I hiked around this MetroPark west of Columbus this morning, focusing on paths near or along Darby Creek.  Despite the overcast skies and a startlingly cold N wind, there were quite a few migrants scattered in wind-free areas along the Coneflower trail and around the Darby Bend lakes.  Waterbirds were negligible; Darby Bend lakes only had a few Geese and 2 Pied-billed Grebes.  Raptors were also surprisingly scarce, with only a few Turkey Vultures and 1 Red-tail.  Landbird highlights included:

woodpeckers - 6+ Flickers, along with fair #s of expected Downies and Red-bellies

flycatchers - only a single Phoebe was along the Coneflower Trail

swifts,swallows - no swallows, but at least 6 Chimney swifts were observed winging their way south

Blue jays - 12-14 was a jump over the usual few here; in another week, this # might quadruple.

wrens - 2 House Wrens were still lurking along the Coneflower Trail, joined by 6 Winter Wrens and several Carolinas

Ruby-cr.Kinglets - at least 10 were found in an hour along the Coneflower trail

Thrushes - 6+ E.Bluebirds were calling around the Prairie View picnic Area, while flocks of Robins were scattered along most of the trails I visited, perhaps totalling 150+.

Warblers - 8 species, with Yellow-rumps totally dominant (18+), followed by 5 Common Yellowthroats, 3 Magnolias, and single Tennessee, Cape May, Blackpoll, Redstart, and Wilson's

Grosbeaks,Buntings - a single Grosbeak around Darby Bend Lakes was balanced by 5+ Indigo Buntings scattered over several sites.

Sparrows - diversity not high yet, but numbers were definitely on the rise with 22+ Field Sparrows, 20+ Song Sparrows, 30+ White-throats, and 3 Lincoln's.  If I had beat along many of the meadows in the park, this list would undoubtedly be much larger.

Blackbirds - small flocks of Redwings were flying over several different spots, but they were dwarfed by a big flock of 500+ grackles flying around the Prairie View picnic area.  Blackbird flocks can get very large in this park later in October.

Mimids - 10-12 Catbirds were joined by 1 Brown Thrasher along the Coneflower Trail

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