Well almost 20 of us showed up for the warbler walk at Highbanks this morning but Doc couldn't drag himself out of bed. From all of us who showed up to the warbler walk, a big thanks goes out to Doc Jordan. His backup, Charlie Bombaci couldn't make it either but that was understandable. Those of us who did show up went out on our own to see some warblers. One little group of eight (including myself and Nadya Bennett) walked the Coyote Run Trail in search of warblers. We weren't disappointed. The highlights of the morning included yellow warbler, common yellowthroat, blue-winged warbler, palm warbler, black and white warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, scarlet Tanager, Baltimore oriole, and grasshopper sparrow. The complete species list follows. Many of them are first of season for me. An H in parentheses follows if we only heard it. Canada Goose Mallard Red-Tailed Hawk Mourning Dove Yellow-Billed Cuckoo Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Pileated Woodpecker Red-Bellied Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe (H) Eastern Kingbird Red-Eyed Vireo (H) Warbling Vireo (H) Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Northern Rough-Winged Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-Breasted Nuthatch American Robin Wood Thrush (H) Eastern Bluebird Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird (H) European Starling Palm Warbler Blue-Winged Warbler (H) Yellow-Rumped Warbler Black and White Warbler Yellow Warbler (H) Common Yellowthroat Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Field Sparrow Song Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow (H) Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Baltimore Oriole Brown-Headed Cowbird Red-Winged Blackbird Common Grackle American Goldfinch House Finch House Sparrow I hope I got them all. Al La Sala Columbus, OH -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 4:29 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [Ohio-birds] Highbanks Metro Park & Oxbow Road, Delaware County Linda and I took a walk at Highbanks Metro Park in southern Delaware County this morning. Saturday the park is conducting a "Warbler Walk" that begins at 8:00 AM at the Nature Center. Doc Jordan is scheduled to lead the walk. Last year Doc being his enthusiastic "go at 110 percent self", double scheduled himself and I was called out of the bullpen to cover. With that in mind I decided to scout out a course just in case. In spite of the busloads of kids at the park for filed trips, we were able to walk the Coyote Trail, part of the Dripping Rock Trail and the Scenic River Trail. Birds of interest found during the walk included a Solitary Sandpiper [on a sand spit along the river], Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Gray Catbird, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting, and Baltimore Oriole. The weather prediction of warm winds from the south tonight should (hopefully) bring in a wave of migrants and give a wider variety of "birds of interest". After lunch I went to Oxbow Road in the Hoover Nature Preserve with the intention to police trash. There I was greeted by the sight of a multitude of fishermen adding to the trash lining the edge of the causeway. Seeing a winless situation, trash was being dropped faster than I would be able to pick it up, I surrendered and went to the cove by Oxbow Island to watch the Prothonotary Warblers. There I met Casey Tucker as he patiently waited for a male Prothonotary Warbler to perch where he could get an ideal picture. True to form it landed everywhere else. Casey and I watched as the male Prothonotary, a pair of Tree Swallows and Carolina Chickadees has a brash discussion regarding who was going to get the nest box. A few other birds around us included Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Gray Catbird, and Eastern Towhees. Charlie Bombaci ______________________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]