Things are getting a little strange here in central Ohio, at least by the yardstick of this trio of 'early' migrants.

Chimney Swifts, ever opportunistic, are switching around their roosts (perhaps to avoid predators?)  The traditional Whitehall roosts are mostly unavailable (since that school district is massively remodeling their schools), so those swifts appear to have spread to other roosts.  Eastmoor High School, about a mile west, is now sporting an 800-1000 bird roost, far above its normal small #s.  Traditional north-central Columbus roosts (DeSales HS, St.John the Less Church) are almost devoid of birds, for whatever reason, so if anybody finds big swift roosts in that area, please let me know.

Nighthawks, after some promising flocks in Clintonville, seem to have slowed down as well.  The last 5 evenings, I've been around the Alum Creek and Big Walnut Corridors in East Columbus and Gahanna, routes that often have flocks of 20-40 birds per eve by now.  So far, the numbers have been between 1-3.  I guess they're going slow to take advantage of a good moth crop this year.

Hummingbirds are still around in good #s here, as judging by feeder reports.  In fact, a hummer nest has been found near the Big Walnut Creek bike path bridge in far south Gahanna near Price Road Park.  This nest is easily viewed from the bikepath bridge; it's about 15 feet off the north side, below bridge level on a small sycamore branch.   The spunky little mom hummer has become a local celebrity, and you can often find the nest by the crowd of people looking down at it. If you don't see anyone, the spot is also marked by a hummer feeder that someone has hung up on the bridge near the nest. This nest is practically made-to-order for photographers, since it has good lighting and the view looks down into it.  Right now, the babies make a little 'forest' of beaks sticking up from the nest opening.  We can only hope that some predator or angry kid won't disturb it before the little guys fledge.

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