I did a bit of scouting this afternoon for an upcoming Columbus Audubon trip, stopping at several locations around the lower part of Alum Creek Lake (north of Columbus).  Water level in the reservoir is very high; for example, the beach is totally inundated, and many points are under water.  There was a modest fallout of waterbirds and some decent raptors to be found, including:

Diving Ducks - several flocks of Scaup and Ring-necks were hiding in the lee of the dam and in a few west-side inlets.

Bufflehead - 8-10 were off the Hollenback marina on the west shore of the Lake

Common Goldeneye - good afternoon for these divers, with 50+ in about an hour.  Most were in the southern part of the reservoir, and could be seen from the dam.

Mergansers - small flocks lurking in west side inlets; best was the inlet just north of the Park Headquarters, where 30+ Red-breasted and 20+ Hooded were paddling around.

Other waterbirds - no Loons yet, but there were 25+ Horned Grebes scattered over 4 stops (the dam led with 15).

Raptors - Turkey Vultures were at every stop and seem to be moving north.  An adult Bald Eagle was winging north over the Headquarters, while a Peregrine was moving south over Cheshire launch.

Gulls - no wayward terns, but there were the 3 expected gulls, with the largest # of Ring-bills 50 on the flooded beach, while 30+ Bonapartes were hovering off Hollenback Marina

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]