I birded some areas along the Scioto River today, from its confluence with the Olentangy up to past Griggs Dam.  I was checking if anything was worth a visit on an Audubon field trip tomorrow, as well as doing a bit of scouting for the Columbus CBC.  The rainy weather kept landbird numbers low, but there were still some interesting waterbirds around. The high, fast river, however, pushed most waterbirds to neighboring lakes. Highlights included:

Black-cr.Night Herons - none were along the Olentangy (confirming Bill Whan's earlier observations), but 2 were along the Scioto across from the Boathouse Restaurant at Confluence Park.  They can be seen easily from the bikepath bridge over the Olentangy here.

Grebes - Watermark Lake had 6 Pied-billed and 1 Horned, a good haul for here.
Diving Ducks - Watermark also had a flock of 95 Ring-necked Ducks, plus 3 Redhead, while Hidden Lake had 12 more Ring-necks.
Hooded Mergansers - small flocks were at several places along the river here
Cooper's Hawk - 1 was stalking a big flock of Starlings & Robins feeding along in bushes below Griggs Dam
Brown Creepers - low #s, with singles at Marble Cliff bikepath and below Griggs dam
Mockingbirds - singles were defending berry bushes at Confluence Park and along the Marble Cliff bikepath
Golden-cr.Kinglets - individuals were at Marble Cliff bikepath, Hidden Lakes, and Griggs dam
Sparrows - flocks of White-throated were at almost every stop, but other species were low or lacking.

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