I visited several wild areas in southeast Franklin County and neighboring Pickaway County. I stopped at Canal Winchester parks (Covered Bridge, Bareis Preserve) as well as several parts of Slate Run MetroPark (5-Oaks trail, wetlands).  The flurries made the morning seem wintry, but didn't seem to stop the turnover of winter birds and early migrants.  Waterfowl were disappointingly slim, while some early migrant landbirds were in evidence.  Highlights included

Dabbling ducks - nothing but Mallards; the Slate Run wetlands were largely bare save for squabbling geese pairs.  The same was true at nearby BuzzardsRoost Lake.

Diving Ducks - nothing at Slate Run, but the pond at Bareis Preserve in CanalW. had a few Redheads and Ring-necked Ducks

Raptors - hardly any except for a few resident Red-tails.  There were, however, single Turkey Vultures at several locations.

woodpeckers - lots of resident Red-bellieds, Downies, and Hairies, especially along the 5-Oaks trail at Slate Run, but nothing out of the ordinary

Phoebe - an early migrant was calling near the Covered Bridge park in Canal Winchester

BrownCreepers - surprisingly scarce; the winter residents around Slate Run appear to have pulled out

Golden-cr.Kinglets - small #s at several locations, indicating the start of migration for these mites

Horned Larks - small #s at several locations, as well as flyovers.  They're on their way.

Sparrows - lots and lots of Song Sparrows, but little else.  The Slate Run wetlands had 2-3 remaining Swamp Sparrows, but Tree Sparrows were missing from there and Bareis Preserve.

Blackbirds - small #s of Redwings at most wetlands, but there was a big foraging flock of 300+ (along with an equal # of Starlings) in a field along Winchester Pike north of Slate Run

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