I checked two lake areas in southeast Columbus - Winchester Lake and Pickerington Ponds - looking for early waterfowl, and I also stopped at neighboring woodlots searching for lingering migrants.  At Winchester lakes, the City of Columbus was trying to re-route Blacklick Creek.  Since the storms last fall, the creek had spilled into Winchester Lake and was creating a new channel into and out of the lake. At Pick Ponds, water levels are still stunningly low - Ellis Lake is virtually the only pond with any significant water.  Notable birds included-

Herons - very few and all Great Blue Herons; Winchester Lake had 1, Pick Ponds had 3
Waterfowl - Ellis Pond at Pick Ponds had Mallards, Black Ducks, and a flock of 20 N.Shovelers
Other waterbirds - Winchester Lakes had a few cormorants, while Ellis Pond had 1 Pied-billed Grebe
Shorebirds - Ellis Pond still had extensive mudflats, and had 7 Kildeer, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, & 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers
Raptors - very few, but Winchester Lake did have a calling Red-shouldered, presumably a migrant
Thrushes - flocks of Robins at many spots, but nothing was with them
Cedar Waxwings - small flocks at several spots
Warblers - Yellow-rumps common at all spots, totalling over 60.  Also had Nashvilles at both sites and a Tennessee at Winchester Lakes.  Is it just me, or are more of these Vermivora warblers staying later?
Sparrows - lots of Songs and White-throateds at both sites.  Also had a flock of 12 Chippies and 1 Junco at Winchester Lakes, and Field Sparrows and 1 Lincolns at Pick Ponds.
Blackbirds - small flocks of Redwings at both spots; Pick Ponds also had 2 Cowbirds
Finches - nothing other than the expected small groups of Goldfinches and House Finches

______________________________________________________________________

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]