The Columbus Audubon trip to the Scioto River near downtown found a strange
mix of features this morning.  The weather was frigid, but the river was
high with melt-off from the thaw of 3 days ago, so there was little ice to
restrict bird movement.  Gulls and ducks were scattered all along the
river, nowhere in very big numbers.  The trip covered both Scioto Audubon
and Berliner Parks, and I stopped at Confluence Park and Long St. Dam
afterwards, and the situation seemed the same everywhere: frigid snowy
landscape with a fast-running river.   Still, we did find some interesting
birds, including

Hooded Mergansers - small groups at Scioto, Berliner, and Confluence
Common Mergansers - 3 at Berliner, but had 16+ at Confluence
Common Goldeneye - 1 at Confluence and a pair at Long St. Dam
Pied-billed Grebe - 1 at Confluence
Cormorant - 1 fly-by headed downriver at Berliner
Ring-billed Gulls - sizeable flocks at Scioto, Greenlawn dam, and
Confluence, perhaps 300 in all
Herring Gulls - a few with Ring-bills on an ice shelf at Scioto, plus 1-2
at Confluence

Landbirds were nothing unusual, with the largest number around the feeder
area at Scioto.  Berliner was unusually low on landbirds, with few
woodpeckers and no creepers.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]