I think it's fair to say the rush has begun. I've had 5 new FOS birds (3 of
which were warblers) just over the weekend, and it seems like something new
turns up every day.

FOS warblers that turned up along our road in western Athens County this
weekend: Yellow-throated, Northern Parula, and brand new yesterday evening
was a Blue-winged Warbler.  Also new in the neighborhood was Yellow-throated
Vireo, and White-eyed Vireo (I'm about 90% sure on that one - the song was
distant and it only sang twice, but I'm quite confident that it wasn't just
a trick of the ear; after all, there aren't too many bird songs that sound
like "Pick up the beer tab, chick!")

I also birded along the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway in Athens yesterday while
running in the annual Athens Half Marathon, and had very similar results
along the Hocking River corridor.  Noteables included: YT Warbler, Louisiana
Waterthrush, N. Parula, YT Vireo, Brown Thrasher, Gnatcatchers galore,
Chipping Sparrow, N. Rough-winged Swallow, and Tree Swallow.

I also noticed over the weekend that several local (in and around Albany,
OH) Purple Martin colonies are becoming active.

We also saw 2 "just passing through" migrants on our property this weekend:
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (one each male and female, both seen on separate
days) and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was giving the now resident
Gnatcatchers a run for their money in the chattiness department.

Looking forward to welcoming more new birds as the weeks progress.

Good birding!

Heather Aubke
Albany (Athens Co.)

______________________________________________________________________

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]