I spent a few hours this morning visiting Pickerington Ponds (and nearby Portman Park), then hiking around Blacklick Woods, careful to stay out of the bitter wind in both spots.  At Pick Ponds, all the wetlands are frozen over, so my main goal was to check the feeders at Glacier Ridge & Wood Duck parking areas.  It was really too exposed to safely walk around there.  Portman and Blacklick were protected enough to hike.  Raptors were no shows, and the only waterfowl were some geese & mallards in Blacklick Creek and at the Blacklick Woods Nature Center.  At Portman & BlacklickWoods, the cold drove large numbers of cardinals & sparrows into the woods for shelter from the wind.  Notables included:

Pileated Woodpecker - at least one was calling along the Maple Loop at Blacklick
Red-headed Woodpeckers - 2 remain in the Buttonbush Swamp area of Blacklick Woods
N.Flicker - at least 6 were along the lee part of the Maple Loop at Blacklick Woods
Brown Creepers - small #s were at both Portman and Blacklick Woods
Golden-cr.Kinglets - not very common today, with only singles at Portman & Blacklick Woods
Yellow-rumped Warblers - 2-3 were along the less windy part of the Maple Loop at Blacklick Woods
E.Towhees - 6+ were along the woodland trails at Blacklick Woods
Tree Sparrows - small flocks were at both Pick Ponds feeders and around the feeder banks at the Blacklick Nature Center
Song Sparrows - normally solitary, 8-10 had accumulated at the Nature Center feeders
White-throated Sparrows - small flocks everywhere in the woods at Portman and Blacklick Woods
White-crowned Sparrows - 5 were around the Wood Duck picnic area feeder at Pick Ponds
N.Cardinals - not normally a bird of note, but they were everywhere in Blacklick Woods, with over 60 in an hour and a half.
Redwing - 1 lone male was hanging around the Nature Center feeders, trying to weather the cold.

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