Breaking with the typical, I scouted areas along Darby Creek around this southwest Franklin County village.  It sits near the southern end of the Battelle-Darby MetroPark, at a point where the stream makes an exaggerated S-curve, and I was hoping for a migrant concentration point somewhere in the vicinity.  No such luck, but interesting birding nonetheless.  I visited Osprey Lake (just south of the village), as well as trails along State 665 (just west) and along Georgesville-Harrisburg Rd (just northwest).  Highlights included:

Raptors: 2 Cooper's, 1 Sharpie, 1 Red-shouldered, 2 Red-tails, 25+ Turkey Vultures

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1 late bird was lurking in a vine tangle along Darby Creek, right at the State 665 bridge.

Chimney Swifts - 40+ over Osprey Lake, smaller numbers in the air over every stop.  They're definitely on the move.

Flycatchers, Swallows - Phoebes were at every stop; 15+ Rough-winged swallows were hawking insects over Osprey lake

Vireos, Jays - only 2 Blue-headed Vireos were seen, and Blue Jays, though noisy, weren't especially numerous here (perhaps 40 all morning)

Wrens, Kinglet - single House Wren and single Ruby-cr.Kinglet were at different spots.  Carolina Wrens, presumably resident, were at most stops.

Thrushes, Mimids - Swainson's at several locations, especially near fruiting grapevines; Robins in small flocks (perhaps 100 total);  Catbirds were scarce, with only 2 at two sites, and a pair of Brown Thrashers was along St. 665

Warblers - scarce, with Yellow-rumps the most common (at all stops), then Cape Mays (singles at 3 stops).  Also had Bl-thr.Greens, Palm, Ovenbird

Grosbeaks, Buntings - no grosbeaks, but single Indigo Buntings at 3 different stops

Sparrows - still surprisingly scarce, with only a few Song, Field, and White-throateds, and single Chipping and Swamp.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]