.  Many of them were changing over their plumage and could be mistaken fro Eared grebes in this odd mixed plumage.  Small flocks of 8-10 Coot were at several locations.

Gulls - lots of Ring-billed Gulls, with 200+ in the lower reservoir, along with a few migrant Bonaparte's gulls

Turkey Vultures - 70+ at various sites along the north shore, with a roost of 50+ at Twin Bridges the largest concentration.

Migrant landbirds - a few hardy Tree swallows were swirling around the Galena boardwalk, but few other migrants were noticeable.  A Fox sparrow was at Oxbow Island, and a few out=of=place Golden-cr.Kinglets were there and at Maxtown launch.

The waterfowl peak for Hoover and many of the central Ohio reservoirs is ebbing.  If you want to catch the tail of the show, spend some time at the causeways and dams watching for birds heading north.  Only the big loon & grebe wave hasn't hit yet, and that should happen soon.  Once this last cold wave relents, it will be landbird migrant-time.

Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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