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]