Trying to predict the timing of bird migration "waves" is at least as uncertain as trying to predict the weather.  But if those who attempt the latter are correct, this coming weekend (April 21-22) should see a major push of migrants, at least in northwestern Ohio.  According to the latest predictions, skies should be clear from Friday through Sunday, temperatures will finally be warming up again, and the wind will finally swing around to the south on Saturday.  With clear skies and a favorable wind, migrants should arrive in numbers, especially overnight Saturday night, and I expect that Sunday should be an excellent day to be out hitting any kind of migrant traps.  It's still too early for the full diversity of neotropical migrants but there should be some slight relief for those of us in the warbler-starved northern counties.  As several people have noted, there are undoubtedly large numbers of migrants dammed up to the south of us somewhere, so when conditions for migration improve, our local birding is likely to change in a dramatic way.  

If you decide to come up to Magee Marsh / Crane Creek on Sunday, stop by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory nature center between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon to meet the renowned wildlife artist Adam Grimm.  Famous for his conservation work (perhaps you've birded the Adam Grimm Prairie on Krause Rd just west of Ottawa NWR) and for his artwork (among other things, he won the Federal Duck Stamp competition in 2000), Grimm is leaving Ohio to move to South Dakota, so you shouldn't miss this chance to meet him and see some of his original artwork.  The BSBO nature center is just north of Route 2 on the road in to Crane Creek and Magee Marsh, so if you're a birder, it's right on your way.  See http://www.bsbobird.org or call (419) 898 4070 for more information.  

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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