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April 2007

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From:
Rob Thorn <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:19:15 -0400
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The Columbus Audubon trip to 3 of the birding 'hotspots' of this NE Columbus suburb were treated to a good morning of early migrants.  Our first stop along the Alum Creek bikepath at Heritage Park was a little slow, but subsequent stops at Sharon Woods MetroPark and Hoover dam were more interesting, aided by increasingly better weather.  Highlights included

Raptors - Cooper's Hawks at every stop, along with adult Red-tails soaring over Sharon Woods

waterfowl - Shrock Lake at Sharon Woods still held pairs of Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks, while the spillway at Hoover dam had pairs of Blue-winged Teal, Wood Ducks, and 3 female Red-br. Mergansers.  The wind-swept reservoir above the dam had hardly any waterfowl except geese and a few Coot.

flycatchers - Phoebes at Sharon Woods and Hoover, but no other migrant flycatchers were noted surprisingly

swallows - mixed species feeding flocks were over both Shrock Lake and the Hoover dam spillway.  Both sites had Barn, Tree, Bank, & Rough-winged, and the Hoover spillway had Cliff swallows as well.  The nests on the observation platform were knocked down by maintenance crews over the winter to minimize sparrow roosing with the accompanying befouling of the platform.

Vireos - Warbling vireos were singing at both Heritage & Sharon Woods, and Blue-headeds were also at the latter

Kinglets - Ruby-crowns were at all 3 locations, but were much less abundant than in previous days.  Golden-crowns couldn't even be found.

Wrens, Gnatcatchers - House Wrens were widespread & singing, while Winter wrens were conspicuous by their absence.  Blue-gray gnatcatchers were even more numerous, with singing pairs all along the trails at Sharon Woods and east of Hoover dam.

Thrushes - a Wood Thrush was calling at Heritage, but otherwise thrushes were not conspicuous this morning

Mimids - Catbirds were singing at all 3 sites, while Brown Thrashers were at Heritage and Sharon Woods (3+)

Warblers - Yellow-rumps were still the most common warbler at all sites, but other species included Nashvilles (5-6 at Sharon Woods), Palm (4+ Sharon Woods), Yellow (Sharon Woods, Hoover dam), Yellowthroat (Sharon Woods), Black-thr.Green (Sharon Woods), Yellow-throated (Hoover dam), Cape May (Sharon Woods-ShrockLake), Ovenbird (Sharon Woods)

Grosbeaks, Buntings, et al. - Rose-br.Grosbeaks were heard at Heritage & Sharon Woods, while an Indigo Bunting male was calling from a thicket along the Spring Creek trail at Sharon Woods.

Sparrows - White-throats were still the most widespread sparrow, but in much reduced numbers from earlier in the week.  Chipping Sparrows wer common & singing at Heritage and Hoover, while Field sparrows were more numerous in the field edges at Sharon Woods.  Towhees were at all 3 sites, but no Swamp Sparrows or Juncos could be found this morning.

Icterids - singing Baltimore & Orchard Oriole males were on territories near Shrock Lake in Sharon Woods.

Generally, Sharon Woods provided the most interesting birding of the morning, especially along the trail adjacent to Shrock Lake and the Spring Creek trail.  Hoover dam was scenic, but less diverse except for the swallow & swift flock over the spillway (which numbered 100-120 birds).  All of these sites should be strong for accumulating migrants over the next few days.


Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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