Laura and I walked around the northern pond at the Darby wetlands this
afternoon. It was warm and breezy, and falling leaves had disclosed the
downtown skyscrapers miles away to the east. There was not a single bird
on the pond.  Harriers--no adult males--were often seen in the distance.
The water level was even higher than the last time I visited, and at
best there were 18-inch margins along the borders of the pond and the
island. Accordingly, shorebirds were scarce:
4 greater yellowlegs
8 lesser yellowlegs
2 dunlins
2 semipalmated sandpipers
1 stilt sandpiper
1 dowitcher sp (in flight, long-billed probably based on date)
3 least sandpipers
2 killdeers
A few meadowlarks were seen, but early afternoon is a poor time to look
for sparrows here. Other observers saw a short-eared owl here last
Wednesday first thing in the morning. This nascent wetland (not even a
year old yet) is interesting: I have not yet seen a great blue heron
here, or a gull on the water or the ground...a work in progress. Is
anyone else checking out the two other large ponds to the south?
Bill Whan
Columbus

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