Hi all,

After realizing last week that my schedule wouldn't allow me to round
out January with 100 species, I spent part of the weekend birding near
Columbus trying to break 90. And got soooo close!  Here are a few
highlights from Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday at Greenlawn Cemetery I found a very cooperative male
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just north of the pond, and 6+ Pine Siskins
in the treetops above.  I then headed west to the Rosedale area, and
found Lapland Longspurs with Horned Larks on Irwin Rd and Bates Rd.,
just south of 161.

Sunday I headed to Blendon Woods Metro Park where I found the Mute
Swan (and a domestic-type Swan Goose) with 200+ Black Ducks and a nice
Mallard X Black Duck hybrid.  A single Pine Siskin was heard above
blinds at the pond, and 23+ cowbirds and a Common Grackle at the
visitor center feeders.

I stopped at Hoover Reservoir on my way to Highbanks Metro Park.
Nothing noteworthy here, but while scanning the waterfowl south of the
Sunbury Rd. bridge I spotted a lone coyote that had strolled out onto
the ice and was circling the open water looking for a meal. The geese
were surprisingly tolerant of the canine and kept their distance, and
after a few minutes the coyote gave up, spun around a few times then
curled up for a nap.  There were also a few dozen Ring-billed Gulls in
with the waterfowl, but no other species of gulls were noticed.

At Highbanks, I found a cooperative Winter Wren skulking in the tree
roots along the river bank and a flock of cooperative E. Bluebirds,
but not the Hermit Thrush or Kinglets I was hoping for.  I was about
to head home when I stumbled across the feeders along the creek near
the river, which held two more grackles and my last species for the
month: 2 "Red" Fox Sparrows, species number 89:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljhurtado/5405849602/

Here's a few species I probably shouldn't have missed, or would have
likely found had I made it up to the lake shore more than once:
  Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
  Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
  Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
  Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
  Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
  Ross's Goose (Chen rossii)
  Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
  Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor)
  Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
  Common Loon (Gavia immer)
  Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
  Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
  Iceland Gull (L. glaucoides)
  Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
  Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)
  Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Maybe next year! ;)

Good birding,
-Paul Hurtado

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