I had a rain-free block of time this morning to check my local stretch of the Scioto River in Columbus and the bike bath on the other side of the river today. The river is very high now.  It's about 2 ft. lower than yesterday, but many usually productive spots still aren't accessible. I really didn't come across anything that hasn't been already widely reported elsewhere, and certainly no novelties like a White-winged Dove.  There was a mini fallout of migrants on the 26th. The number of migrants has gradually dissipated since, although a few of the residents birds have begun to trickle in during that time. With winds shifting from the south tonight, I would expect tomorrow to have a good turnaround. Here's a Rob Thorn-style summary of what is now around the Scioto River in Columbus between 5th Ave and the Grandview Ave. exit of I-670 :


Waterfowl - Just the usual Canada Geese, Mallards, and Wood Ducks. Nothing else, and no loons or grebes were seen in any quarry ponds. At least a few Canada Goose I nests knew of were washed away by high water levels of the river.

Raptors -  Just a few Red-tailed Hawks and Cooper's Hawks. An Osprey was present on here on the 27th.

Herons, cormorants, shorebirds -  Great Blue Herons are as ubiquitous as usual along the Scioto. About 50 nests can be seen from the Shrum Mound in the McKinley Quarry.  Great Egrets nested at that rookery last year, but I didn't see any (yet). There were some D-c Cormorants on that island, and they are also widespread in throughout the area in both the quarries  and river. I haven't seen a Green Heron yet here, and they do nest in the area. I saw 4 Spotted Sandpipers today along the Scioto and at Hidden Lake. Several Killdeers were at the McKinley Quarry in addition to some flyovers.

Swifts and Hummingbirds - Chimney Swifts are present here at Hidden Lake in the triple digits. I saw my first Ruby-thr Hummingbird of the season on the 26th, but haven't seen one since.

Flycatchers - Long established E. Phoebes are at most bridges big and small. Today I saw my first Great Crested Flycatcher of the season along the bike path.

Swallows -  An assortment of about 75 swallows were feeding over Hidden Lake. The usual 5 species were all present : Tree, Barn, NRough-winged, Cliff (5), and Bank (2). Along the Scioto N Rough-wingeds are widely scattered. I saw no nest building yet at the Cliff Swallow colony at the I-670 bridges, but a few Cliff Swallows were in that area. After 15+ years, I have yet to see a Purple Martin in the swallow flocks along the Scioto.

Vireos - Some Warbling Vireos have been established at their usual spots since at least the 26th. 4 singing males were noted today.  Migrants today included 4 Blue-headed and 1 Yellow-throated Vireos. One of the Blue-headeds spent a long while feeding in a barely budding locust tree right outside my front door. I would expect late flowering trees like the locusts to be especially attractive to migrants next month.

Wrens, Kinglets, Gnatcatchers -  House Wrens were first heard yesterday, and today I found 3. Less than 10 R-c Kinglets were seen today after a big push from them on the 26th. ~20 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were seen, which are probably mostly resident birds. Their numbers have dramatically increased around here in recent years as nesters. 15 years ago I would be lucky to find one or two pairs.

Thrushes, Mimids - 4 Wood Thrushes were noted today. 2 Gray Catbirds were first seen yesterday, and a longer walk today produced 6 sightings with lots more to come within the next few days.

Warblers - I counted 9 Yellow-thr Warblers singing on territory between 5th Ave. and I-670 along the Scioto. Last year I knew of 7 territories. Even if all those birds don't hang around, their increase is a nice sign. 15 years ago I was lucky to just see one or two spring migrants a year around here. I still haven't found a Prothonotary or conclusively territorial NParula yet along this stretch this spring. MIgrant warbler numbers are way down from the 26th. Today I noted only ~70 Yellow-rumped, 4 Nashville, 2 NParula, 6 Yellow, 3 Black-thr Green, ~15 Palm, 1 B&W, and 1 Ovenbird. NWaterthrush is also usually in this early warbler mix here, but with water levels in the river so high there aren't any good pools for them right now.

Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Buntings - none here yet.........

Sparrows - Since White-throateds are so common all winter around here, it's difficult for me to notice their movements. There did seem to be a spike in numbers on the 26th.

Icterids - My first Baltimore Oriole of the season was singing outside my back door this morning. 3 more were seen along the bike path. Ditto what Rob Thorn said yesterday about the cowbirds.

For new subscribers to this listserve, the bike path I refer to can be accessed by parking in the south lot of the River's Edge office complex between 5th Ave and Grandview Ave. along Rt.33 in Columbus. The bike path isn't sign posted, but can be seen if you climb up the hill to the river.


Bob Royse

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