Bounty at the Oxbow

I had the day free today, so I headed out to the Oxbow.
I am so glad I did. I have never been there during spring migration (Why? I don't know.)
Let's do the ho-hum stuff first:

As I saw this fly in, I was hoping that it was a loon, seeing the pale chest.
But it was a juvenile double-crested cormorant. I've never seen a juvenile, but cormorants are a dime a dozen up at Lake Erie.

This was pretty cool. I saw what I thought was a water bug skimming along the water about 20 feet away. But I realized that it was moving way too fast to be a bug.
A snake! A Northern Water Snake, to be exact. Not venomous, but aggressive. Glad I didn't get close. If you click it to enlarge, you can see his tongue flicking!
Okay, onto the good stuff:
*(Note: I am 95% sure of these ID's. But if anyone has an opinion, I would love to hear it. I am weak in warblers, shorebirds, vireos...well, I'm weak in a lot of areas. But I rock at raptors!)

I'm calling this one a Northern waterthrush. But parts of it make me lean just a bit towards Louisiana. The habitat is wrong for a Louisiana, though. This was swampy, flat shoreline.

I'm called this one a Palm warbler, and though you can't see it well in the photo, he had a faint reddish cap.

With a better view, I could probably ID this one better. But all I got to see was his eye ring and a very faint yellow wash on his flanks. So I am saying Warbling vireo, but I like to hear if anyone thinks Solitary.
I heard way more birds than I saw today. The warbler family is a tough one to learn when it comes to songs.
Other birds seen today:
Robins
Mallards
Killdeer
Canada geese
Tree swallows
American coot
Some warbler smacking a caterpillar against a branch

6 Days until Magee Marsh!
I am especially jazzed about this year's trip, not just for the alone time, but also because my confidence as a birder is stronger now than in past years. The first year we went, I was new at birding, and Magee Marsh is an overwhelming place to go on a first bird-trip. I didn't know the landscape, or most of the birds I was seeing.
Last year, I was better at it, but still a little unsure.
Now, I am ready to rock it hard on the Boardwalk. I've heard that some birders never make it out of the parking lot, it's so birdy there.
Anyone who reads my blog and is planning to go up to Magee, let me know. Maybe we can meet up and stumble over some warblers together!