The lovely warm weather brought an influx of spring birds to the Mentor
area.  Best of all were

LECONTE'S SPARROW  (be still my beating heart!!)
AMERICAN BITTERN
PINE WARBLER

The Pine Warbler was at Veteran's Park and was surely the prettiest, most
colorful Pine Warbler I ever did see.  It was very active near the parking  lot,
mouth full of tasty grubs.  Also at Veteran's were the following  ducks:
A whole raft of Ruddies - one of the beautifully plumaged males even had  its
bright blue bill
Blue-winged teal
Ring-necked
Lesser Scaup
Lots of Buffleheads
Mallards
Coots
Then there were Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, with the Horned in very
colorful plumage, and the park's first Common Loon of the year.  The Loon's  green
neck band was a gorgeous deep emerald in the sunlight, and its green head
also shone to full advantage.

Other birds in the area included:
2 No. Harriers
12 Green-winged Teal
No. Shovelers
Wood ducks
Barn, Rough-winged and Tree Swallows
Many Y-B Sapsuckers
Fox and Swamp sparrows (singing)
Winter wrens, Towhees and Hermit Thrushes continue to be  prevalent
Yellow-rumped Warblers
An abundance of Snipe
Red-breasted Nuthatches

Yesterday, 4 Harlequin Ducks flew east just above the waves at Headlands
Beach and Ray Hannikman had a Merlin.

I am a very happy birder . . . . .

Suzanne Wagner, Pepper Pike



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