I've done a little bit of birding the past two days, adding more to my January list, and finding a few things that may be of interest to folks on this list serve. 

Yesterday (Jan. 2) backyard birds were more active with less wind than on the first, so I didn't have to leave home to get Red-breasted Nuthatch (species #47 for the year), Blue Jay (#48), and Cooper's Hawk (#49).

Yesterday afternoon I went to look at the Black-crowned Night-Heron (#50) roost by the Herrick Rd. bridge. The birds are easily seen, but they're in OSU land (which is like a foreign country to me) where there is just about nowhere to park if you don't have an official tag or sticker. If you want to see the birds, I would suggest parking in the lot for the shopping area on Olentangy River Rd. and Kinnear. It's right here in the USA, and is first place you see when leaving Rt. 315 on the King/Kinnear/5th Ave. exit. There is a theater complex and some restaurants at the northern end. From there walk one block N along Olentangy River Rd., then walk east over the Herrick Rd. bridge and some roosting BCNH's should be easy to see on the west bank of the Olentangy north of the bridge. I saw 8 birds, but there might have been more.

On the way home I peeked into the Griggs Reservoir above the dam wall where a Red-breasted Merganser (#51) was a recent arrival.

After seeing Ryan Steiner's post from yesterday, I decided the swing over to the Greenlawn Cemetery this afternoon for a quick look.  A Northern Flicker (#52) was drinking at the little remaining open water at the pit when I arrived, and about a dozen Pine Siskins (#53) were at the thistle feeders or nearby. A small raptor that I never got a good look at (Merlin maybe?, Sharp-shinned? Kestrel? I couldn't see it well enough to tell you) scattered all the birds in the area, and the siskins didn't come back while I was there. Poking around the pit produced the bird of the day, a PINE WARBLER (#54). It was actively feeding in the pines between the pit and the big mausoleum. The first of several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (#55) that I saw in the cemetery was also in that same area along with more Red-breasted Nuthatches than I could keep track of. A little bit more waiting at the feeders and driving around only got me one more year bird, some Brown-headed Cowbirds (#56).

After that I decided to drive up to the Hoover Reservoir and have a look around, but once I was in that part of town I decided to head over to the fields by the egg farms near Johnstown. Snow on the ground made it easy to find my hoped for species quickly and easily. The first road I went down, Westley Chapel Road, produced a huge mixed flock of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs (#57). I turned north at the first intersection I came to, Tagg Rd., where there was smaller flock of Horned Larks and a few Snow Buntings (#58) in the mix. I jogged west than back down S along Downing Rd. where two large flocks containing all three species were found. That was easy!  This area near the egg farms has always been reliable for finding Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs. For anyone who is interested, it's on DeLorme p.58  B/C 4. From Johnstown head NW on Rt. 57, turn N on Croton Rd. as you're heading out of the town. Then drive a mile or two to Westley Chapel Rd and turn left (W). That road along with the previously mentioned Tagg and Downing Roads which spur N from Westley Chapel are reliable for those birds. That area is just east of the N end of Hoover and routes can be made from Galena by looking at the DeLorme.

While in the neighborhood I then went to the always pleasant Morris Woods State Nature Preserve on Dutch Lane Rd. (just NE of Johnstown of Rt. 62). It was a beautiful place to take a winter walk. There were no tracks along the trails in the snow, so I was probably the first of the year there. I did the whole loop. It was quiet, but very enjoyable. I did see the expected woodland birds including my already overdue first Tufted Titmouse (#59) and Hairy Woodpeckers (#60) of the year. 

On the way home I took another look at the Watermark quarry in Columbus. Part of it is freezing up, but there is still a lot of open water. Most of the Ring-necked Ducks have moved into the Scioto, but everything else was still there. New arrivals since yesterday included 4 more Mute Swans, and 3 Buffleheads (#61).

Tomorrow I plan to go to Lake Erie. I'm hearing a lot of reports from E. 72nd St., which I'll of course check out, but nothing from anywhere else. Is there anything at Eastlake, Simm's Park in Euclid, Rocky River, or Avon Lake? Is the lack of reports the result of no birds worth reporting or no birders heading there ?  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

Bob Royse, Columbus

Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com

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