I ventured out for some easy birding, visiting Clear Creek MP, Lake Logan, Rockbridge & Chestnut Ridge. Nothing terribly exciting but a good variety of the usual winter birds.

There was one mystery bird at Rockbridge that I only had a glimpse of. It was sparrowish with warm brown tones but just as I was thinking it looked a bit different & was trying to get a better look, it flew showing off white tail edges. I'm thinking Lapland Longspur; certainly all the fields near this locale are good habitat. Coming from AZ, I am reasonably comfortable with the other white tail-edged sparrows such as Vesper & Lark & it wasn't either of those. Could not relocate it but as this spot has been good for sparrows, will keep checking.

Sparrows at Rockbridge: White-crowned (this time an immature), White-throated, Tree, Song, Field
Also, Gray Mockingbird, Y-R Warbler, Am Goldfinch, E Towhees (several at Clr Crk also), E Bluebird (one at Clr Crk), Carolina Wren, Black Vultures, Red-tailed Hawk along with the usuals. Only WPs were Downy, Flicker & Red-bellied.

A couple Kestrels seen from the roads betw parks.

Lake Logan almost frozen over but 1 Great Blue, a dozen Hooded Mergs, Mallards, Belted Kingfisher. No gulls.

New Year's Eve day, I drove along several back roads N of Lancaster & by the airport here looking for white lumps in the many fine fields in the area but no luck finding a Snowy.

Peggy Wang
Lancaster OH



______________________________________________________________________

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.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]