Brad Sparks and I spent the morning along Darby Creek. The pair of blue
grosbeaks were seen delivering a grasshopper to offspring [they were
pretty easy to find in the copse of trees immediately before where the
bike trail northbound from the Kuhlwein Rd pkg lot crosses Darby Creek
Drive, a nice maybe .6 mi walk. Large flocks of bobolinks along the way.
        The Darby wetlands had 11 shorebird species: 30 lesser yellowlegs, 2
greater yellowlegs, two short-billed and one long-billed dowitcher (all
juv), a white-rumped sandpiper, two least SPs, 8 semipalmated SPs, one
semipalmated plover, twelve stilt SPs, 3 pectoral SPs, 4 killdeers. We
saw a female and a juvenile harrier flying together, another sign they
probably nested successfully here. The easiest way to this place: (1)
wait till the Parks finish improvements, or (2) park at Kuhlwein, take
the bike path south to where it turns 90 degrees right to cross Darby Ck
Dr, then head pretty much directly east through the small grove of oaks
across the new prairie; the shorebird spot is in the pond maybe .3 mile
ahead; there is no path, and it is not easy walking. Birds are spooky,
and you must keep your distance.
        We met Ben Warner there, who called us later to report he had found two
buff-breasted SPs and golden-plovers, first reported yesterday, by
looking from the bike trail at Kuhlwein across Darby Ck Dr. We'd missed
them earlier. There is a large area across the Drive where sod has been
removed; just beyond it to the west (maybe 250 yards) is a grassy area
where several stacks of old pallets can be seen; the birds were in this
area. The distance is too far to appreciate the subtle beauties of the
buff-breasteds, but close enough to identify them at 60X, making the
Darby shorebird total 13.
        To the north, we walked a trail in Prairie Oaks MP along the Creek and
found a couple big flocks of southbound warblers, totaling well over a
hundred birds; among those we could get our eyes on were ten species,
and I'm sure we missed a lot. They were hard to pin down near the Creek,
but easier where the forest edged on the field.
Bill Whan
Columbus

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