I spent the morning raoming the northwest edge of this Columbus suburb, stopping at O'Shaughnessy dam, then the nearby Twin Lakes Preserve, before running west to Glacier Ridge MetroPark.  Some of the Scioto River was ice-free, especially below the dam, but most ponds and small streams were frozen over.  Despite the bitter cold, there were a fair number of birds out foraging.  Notables included:

Great Blue Herons - the collection below the dam numbered 14 this morning, but I'd expect greater numbers if the weather stays cold.

Waterfowl - large #s of Mallards & Canada geese below the dam, but little else other than 2-3 Black Ducks.  Twin Lakes and all the small ponds out to Glacier Ridge were completely frozen.

Raptors - Red-tailed hawk adults at several locations, but I couldn't locate the Red-shouldered or the Barred Owl seen recently at Glacier Ridge.  A hovering Kestrel in the Windmill fields there was a nice consolation, but even better was a young Bald Eagle over the Scioto River below the O'Shaughnessy dam.

Golden-cr.Kinglets - small #s along the Scioto, but none out at Glacier Ridge.

E.Bluebirds - small flocks of 3 at both Twin Lakes and Glacier Ridge.

Sparrows - surprisingly few, with no Tree Sparrows anywhere.  This is very unusual for these areas; perhaps the cold weather has really started to push them south.

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