I visited several spots along this creek west of Columbus, starting at Prairie Oaks MetroPark and working down to Battelle-Darby MetroPark.  Sites visited included Sycamore Plains, the Kuhlwein wetlands, Cedar Ridge, and Indian Ridge.  The long dry spell has lowered all the water levels, and many of the smaller pools and wetlands were dry.  Still, the cool weather stimulated a lot of birdsong, so there were lots of landbirds to find.  Highlights included:

Great Egrets - 2 were at the north wetland pool along Darby Creek Drive (opposite the airport), one of the few places with water

Cooper's Hawk - a young bird was calling around Cedar Ridge

Pileated Woodpecker - heard only 1, at Sycamore Plains.  None at Indian Ridge was very unusual.

Flycatchers - still many calling, with lots of Pewees and Acadians in every forested area.  1-2 Willows were calling at both Sycamore Plains and the Kuhlwein wetland

Vireos - loads of Red-eyed, with double-figures at most places.  2 Yellow-throated were at Cedar Ridge and another was at Indian Ridge
Wood Thrushes - high #s, with 2-4 at forest patches at Sycamore Plains, Cedar Ridge, and Indian Ridge

Parulas & Yellow-throateds - these riparian warblers were in good supply, with 1-2 at every creekside stop.

Ovenbirds & Kentucky - these forest-understory warblers continue to colonize the forest block at Indian Ridge, where I had 3 singing Ovenbirds and 1 singing Kentucky along the Terrace Trail there

Tanagers - no great #s, but a Scarlet was along the Terrace Trail and a Summer pair persists at Cedar Ridge

Dickcissel - 2-3 were scattered around the Kuhlwein wetland, while another 2-3 were around the silo wetland

Orchard Oriole - 1 was singing at the Indian Ridge prairie, while another was at the runway wetland along Darby Creek Drive.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]