Big Walnut creek in eastern Franklin County is a classic urban riparian corridor, albeit somewhat fragmented. On the north, between Gahanna & Hoover Reservoir, it's very intact, but south of the Columbus Int;l. Airport, it's broken into long strips by the urban and suburban neighborhoods of Columbus. One of the better strips extends between I-70 and the Airport, and includes some lush forest fragments in Whitehall Community Park, the Columbus Country Club, and Big Walnut Park. You can get a decent idea of the character of this locale by driving Noe-Bixby Rd., which skirts the riparian woods for much of its length along its eastern edge between Broad St. and Livingston Ave.. It's such a large area that it has no real concentration point for migrants, but it does accumulate them from the surrounding neighborhoods. I visited Whitehall Park (WP) & Big Walnut Park (BW) yesterday morning for not quite 2 hours, and the corridor was humming with migrant activity. Highlights in
cluded:
Raptors - resident Cooper's Hawks were patrolling both parks, while a Great Horned Owl was being harassed in BW
cuckoos - heard Yellow-billed in both parks, but no Black-billed, The latter are very scarce migrants in Columbus, which is poor in the upland forests that they favor.
woodpeckers - no more migrants (sapsuckers, Red-headed), but plenty of resident Downies, Hairies, and Red-bellies.
flycatchers - good variety, with 3-5 Pewees at each park, 2 Acadians (each park), 1 Least (BW), 2-3 Great Cresteds (each park), Phoebes (nesting under picnic shelters at WP), and E.Kingbird (WP). No 'late empids' yet (Alder, Willow, Yellow-bellied).
Vireos - lots of singing Red-eyed in both parks, plus 1 Yellow-bellied (WP) and 2 Warbling (1 each)
Wrens, Gnatcatchers, Kinglet - loads of House Wrens and Gnatcatchers at both parks, along with a lingering Ruby-cr.Kinglet (BW)
Thrushes - good fallout here, with plenty of Swainsons (6 at WP, 7 at BW) and Wood (4 WP, 3 BW), along with the first few Veeries (2-3 BW). Hermits appear to have moved on, and Gray-cheeks were their usual secretive selves.
Mimids - Catbirds everwhere (12+ in each park), and singing mickingbirds at BW. No thrashers here; they're scarce in Columbus proper.
Warblers - 16 spp, with fair numbers of the peak migrants, including Magnolia (5 WP, 6 BW), Chesnut-sided (4 WP, 4 BW), Tennessee (4 WP, 3 BW), Bay-breasted (3 WP, 2 BW), Bl.thr.Green (2 each park), Blackburnian (1 WP, 2 BW) and even some late Yellow-rumps (3 at WP, 1 at BW). Also present were Parula (2 singing BW, where they nest), Yellow (1 each park), Black-thr.Blue (2 males BW), Yellow-throated (2 singing on territories BW), Nashville (WP), Am.Redstart (2 males singing BW, where they often summer), Ovenbirds (2-3 BW), Canada (BW), and Wilson's (1 each park). Large numbers of 'late-stage migrants' (Redstarts, Blackpolls, Wilsons) aren't present here yet, and 'Unglaciated strays' that favor upland woods (Hooded, Kentucky, Worm-eating, Cerulean) are always scarce here.
Tanagers - singing Scarlet males at both locations, along with a few females
Grosbeaks, Buntings - 2-3 Rose-breasteds at both parks (and neither have feeders), along with abundant Indigo Buntings
Sparrows - resident Chipping and Songs conspicuous at both parks, but small numbers of White-throats also continue to linger here. No Swamps or Lincolns could be found despite some decent habitat pockets.
Orioles - several singing Baltimores at each park, but no Orchards (which may be tapering off, since they often peak earlier here).
Rob Thorn
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