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November 2007

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From:
rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:59:34 -0500
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This is the time of year when I start to wonder which birds are invading and which aren't.  To get a clearer picture, I usually visit a series of 'sentinel parks' whose mix of forest and field-edge usually proves attractive to a wide variety of birds.  The key ingredients for these parks are that
1. they have both forest and meadows, with a brushy edge between
2. the forest has a mix of trees, including mast-producers (oaks,beeches) and a few conifers
3. there are feeders either in the woods or nearby

In the east side of Columbus, only a few parks actually meet all 3: Blendon & Sharon Woods, Gahanna Woods, Inniswood, Swickard Woods, Jefferson Township Woods, Woodward Park, and a few of the wooded ravines of Hoover reservoir.  I managed to hit many of these spots over the last 3 days and can give a measured guess about the following late migrants/irruptors:

Red-headed Woodpecker - only 1 (Jefferson Township) so there's no Big invasion yet
Blue Jays - nearly every site had at least 6, often more.  Their invasion is here.
Red-br.Nuthatch - none, so their recent big numbers may represent mostly migrants
Winter Wren - 1 (Inniswood), which represents a below-average haul so far
Golden-crowned Kinglets - 1-2 birds at several parks, so they seem to be fairly abundant this year.
Hermit Thrush - none, which is unsurprising given the relatively poor berry crop
Cedar Waxwings - small flocks at many parks.  How they're dealing with the low berry number is a mystery, but they may be on their way out soon.
Yellow-rumped Warblers - every park had at least 1, often more.  They're common,reflecting a rather good crop of poison ivy berries(a favored winter food).
E.Towhee - only 2 (Sharon Woods,Woodward), so their numbers are about average
Tree Sparrow - none, which is surprising here by this date.  Are they up north?
Fox Sparrows - several (Sharon, Blendon, Woodward, Swickard), so it looks to be a good winter for finding them here.
Purple Finches - none, so they may also be mostly migrants and mostly gone
Pine Siskins - at several parks (Sharon, Blendon, Inniswood) including a small flock of 8 around Shrock Lake in Sharon Woods.  (This is a very reliable spot for them because of the number of European Beech trees here.)
Evening Grosbeaks - none, but they haven't been regular visitors around Columbus for a long time now.

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