I spent the cold, blustery morning birding up the east shore of Alum Lake, then down the west shore of nearby Hoover Reservoir.  Despite the cold weather, migration seemed to be unaffected, with a number of recent arrivals and late lingerers gracing both areas.  At Alum I worked the dam, New Galena, SummerRidge access, and Cheshire boat lunch, while at Hoover I visited Wiese Road, Oxbow Island, Maxtown boat launch, and the dam area.  Highlights included:

Diving Ducks - Alum was duck-less, but Hoover still had a few Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks off Oxbow Island

Mergansers - a few Red-br. Mergansers, mostly pairs, were still lingering on Hoover and could be found at any of the access points

Other waterfowl - a single Common Loon was in the far northern reaches of Hoover off Wiese Rd, where there were also 40+ cormorants.  Another flock of 30+ cormorants was off Oxbow Island

Osprey - a single bird was on the platform off Area M at Hoover, while another (perhaps the mate) was fishing off Oxbow Island

Forster's Terns - 2 of these delicate beauties were flying around the upper reaches of Hoover reservoir off Wiese Rd.

Swallows - the stars of the morning, with small flocks of Tree Swallows at most stops, usually fluttering over the water looking for stray insects.  Mixed among them were a few Barn Swallows (most stops), Rough-wings (a few on all the Hoover stops), and the first CLIFF swallows (5-6 around Hoover dam).  At Alum Lake dam, 3 glum-looking Purple Martins were sitting in a cottonwood in the drizzle.

Kinglets - both Golden-crowns & Ruby-crowns were common, found at most stops

Wrens - my first House Wren was singing in the thickets of New Galena at Alum Lake

Mimids - a Mockingbird was singing at the Alum Lake dam, while a thrasher was singing near New Galena

Warblers - Yellow-rumps were at several locations, and a single PALM was foraging around the waters edge at Maxtown Boat launch

Sparrows - surprisingly few migrants, with no Trees and only a few White-throats.  Singing Chipping and Field Sparrows were widespread.

Blackbirds - a pair of RUSTIES were at Wiese access on Hoover.  Their migration looks to be a bit late this Spring.

______________________________________________________________________

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]