Spring is rushing in now, with the first waves of temperate songbirds –
kinglets, swallows, sparrows, sapsuckers, wrens, gnatcatchers, & temperate
warblers. There’s also some early neotropicals, like Yellow-throated
warblers, warbling vireos, Purple martins, and the early vanguard of
shorebirds. There’s even some late waterfowl movement to keep things
diverse.

Snow Goose – a late draught of stragglers, including birds at Hebron Fish
Hatchery OH 3-31, near Preston WV 3-31, O’Shaughnessy Reservoir (Dublin )
OH 4-03, and in NW Columbus OH 4-04& 05.   A small flock is still hanging
around Cane Ridge WMA in southwest IN thru 4-05

Ross’s Goose – the bird at Elliott Farms development in Hilliard (near
Columbus) OH was still there thru 4-05. Another has been at Eagle Creek
Lake (Indianapolis) thru 4-04, and a 3rd was at Prairie Creek reservoir (SE
of Muncie) IN 4-02 thru 04

Cackling Geese – all north of us now

Greater White-fr. Goose – 1 was at LaDue Reservoir (near Akron) thru 3-31,
while singles have been at Buffalo Trace Park (southcentral) IN 4-03 and JI
Case wetlands (Terre Haute) IN 4-02. Cane Ridge WMA has a lingering 1 as
well, thru 4-05

Black-bellied Whistling Duck – an early stray has been W of Lyons IN 3-31
thru 4-04

Cinnamon Teal – 1 appeared just at the edge of our area in Monee IL 3-31
thru 4-04

Eurasian Wigeon – all of ours have moved on; you’ll have to go to Rondeau
Provincial Park on the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario to get 1 now.

Long-tailed Ducks – a late flush of migrants dotted Ohio and western
Pennsylvania with multiple records between 4-01 and 4-04. One strayed west
to Michigan City IN on Lake Michigan 4-02.

Harlequin Duck – all north of us now

Surf Scoter – a late dribble of birds around 4-01, with records at Pleasant
Hill Lake and Clear Fork reservoir (northcentral) OH, Mosquito Lake (near
Warren) OH, and Lake Somerset PA

Eared Grebe – still a few around, with birds reported from Willard
Reservoir (NW) OH 4-01, Alum Creek Lake beach 4-05, and Center Lake
(Warsaw) IN 4-01. Chicago had 2 birds (Lincoln Park & Montrose Point) that
same day (4-01).

Red-necked Grebes – 1 was at the Lexington KY Reservoir 3-30, while another
was at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor MI thru 4-02, then appeared to hop further
north to Independence Lake 4-03 thru 04

Chimney Swift – many still south of us, but the vanguard has hit with birds
at Cache River (far S) IL 3-30, Clarksville IN 4-03, and Ohio State
Univ.West Campus (Columbus) OH 4-01

Ruby-thr.Hummer – like swifts, with lots of records in Tennessee, but our
only early bird was 1 near Barren Lake Reservoir (far S) KY 4-03

Whip-poor-will – another cluster of very early arrivals, with birds at
Zaleski State Forest (SE) OH 3-29, Saline County (far SE) IL 3-30, and
Sugar Camp Hollow Farm (far S) OH 4-01

Black-necked Stilt – 1 was at Gilmore MetroPark (N of Cincinnati) 4-01,
while another was at an old mine wetland E of Terre Haute IN 4-01. 2-4 were
at Goose Pond FWA SW of Bloomington IN thru 4-05, and another 2 were at
Cane Ridge WMA IN thru 4-05

American Golden Plover – over a dozen records, from western OH west thru IN
& IL, getting more common to the west.

Upland Sandpiper – another early sighting from the Cincinnati area, Eden
Park 3-31

Solitary Sandpipers – multiple reports from OH, IN. These can show up on
any body of water now.

Least Sandpipers – the 2 at Gilmore Metropark (N of Cincinnati) stayed thru
3-31, while another made it up to Killbuck Marsh (S of Wooster) OH 4-03.
Indiana had multiple birds ranging from E of Brookville Lake to
Indianapolis and down to Evansville area.

Baird’s Sandpiper – many west of the Mississippi, but none in our area
currently

Dunlin – a lot more inland records this week, with 3 sites in Ohio, 5 in
Indiana, and 3 in Kentucky. Watch for them at flooded fields; look
carefully, as most of the reports were basic-plumage birds

Long-billed Dowitcher – 2 have been at Shreve Fish Pond (S of Wooster) OH
thru 4-03. Nothing else is close.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls – quite a few records in north & central Ohio.
Indiana had fewer: birds at Eagle Creek Lake (Indianapolis) 3-31 and S of
Elkhart 4-01. In Illinois, they were only in the Chicagoland area.

Franklin’s Gulls – many records in Kansas & Nebraska now, but only 1
strayed to Radnor (W of Delaware) OH 4-05

Caspian Tern – many around Lake Erie & Lake Michigan, and quite a few
inland records now as well

Forster’s Tern – the common winter tern on the Gulf Coast often gets here
early. There were records at Champaign IL 3-31, Carlyle Lake IL 4-40, Lake
Monroe (S of Bloomington) IN 4-02, Caesar Creek lake (NE of Cincinnati) OH
4-02, and Apple Valley Lake (near Mt. Vernon) OH 4-02

Red-throated Loon – a scattering of records around 3-31 & 4-01, including
at Portage Lakes (Akron) OH, Chippewa Lake (Medina) OH, Alum Creek Lake (N
of Columbus) OH, Freeman lake KY, and the Indiana Dunes beach on Lake
Michigan.

Neotropical Cormorant – the McKinley quarry rookery in Columbus OH had
bird(s) thru 4-03, while others were at Chippewa Lake Park (near Medina) OH
3-31, Pleasant Hill Lake OH 4-01, and E.Fork lake (Olney) IL 4-01

Broad-winged Hawks – the big numbers are still south of us, but more early
birds were at Corbin (far SE) KY 4-04, an E suburb of Louisville KY 4-02,
and Jackson Hollow (SE) IL 4-05

Rough-legged Hawks – mostly gone, but a few late stragglers in norther OH &
IN, at Prairie Lane Wetlands (S of Wooster) OH 4-01 & 02, Killbuck Lakes
Park (near Medina) OH 4-01, Kankakee Sands IN 4-02 & 03, and Jasper Pulaski
FWA IN 4-04. The outlier was birds at Goose Pond FWA in west IN 4-02 & 05.

Golden Eagle – all north & west of us, with last stragglers at Goshen IN
4-01 and Jasper-Pulaski FWA IN 4-05

Barn Owl – nothing recent; the bird at Prairie Ridge SNA (east) IL was last
seen 3-31

Eastern Kingbirds – multiple early records from Tennessee, but nothing in
our area yet.

Loggerhead Shrike – still largely no-shows, with 1 bird in far SE West
Virginia (near Richland) 4-02

N.Shrike – mostly gone now, with stragglers at Grand River WA (N of Warren)
OH 4-01, near Calhoun MI 4-01 & 04, and Nachusa Grassland (W of Chicago) IL
4-01.

Fish Crows – lots of records in southern IL & western KY; the 1-2 birds at
Eagle Creek Lake Park (Indianapolis) were still being seen thru 4-05, and a
bird had strayed to the West Campus area of Ohio State Univ. (Columbus) OH
4-02&03

Ravens – a stray made it west to Huntington WV 4-04

White-eyed Vireo –many in Tennessee, but for us, early arrivals were at
Fort Massac St.Park (far S) IL 3-30, Stamping Ground (N of Lexington) KY
4-01, and near Athens OH 4-02

Warbling Vireo – a very early bird was reported from Champaign IL 3-30

House Wrens –several records from southern OH, southern IN, and KY; more
likely to arrive soon.

Marsh Wrens – several records from Lake Erie and the Mississippi floodplain
near St. Louis, but nothing in our area

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers – lots of records from southern & central parts of
OH, IN, IL

Wood Thrush – an early bird was at the Hocking Woods nature Center (near
Nelsonville) OH 4-03; another was near Jackson OH 4-04, and yet another was
at Valley Falls St. Park (S of Fairmont) WV 4-02

Red Crossbill – have moved north of us, or east into the Appalachians

Pine Siskins – still quite a few records from western PA, northern OH, and
an outlier group in far southern IL and nearby Evansville IN

Lincoln’s Sparrow – a cluster of sightings around St. Louis, but no strays
further east yet

LeConte’s Sparrows – no current reports from our area

Henslow’s Sparrow – 1 was reported from suburban Louisville KY 3-29, which
is extraordinarily early

Lark Sparrow – no early migrants in our area yet, but a bird has
successfully overwintered at lake Isabella in central MI thru 4-05

Harris’s Sparrow – nothing in our area, but the bird at the river
confluence N of St. Louis has been present through 4-04

Spotted Towhee – nothing currently in our area, though 1 was around St.
Genevieve (S of St. Louis) thru 4-03

Smith’s Longspur – a few records from central & eastern IL 3-30 thru 4-02

European Goldfinch – a swarm of sightings around Chicago now, suggesting an
illegal smuggling shipment escaped. This could become just like the Great
Tits now found along coastal Wisconsin.

Western Meadowlark – no reports of the stakeout birds in IN or KY; now the
sighting cluster is SW of Chicago 4-01 thru 05

Brewer’s Blackbirds – several sightings from NW IN (Wheatfield), and
several areas south of Chicago (Kankakee and Monee) 4-02 thru 05.   The
only outlier was 1 with a mixed blackbird-grackle flock in Geauga Co (NE)
OH 4-04

Yellow-headed Blackbirds – the only recent sightings are south of Chicago,
though earlier sightings were at Sloughs WMA (western) KY 3-30 and near
Terre Haute IN 3-30

Orange-crowned Warblers – the bird at Walnut Woods (S of Columbus) OH was
found thru 4-03, while the Eagle Slough (Evansville) IN bird was found thru
3-31

Yellow-throated Warbler –moving north quickly, with records now from
central OH & IN

Yellow Warbler – the bird reported from Fernald Preserve (N of Cincinnati)
OH was seen thru 4-02

N. Parula Warbler – several early birds: Ft. Massac St. park (far S) IL
3-30, Clarksville (far S ) IN 3-30, Bedford IN 3-30, near Vienna IL 3-31,
and John Bryan St.Park OH 4-01

Palm Warbler – still seen at Fernald Preserve (N of Cincinnati) OH thru
4-03; also Eagle Creek Lake Park (Indianapolis) thru 4-05, Lexington
Reservoir KY 3-31, London Dam (SE of Charleston) WV 4-03

Cape May Warbler – the bird in N. Zanesville OH was revisiting its feeder
thru 4-03; another appeared at Hidden Lakes development (Columbus) OH 3-30

Prairie Warbler – a few early ones: near Marion IL 4-02 and Buck Creek lake
(S of Danville) KY 4-01

Black-throated Green Warbler – early birds in 2 Kentucky clusters: several
in suburban Louisville, and several around the Red River Gorge (E of
Lexington)

CommonYellowthroat – the only report was from Orweiler Rd marsh (near
Mansfield) OH 4-03, where 1 likely overwintered

Rose-br. Grosbeak – 1 early bird was in Lexington KY 4-04

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