While making a trip out to Darby Creek, I stopped at several spots in Grove City (a SW Columbus suburb) and was rewarded with a mix of blackbirds.  Henceroth and Fryar Parks had small numbers of Common Grackles, and Fryar had a group of 5 Rusty Blackbirds in its oak forest.  The recent rains had made it very swamp-like, and oak swamps are apparently one of the preferred winter habitats for this species.  The bigger payoff was along nearby Beatty Road, where a mixed flock of 3000 blackbirds was foraging through corn stubble.  Common Grackles & Redwings comprised about 1000 each, while Cowbirds & Starlings split the other 1000.  Try as I might, I couldn't pull out any rare blackbirds from the pile, but the flock will probably stay in the vicinity for a while if someone else wants to sort through them.

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