With steady SW winds lately, there haven't been any large concentrations of migrants along the Scioto River in Columbus, but there has been a good steady trickle. Tonight the winds shift from the north and there could possibly be more birds staying put for a while in this part of the state.
Today I also had my first Cedar Waxwings (about 10 or so) of the spring. May 15 is really an average date for their first appearances around here, and they never get super abundant until the end of the month. From what I've ever been able to tell, they mostly catch flying insects in the spring, and the lack of fruit might not matter that much right now. Someone mentioned cottonwoods, and I live surrounded by those things. I doubt that the waxwings would use cottonwoods for anything besides possibly using the seeds for nesting material. The cottonwood seed pods haven't begun to form yet, but some years they don't come out until June. My guess is that the cold snap in April might have slowed them down a little bit, but probably won't have much of an effect. If in fact the seeds don't come out this year, I know many of my neighbors will be very, very happy. We'll see..........
There are still a few Yellow-rumped Warblers (females only now) along the Scioto. Besides those and resident Yellow and Yellow-throateds, other warblers here today included Tennessee, Magnolia, Bay-br, Blackpoll, Am Redstart, N Waterthrush, Mourning, and Wilson's. Black-thr Greens and Blackburnians were still here yesterday. Red-eyed Vireos remain numerous, some probably on territory. A few Philadelphias have been seen here in recent days too. White-throated Sparrows were still here yesterday, but I didn't see any today.
Bob Royse, Columbus
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