Date: 1/18/26 5:00 am From: Robert Thorn <robthorn6...> Subject: [Ohio-birds] FrigidHoover,1-17: mergansers,raptors
The Columbus Audubon field trip to this hotspot northeast of the city found the birds fairly hot, but the weather was not. Alternating overcast, flurries, and patches of sun made for a bizarre morning, but the reservoir was mostly open. Waterfowl were abundant, but most of those waterfowl were either Mallards or Hooded Mergansers. We stopped at the Dam area & spillway. Walnut St. ramp, Area D, and the Maxtown ramp, before thawing out at Inniswood MetroGardens. Afterwards I stopped at Boyer Preserve and Highlands Park in Westerville. Notables for the morning included:
*Dabbling Ducks* - large swarm of Mallards in the spillway, but hardly anything with them other than a few Gadwall. *Diving Ducks *- a few Redhead were above the dam, and some Ruddy Ducks were off Walnut St. *Mergansers* -- Hoodeds were everywhere, and we rarely had a stop where they weren't in double digits. We also had a flock of 50 Common Mergansers spread between Area D and Maxtown, but couldn't re-located the Red-breasted found earlier in the week. *Gulls* -- lots of Ring-bills and a few Herring, but no Bonaparte's down in the southern reservoir today. Many gulls were commuting south from the reservoir, presumably to Columbus shopping malls and trash dumps. *Raptors* - Bald Eagles were at 2 stops along the reservoir, and a pair of Red-tails allowed close inspection at the dam spillway. A Red-shouldered was calling at Inniswood, and another was flying around Boyer Preserve. I made a later stop at Highlands Park and found one of its 'resident' Merlins sitting on a telephone pole. Oddly, Highlands also had 2 Black Vultures around the park.
*Woodpeckers* - a Red-headed gave us brief glimpses at the dam spillway, while 3 were scattered along the Heritage Trail at Inniswood. Surprisingly, we found no sapsuckers at either stop. *Bluebirds* - we heard 1 at the spillway, and I found 2 along the Heritage Trail at Inniswood *WinterWrens* - both found after the trip: 1 was at Inniswood, another was at a reliable spot, the boardwalk in Boyer Preserve. *Brown Creeper* - 1 was heard at the dam spillway, but another gave us good views near the feeders at Inniswood. *Other landbirds* - pretty thin: flocks of Robins and Goldfinches in the spillway were 'highlights', along with the usual flock birds and woodpeckers visiting the feeders at Inniswood.
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