I stopped at Griggs dam (western edge of Upper Arlington, a Columbus suburb) today expecting some waterbirds concentrated below the dam by the freezing temperatures, but was unprepared for the extent of this concentration.  And it wasn't just waterbirds.  Almost from the moment I got out of my car, I heard and saw large flocks of starlings, robins, geese, and ducks.  The area above the dam is completely frozen, but below the dam there was a 'perfect storm' of wind-free conditions, open water, and loads of berrybushes.  The result was so many birds I often didn't know where to focus my attention.  Waterfowl lined the 1/4 mile strip of open water below the dam, and didn't really move much for me as I walked along the nearby road.  Clouds of starlings and Robins, along with a few waxwings, buzzed between different honeysuckles and Bradford pears.  An adult Red-tail and a juvenile Bald Eagle cruised overhead.  It was one of those great winter moments.

It's not an entirely unpredictable moment, however.  In several of the past years, this spot has been reliably good during long freezes.  There are lots of nearby ponds and quarry lakes that freeze over, as do other sections of the river, so nearly all of the local waterfowl are forced into this spot. This year it just happened to occur early enough to overlap a large berry crop.  The rough totals today were:

Canada Geese - 900
Mallards - 1200
Black Duck - 25
Wood Duck - 2
Amer.Wigeon - 2
Ring-necked Duck - 45
Redhead - 1
Common Goldeneye - 6
Hooded Merganser - 5
Bald Eagle - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 3
American Robin - 400
Starling - 2200
Cedar Waxwing - 20

All of this in about a 30-minute walk.  If it stays cold, you'll want to visit this area.

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