I visited a series of sites along this Franklin County creek below where most people think to bird.  Starting at the Confluence Area of 3-Creeks Park, I surveyed different stretches of the creek all the way down to its junction with the Scioto River.  In this portion of greater Columbus, the riparian strip of the creek is often squeezed between warehouses, small farm fields, and quarries new and old. The diversity of birds was OK for such a well-trammeled area, but there were no jaw-dropping surprises like Night Herons.  Best birds were concentrated in the few larger patches of riparian forest, mostly at the Confluence Area and further south at Lockbourne.  These included Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Acadian Flycatchers, Crested Flycatchers, and Yellow-throated Warblers.  The Warblers, in fact, were at many locations along the stream, often with fledgelings in tow.

What was conspicuously missing were swallows.  My past records indicate that many of them start massing for migration in mid-late July. There are often small massing points further down the Scioto River valley for Tree & Rough-winged swallows, but elsewhere numbers can get much larger. Two well-known spots for this in central Ohio are Big Island Wildlife Area and Hebron Fish Hatchery, where the numbers are easily in the hundreds and can reach thousands.  Are there other locations that listserve members can suggest?  These swallow hordes are one of the underappreciated spectacles of late Summer birding and shouldn't be missed.

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