Trying to focus on open water & feeders, I visited Berliner park (below Greenlawn dam), then went over to the Greenlawn cemetery in search of winter strays & merlins.  Finally, I finished up around Grandview Heights and the nearby Watermark Lake, which has stayed remarkably ice-free.  Notables included:

Dabbling Ducks - nothing much besides Mallards and Black Ducks on the Scioto River at Berliner

Diving Ducks - 3 Bufflehead were on Watermark Lake, and small flocks of Hooded Mergansers were both there and along the Scioto river.

Other waterfowl - no grebes (which is strange here as Pied-billed regularly winter in this area now), but the flock of 100+ Coots on Watermark Lake is still present (They were found on the CBC).

Raptors - a Merlin was perched just NW of the Chapel in the cemetery (but the CBC team here had 4).  No Bald Eagle along the Scioto at Berliner, but there was a pale juvenile Red-tail.

Woodpeckers - 2 Sapsuckers were calling their cat-like call in the cemetery, and Hairy Woodpeckers there and at Berliner were somewhat unusual.

Brown Creepers - still fairly common, with 5 along the Berliner bikepath and another 2 in Grandview.

Thrushes - hardly any, with the lone exception 1 Robin in Grandview.

Sparrows - White-throated and Junco flocks in all 3 locations, but nothing else

Blackbirds - a lone Cowbird at the Greenlawn feeders was a bit unusual, especially since we had none on the CBC.

Finches - no winter finches; the siskin flock present at the cemetery feeders last week appears to have moved on.  A hike around the conifer plantings there didn't find anything; the trees look to be having a low cone year.

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