The Tundra and Trumpeter Swans were still present today at the pond off
London-Groveport just west of Hw 23, sleeping among Canadas. I didn't
notice neck collars on the Trumpeters, but they're presumably from the
introduced Great Lakes population and not their recent native range farther
north.

At the SWACO landfill, I had an adult *GLAUCOUS *and adult *LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL* flying around the usual swarm of Ring-billed and Herring
Gulls.  Details are at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16482943

If you go looking for gulls here, be brief -- the landfill staff don't seem
fond people pointing camera-like optics at the landfill while people are up
there working.

Best views early in the day are from the small pullout at the first light
west of the London-Groveport exit off I-70.  The next pullout over is
closer, with worse backlighting early in the day, but late in the day might
have better light. Unfortunately, it's also a gated entrance road to the
landfill and is more likely to get you more attention from landfill
workers, who will call you in and send a truck over to see what you're up
to.

Saturday a.m., when the landfill isn't in operation, the gulls will likely
still show up but probably won't stick around as long (with no workers, no
garbage turnover), however birder presence will be less intrusive on the
landfill workers.

Good birding,
-Paul Hurtado


On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 12:59 AM, Paul Hurtado <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> As many of you know, there are large quarry ponds/lakes south of Columbus
> near the Scioto River. These are a haven for water birds, but are
> unfortunately inaccessible for birding.
>
> This evening, I happened to see some large flocks of ducks and geese
> flying into these lakes as I drove north into Franklin County on Hw. 23,
> and decided to stop by St. Joseph's Cemetery just south of London-Groveport
> Rd to watch birds flying in to roost. I then took a quick detour onto
> London-Groveport Rd, just to see if there weren't any other vantage points,
> and I was delighted to find the roadside trees and brush that normally
> obscure the small lake south of London-Groveport before Parsons Rd had been
> completely removed!
>
> Among the large group of ducks and geese (which I only very briefly
> scanned) were a mixed flock of 35+ Tundra and Trumpeter Swans (most never
> raised their heads, so some could have been Mute I suppose) a couple
> Greater Scaup and a decent mix of other ducks that I only briefly scanned
> with my scope (i.e., I'm sure I overlooked a lot of birds).
>
> Despite the wide shoulder, to stay out of traffic birders should probably
> park in the small pulloff right before the lake becomes visible from the
> road. Definitely a spot to keep an eye on, especially in the evening when
> birds are coming in to roost.
>
> Map and a list of the other waterfowl I noticed are at:
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16478294
>
> Good birding,
> -Paul Hurtado
>

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