I just got back from a 2.5 hour float trip down Darby Creek from Georgesville to Darbydale. Water level is still reasonable, so we didn't need to drag the canoes more than a few times. The cool-ish temperatures made for an enjoyable trip and seemed to spur bird-song late in the morning. The habitat is mixed riparian woods, with few sycamores and more silver maples & ash-leaved maples, along with a few meadows near the stream. It's one of the best spots for riparian warblers in central Ohio, and today showed off why. The highlights included: Barred Owl - adult with 2 begging chicks in tow Ruby-thr.Hummingbirds - at least 4 Woodpeckers - all the expected ones, though none in great numbers Flycatchers - 6 E.WoodPewees, 14+ Acadians, 1 Phoebe, 5 Great Crested, and 2 E.Kingbirds Swallows - only Rough-winged, but had 10 adults and 5 juveniles Vireos - 4 Yellow-throated and 12 Red-eyed. No Warbling, but cottonwoods are scattered here. Thrushes - 6+ singing Wood Thrushes, but little else other than Robins and a few E.Bluebirds Warblers - 3 Yellows (+ 2 fledglings), 10 Parulas, 11 Yellow-throated (+ 3 fledglings), 5 Common Yellowthroats, 1 Louisiana Waterthrush Tanagers - only 2 Scarlets singing in the riverside woods Buntings,Grosbeaks - 7-8 Indigo Buntings, but only 1 Rose-br.Grosbeak Orioles - strangely absent, with only 1 Baltimore calling. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]