Hello!

My apologies for the late posting, but my wife and I and Ken and Julie  Davis
visited Spring Valley WA this past Saturday from ~9 AM to ~2:45  PM.  We
started at the boardwalk to the observation tower, then followed  the path
clockwise along the wetlands to the parking area at the south end  and double backed.
 We saw and/or heard the following "notable"  birds :

Lesser Yellowlegs-heard 1 calling nearby as we got out of the  car
Little Blue Heron-flew by the tower, circled around, and landed back in the
wetlands
Virginia Rail- saw 3 (great looks at 2 out in the open), heard 2
Sora-saw 4, heard 10+
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher-saw 12, heard several
Swamp Sparrow-2
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow-4
Blue-Winged Teal-16+
Wood Duck-6
White-Throated Sparrow-5
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher-pair
Coot-a few hundred
Red-Shouldered Hawk-pair soaring overhead
Northern Shoveler-male
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow-3
Gadwall-8
American Wigeon-male
Ring-Necked Duck-4
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-Rumped Warbler-saw 12, heard several singing
Northern Parula-heard 1 singing then got great looks up close at south end
of wetlands
Palm Warbler-saw 1 at south end of wetlands
Yellow-Throated Warbler-saw/heard 1 in sycamores at SW end of  wetlands
Pileated Woodpecker-landed in tree as we were leaving for the day

We did not see or hear any American Bitterns but were told by some members
of a birding group that 2 pairs were seen before our arrival.  On our way
home, we saw 9 Chimney Swifts flying over I-71 North at the Stringtown Road  exit.

Saturday evening (4/21) at Highbanks Metro Park in southern Delaware  County,
I heard then saw a Yellow-Throated Warbler in the sycamores along the
Olentangy River.  As I awoke Sunday morning (4/22) at home just north  of Highbanks,
I was greeted by the singing of our resident House Wren who  apparently
dropped in overnight for the season.  He quickly checked  out one of the Bluebird
houses that we put up in our back yard this year.

Later Sunday evening (4/22), my wife and I visited the Glacier Ridge Metro
Park wetlands area just northwest of Columbus where the following birds were
seen and/or heard:

Green-Winged Teal-9
Northern Shoveler-8
Blue-Winged Teal-~20
Ruddy Duck-9
Sora-heard 3
Coot-75+
Hooded Merganser-2 females
Ring-Necked Duck-4 pairs
Eastern Meadowlark-great looks at 2 singing
Tree Swallow-25+
Barn Swallow-5
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow-3
Dunlin-4
Lesser Yellowlegs-saw 21 heard several more
Greater Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper-10
Kestrel
Killdeer-8
Pied-Billed Grebe-10
Red-Winged Blackbird-at dusk, several hundred to over 1000 settling down in
the wetlands for the evening with some Starlings and a few Grackles mixed  in.

Most of the waterfowl were in the wetlands that can be observed from the
"grassy knoll" next to the parking area and a scope is helpful.  All of the
shorebirds were in the flooded fields northwest of the observation tower.   We saw
several more shorebirds land in the area, and the numbers reported  are only
what I was able to see and positively ID.

Spring Valley WA is in Greene and Warren Counties with a map available at
the ODNR-Div of Wildlife web site, whereas directions to Highbanks and Glacier
Ridge can be found at _www.metroparks.net_ (http://www.metroparks.net) .

Rob Lowry
Powell, Ohio




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