--- On Sat, 4/30/11, Verna Ansel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ...we also spotted a red-breasted nuthatch. Our
> Naturalist guide said this was very unusual for this time of year.

Not really. According to Peterjohn's Birds of Ohio,
"Spring migrants are apparent by mid-April and peak betweeen April 22 and May 15. The last migrants usually depart from the interior counties by May 20 and along Lake Erie by May 25-30."

The same pattern is reflected in the "Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Ohio", which graphs the peak spring migration from the third week of April through the second week in May. (A free downloadable version of old checklist and information on ordering the recent checklist can be found at the OOS website: http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/checklist/checklists.php)

The number of red-breasted nuthatches we see in the spring depends on how many moved south for the winter. I think the cone crops in Ontario were not so good this year, so we got a sizable influx. The difference between this spring and others is perhaps not that the nuthatches are late, but rather that they are numerous.

Happy birding,
Paul

Paul Gardner
Columbus, OH

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