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October 2007

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From:
rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
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rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:35:48 -0400
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The sunny morning looked like a good time for dirunal migrants, so I spent most of it around 2 spots along the Darby Creek corridor southwest of Columbus.  The first hour was at Osprey lake, a revegetated gravel pit south of Darbydale, which sits at a bend in the creek that seems to pile up migrants.  The second & third hours were spent around the Terrace Trail and the nearby sledding hill, an area of the MetroPark just east of the village of Georgesville and just south of the junction of Little Darby & Big Darby Creeks.  Both sites had a decent flow of diurnal migrants, as well as some sparrows & kinglets.  Highlights included:

Raptors - 24+ Turkey Vultures over the course of the morning (but it was difficult to tell if they were 'actively' migrating, since they just soared in lazy circles :-).  The sledding hill was the surprising site, since it offers a good vista to the north up the Big Darby Creek corridor.  In the time there, I had 4 Sharp-shins, 2 N.Harriers, and 2 Kestrels fly past, all high and heading south.  A soaring Red-tail here was more likely a resident.

Swallows - hardly any, with only 2 Tree Swallows flying over Osprey lake early

Blue Jays - good numbers, with 12+ at Osprey Lake and 50+ over the Terrace Trail area.  From the sledding hill you could see small groups of them flying all around the valley

Thrushes - migrant flocks of E.Bluebirds at both Osprey lake(8) and the sled hill (6).  Even larger numbers of Robins, with 100+ over Osprey Lake and 300+ flying past the sled hill.  They're definitely on the move.

Cedar Waxwings - another species using the good weather to move, with flocks totalling 80 at Osprey lake and 30+ at the sled hill.

Pipits,Larks - no pipits, but small numbers of Horned larks headed south over both sites (5 at OL, 4 at SH)

Warblers - flyover Yellow-rumps at both sites, totalling 30+ birds

Blackbirds - mostly Redwings, with 240+ from both sites.  Far fewer grackles & cowbirds, which was surprising because these areas traditionally host huge grackle flocks.

Sparrows - Osprey lake had a good mix in the surrounding scrub, including Chipping, Field, Song, Swamp, White-throated, & White-crowned.  More species were likely here because of the good habitat, but I was more focused on the flyover birds this morning.

Finches - good numbers of goldfinches, perhaps 80 total (50 at OspreyLake), with the occasional Purple Finch (7 total, with 6 over the sled hill) and a lone Pine Siskin (over the sled hill)

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