Held close to Columbus by family visits, I revisited a few spots along ALum & Big Walnut Creeks on the NE side of Columbus.  Call this the 'BIkepath that is and the bikepath yet to be', since I birded the ALum Creek bikepath at Tanager Woods as well as the bottomlands of Cherrybottom park that are slated to have a bikepath sometime in the future.  Tanager Woods is a mix of riparian woods, second growth, maple forest, and tiny feeder creeks that makes for a surprisingly diverse habitat set in a small place.  Cherrybottom is a deep isolated riparian forest with steep beech-maple bluffs on one side, and can be surprisingly quiet despite its location next to Morse Rd and I-270.  It and the nearby Blendon Estates neighborhood sit in a low curve of Big Walnut Creek, and both the park & the neighborhood have a penchant for flooding.
This morning, Tanager Woods was hot, with a good mix of migrants including 12 species of warblers and 6 flycatchers.  Cherrybottom, as is often the case, had more birds but less diversity.  Cherrybottom is contiguous with Blendon Woods, and the big forest patch that results may dilute out incoming migrants, allowing them to spread to the habitats that they prefer in this large mosaic of different habitats.  At Tanager Woods the mosaic is much more condensed and allows for a quicker rush through the spectrum of available habitats.  It's also a much more isolated greenbelt corridor, which may help concentrate migrants.

Highlights:

Waterfowl - Big Walnut forms a dam-backed 'swamp lake' at Cherrybottom, and this had a young Mute Swan as well as a female Wood Duck & 7 chicks this morning.

Raptors - Red-shouldered calling at Tanager Woods (an active nest here); Red-tails at Cherrybottom (a nest nearby in Blendon Woods).  Oddly no Coopers, perhaps because the buteos keep them out.

Swifts, Swallows - small flocks of 12-15 swifts at both sites, along with 2-3 likely-resident Rough-winged Swallows, cruising for breakfast above the riparian woods.

Woodpeckers - lots of Downies & Red-bellies at both sites, but also Hairy and calling Pileated at Cherrybottom, where both likely nest.  Cherrybottom is a woodpecker mecca, with lots of old maples and sycamores.

Flycatchers - Pewees, Great Cresteds, Phoebes, and Acadians at both sites, and Least & Willow also at Tanager Woods.  We seem in the peak of flycatcher migration.

Vireos - many Red-eyed, especially at Cherrybottom which had 8-10 singing and more not singing.  The only other vireo was a singing Yellow-throated at Cherrybottom.

Thrushes - Swainsons at both sites (6+ at TW, 4+ at CB), as were Wood Thrushes (2-3 at each site).  Heard a Veery at Tanager Woods.  Both sites are thick enough to hide a lot of thrushes, but thrush numbers till seem down from last week.

Mimids - plenty of Catbirds at both sites, along with a thrasher at Tanager Woods.  Surprisingly no Mockingbirds evident at either site; they usually nest at both, but may have been a little torpid in the cold morning (It was 38 early here).

Waxwings - smal flocks at both sites, where they appeared to be hanging around locust trees for bugs or buds

Warblers - 14 species total, with the highlights being singing CONNECTICUT, MOURNING, and N.Waterthrush at Tanager Woods and a singing Canada at Cherrybottom.  As in the past few days, Magnolia and Redstarts have been the most common, with fewer of Tennessess, Blackburninans, Blackpolls, Bay-breasted, Chesnut-sided, Yellow, Yellow-throated, Com.Yellowthroat.

Tanagers - surprisingly none, not even at the eponymous Tanager Woods.

Grosbeaks, Buntings - both still strong, with Rose-br. Grosbeaks singing at both sites, and plenty of Indigo Buntings at both places

Sparrows - resident Chipping-Field-Songs, but no migrants noted at either location

Icterids - several Baltimore Orioles at both sites, but these could be residents as much as migrants.  Redwings, Grackles, and Cowbirds common at both sites.


Rob Thorn
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