I reprised the Columbus Audubon trip route from last week, starting at Alum Lake's New Galena and finishing at Hoover reservoir's Oxbow Island. Quite a bit has changed in those 7 days, especially the temperature. Early on at Alum, the air was so much colder than the water that a thick mist enveloped the lake. Hoover was clear with great visibility. Bird highlights included: Waterfowl - surprisingly little, with geese & mallards at both sites, along with a few Pied-billed Grebes. A 40+ bird flock of Coots was at New Galena, and a high flock of 22 cormorants flew over on its way south. Shorebirds - both an American Golden Plover and a Black-bellied Plover were on the mud at New Galena, along with more expected Kildeer & Greater yellowlegs (Oxbow had the latter 2 as well) Raptors - slow, with only 2 Turkey Vultures and 1 Cooper's at New Galena. A single Osprey was also there, probably the same bird from earlier in the week. Hoover had a Red-tail and 30+ T.V.s. Swifts, Swallows - no swifts (which was confirmed by empty roosts in Gahanna and Westerville the last 2 evenings). Tree Swallows abundant, with 180 passing over New Galena to join a flock already milling around over southern Alum Lake of probably over 300 birds (I couldn't get a good estimate due to the fog). Oxbow had another flock of 150+ birds off its eastern tip. A single Rough-winged was among the flock at New Galena. Flycatchers - single Phoebes at both sites Blue Jays - still a trickle, with 24 in 1 hour at New Galena, and another 8 at Oxbow. Thrushes - 2 Hermits along the trails at New Galena, along with plenty of Robins (130+ flew over in 1 hour). Larks,Pipits - at least 4 Pipits and 1 Horned Lark flew over the boat ramp at New Galena, heralds of the colder temperatures to follow. Cedar Waxwings - none at New Galena, but a flock of 60+ was hanging around the east tip of Oxbow, flying between berry bushes. It included many fearless young birds that buzzed closely past me and a few other observers. One even landed at my feet while chasing a bug, looking up at me before zipping back into a nearby bush. Warblers - plenty of Yellow-rumps at both sites (20+ flew over in the first hour at New Galena), but I also pulled out Nashville, Black-thr,Green, and Black-thr.Blue on the trails at New Galena, and a Palm on Oxbow island. Sparrows - better diversity, but still no big flocks yet. New Galena had 8 species, including White-crowned, Swamp, & Lincoln's. Oxbow also had Lincolns. Finches - good morning for Purple Finches, with 3 flying past the point (boat ramp) at New Galena and another 2 along the trails there. A Pine Siskin also flew past the boat ramp here. ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]