Wandered between these 2 MetroParks south of Columbus this morning, with a stop Bareis Preserve in Canal Winchester along the way. Beautiful morning, but slow bird-wise (which is how it often plays out). Despite the freezing rain & cold temps early, most water was open, even on the ponds at 3-Creeks and the Slate Run wetlands. Woodpeckers, chickadees, and titmice all were starting to act territorial, while Horned Larks were on the move north. No blackbirds anywhere yet. Notables included: Waterfowl - hardly any. Buzzardsroost Lake at Slate Run had a flock of geese, and the wetlands there had all of 1 lone Coot. Raptors - also slow, with just a few Red-tails. No Kestrels despite being in good habitat most of the morning. Kildeer - 2 were at Bareis Preserve Woodpeckers - lots of residents, many fighting and drumming. 2 Pileateds were along the 5-oaks trail at Slate Run, a typical spot for them. No Red-headeds there or at other woodlots, continuing the poor invasion year here. Brown Creepers - good #s, topped by 4 along the 5-oaks trail at Slate Run Golden-cr. Kinglets - small #s at most stops Yellow-rumped warblers - 2 were along the 5-oaks trail, a regular wintering site Sparrows - Song Sparrows were everywhere, but the only Fox was the one still hanging around the east bikepath at 3-Creeks. 5 White-crowns were at Bareis Preserve, while 4 Swamp Sparrows were at the Slate Run wetlands. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]