There is an excellent assortment of waterfowl in Columbus for the date.  The Watermark quarry (along Rt. 33 between 5th Ave. and Grandview Ave.) continues to hold a large assortment and have been joined by a few more species. Species there now include :

Canada Geese
Mute Swans (5)
Mallards
Gadwalls
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck (144 counted)
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
C. Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
and a few Pied-billed Grebes and lots of Am. Coots

Hooded Mergansers also come and go from that quarry, but they're usually more numerous in the Scioto and the smaller pond on the other side of the I-670 ramp. That pond can be reached by walking a mile or so along the bike path where Wood Ducks are still plentiful.

Wed., Jan. 9 after work I went over to Pickerington Ponds for a short walk in the late afternoon where there are many puddle ducks including Green-winged Teal, Am. Wigeon, Gadwalls, and N. Pintails.   That area might freeze up quickly next week. In the wet grassy areas around the Yellowlegs Trail were 2 Savannah Sparrows. In the evening there was a small roosting flock of blackbirds containing about 5 each or Red-wingeds and Rusties.  Rusties seem easy enough to find this winter, but those are the only Red-wingeds I've seen for 2008.

Today I went to the Shawnee State Forest to look for some half-hardy birds. I wish I could have spent the whole day there, but I only had a few hours around mid-day. The must be an exceptional acorn crop there this year, because I've never seen more Red-headed Woodpeckers in one day anywhere ever. I saw all 7 regular Ohio woodpeckers today, but Red-headeds were by far the most numerous or at least the most conspicuous.  I saw ~25 spread out over a wide area, and I didn't cover much ground. Many Blue Jays were seen in all the same areas, and some areas had a lot of N. Flickers too.  Most of my time there was spent along the creeks looking for Winter Wrens, which continue to elude me. Other noteworthy birds seen in brushy areas included Fox and Field Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, a Brown Thrasher, and large numbers of E. Towhees. Red-breasted Nuthatches were present in smaller numbers than I expected, but I didn't spend much time around conifers. I only made one quick foray onto one of the ridges where I found my first E. Bluebirds of the year finally, which brought my 2008 Ohio list up to 96.

After reading Bill Whan's report, I hope to get up to NW Ohio on Monday. Does anyone know of any reliable spots for C. Redpoll in that part of the state now? Woodlawn? Maumee Bay SP? Oak Openings feeders? I haven't seen any recent reports of them from that area. Please email me if you know of any good spots. Thanks.

Bob Royse, Columbus


Robert Royse
[log in to unmask]
www.roysephotos.com

______________________________________________________________________

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]