I made a circuit of the Scioto River around downtown Columbus, starting down at the Haul Rd quarries, then moving up through the Hart Rd quarry, Berliner Park, Scioto Audubon MetroPark, Long St. Dam, Marble Cliff bikepath, Hidden Lakes, and the Campbell Quarry.  Waterfowl numbers were definitely down, but diversity was still decent.  Landbird migration is still stuck in winter residents on the move.  Notables included:

Red-necked Grebes - 3 were at Haul Rd, 2 more were at Hart Rd, and the 1 remains at Watermark Lake
Horned Grebes - small groups scattered at many locations, all in lakes or quarries.  Watermark was high with 8
Pied-billed Grebes - small numbers, with Watermark again tops with 4
Redhead - small flocks at many locations, perhaps 50 in all
Lesser Scaup - small flock of 12+ in Hidden Lakes
Ring-necked Ducks - a flock of 25 was still on Watermark Lake
Ruddy Ducks - very few, with 5 at Haul Rd and 2 at Hidden Lakes
Cormorants - small numbers at most spots, but 30+ were prospecting for nests on the island at Campbell Quarry
Great Blue Herons - the Campbell Quarry rookery is active, with over 20 nests
Great Egret - 1 was in the overflow pool next to Long St. Dam
Black-cr.Night Heron - 2 adults had returned to their roost in the bay next to the Grange Audubon Center in Scioto Audubon
Bald Eagle - an adult was hanging around the nest at Haul Rd
Osprey - one was fishing over the south ponds at Haul Rd; they've nested further south there.
Great Horned Owl - big brown blob on the Haul Rd nest
Tree Swallows - small numbers in many locations, the largest flock being 45+ roosting in a riverside tree in Berliner Park
E.Phoebe - 2 were at Berliner, and another was at Marble Cliff
Brown Creeper - definitely down in numbers, with only 2 in the riverside forest at Berliner Park
Golden-cr.Kinglets - still 5 along the riparian bikepath at Berliner Park
Tree Sparrows - 1-2 were still at Haul Rd and at Scioto Audubon
Fox Sparrow - a single bird was calling along the bikepath at Scioto Audubon
Juncos - a flock of 20+ along the Berliner bikepath seemed like a rather large number for this date.
blackbirds - small #s of Redwings & grackles at many locations

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]