Shortly we'll post total ticks on the Franklin County 2011 bird list at
http://www.columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=634&Itemid=216
over the next couple days to complete March records. You can also write
me anytime for an update. The total is now 130.
        The 2011 total for Ohio is much larger, about 170, largely because the
warmth of Lake Erie invites visits from more waterfowl, gulls, etc., and
because a few boreal landbirds, seed-eaters and raptors, didn't come
farther south. This discrepancy will become smaller as migration
progresses, because nearly all birds will pass through the more southern
counties, but not all will reach the Lake.
        We are doing well here in Franklin Co. We have not missed any species
on the target list in any final way, but we should worry about snowy owl
and n. shrike. We still need some waterfowl, but they will be possible
for weeks, and then again in the fall. We'll have to be alert for odd
herons and egrets, which do not linger on their way north, but there'll
be chances in the fall. Marsh wrens apparently do not nest here any more
with any regularity, so the time to hear a migrant here is this month,
as they'll be fairly silent in fall: if you see a patch of cattails,
listen. Whip-poor-will will be tough, as will grouse and bobwhite, in
our mostly urban setting. The toughest warblers coming up will be
prairie and golden-winged, and Kirtland's of course.
        Thanks for reporting your finds; the big action is about to begin.
Bill Whan
Columbus

p.s. if any other county is keeping a comparable list this year, let us
know!

______________________________________________________________________

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]