This bikepath runs along Blacklick Creek SE of Columbus, stringing together several small riparian woodlots that can be good migrant traps.  I visited two of the better parts this morning - Portman Park & Chatterton Greenbelt - looking for migrants.  There are still plenty of temperate migrants and even some waterfowl, but other migrants (raptors or neotropicals) are still scarce.  The water level in the Chatterton flood basins is still a bit high for shorebirds, but should drop down nicely if rain is rare over the next few weeks.  Highlights this morning:

cormorants - a flock of 30 flew north over Chatterton, headed for Hoover or points north
waterfowl - Blue-winged teal paris at several places.  Also a scaup was still on Abbie trails Pond (near Portman), as were Coots & Pied-billed Grebe
shorebirds - 2-4 kildeer and a Spotted Sandpiper were at the Chatterton pools, hopefully the vanguard of a good movement at this site.
woodpeckers - still a feature bird group, with 2-3 sapsuckers at each site, along with 3-4 Flickers
flycatchers - only Phoebes, but with pairs at nearly every bikepath bridge
swallows - small #s of Barn, Tree, & Rough-winged
kinglets - Ruby-crowns outnumbered Golden-crowns today (for the first time this Spring), but numbers were rather low
mimids - thrashers & mockingbirds singing at several locations along the bikepath.
E.Towhee - abundant here, with 3-4 at each site.
sparrows - singing Fields, Songs, and White-throats were common


Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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