I spent Wednesday morning birding around the lower end of this reservoir north of Columbus, before the crowds of boaters and beachgoers drove off the birds. The list was high for the date -- about 65 species -- but contained nothing very unexpected, with a few exceptions. I checked out the Beach & Visitor's Center area, the dam, the New Galena boat launch area, and the Mountain Bike Trail ravines. HAbitats ranged from beach and open meadow to ravine forest.  Notables in 3 hours included:

Gulls - 25+ Ring-bills and 1 Herring, all subadult, were scattered across the beach early
cormorants - 3-4 fishing in the lower part of the reservoir
Vultures - 10 Turkey Vultures were still lingering around the dam area
Osprey - one was fishing in the bay off New Galena, far from any established nest site.
Barred Owl - a juvenile was calling for food in the ravines of the mountain bike trail area
Flycatchers - 3 Willows were in the scrub near the Visitor's Center, while 4 Acadian were along the mountain bike trail ravine.  Wood Pewees,Phoebes, & Great Crested were widespread.
Swallows - Cliff Swallows were widespread; the colony at the dam seems to have some 30+ pairs
Vireos - Warbling were at many locations, while White-eyed and Yellow-throated were in the scrubby woods at New Galena
Thrushes - only had Wood Thrushes, but they were singing in the woods north of the Visitor's Center and the Mountain bike trail ravines
Mimids - Gray Catbirds common everywhere, but the only Brown Thrasher was in the scrub near the Visitor's Center along with 2 pairs of Mockingbirds
Warblers - Yellow Warblers were common at both the Visitor's Center area (4) and New Galena (4).  A Prothonotary was singing at New Galena, the first I've seen of them at that location.  Both a Yellow-throated Warbler and a Louisiana Waterthrush were singing in the ravines of the mountain bike trail area.
Tanagers - only had single Scarlets singing in the woods north of the Visitor's Center and the ravine area of the mountain bike trail.
Sparrows - nothing other than the expected Chipping, Field, and Song Sparrows
Orioles - singing Baltimores were scarce, with singles at the Visitor's Center, New Galena, and the east Dam area

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