Today (Saturday Nov. 1) I made a brief check of some areas on the Lake Erie
shoreline just east of Toledo.  In the area of the Bayshore power plant were
at least 2000 gulls -- about three-fourths Bonaparte's, the rest Ring-billed
and lesser numbers of Herring Gulls.  One sharp-looking adult Lesser
Black-backed Gull was there also, moving around the area, and I picked it up
repeatedly on scans of the flocks.  The absence of Great Black-backed Gulls
was noticeable; they should move into the area in numbers sometime in the
next couple of weeks.  At least 20 Forster's Terns were still there but I
saw no Common Terns.  Most of the Bonaparte's Gulls were pretty far out, but
I sifted through the closer ones carefully without finding any unusual small
gulls among them; this would be a good situation to look for something like
Little, Black-headed, or Sabine's Gulls.

Along with the juncos, kinglets, and other migrants on the lakeshore near
the power plant I saw a single Warbling Vireo -- this is notably late for
the species, although not record-late.  Also somewhat late were a single
House Wren in the woodlot at the end of the road at Metzger Marsh, and a
Nashville Warbler that Kim saw today at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory
center (just off Rt 2 at the entrance to Magee Marsh).

American Tree Sparrows have returned in small numbers (nothing like the
abundance that they'll achieve in late November) and a lot of Swamp Sparrows
and White-throats are around, but more noticeable today was a big movement
of Song Sparrows.  This species is present all year in Ohio, but every
spring and fall we're reminded of the fact that major migratory populations
pass through our state.

Interesting to me was the fact that I spent three hours in prime spots along
the lakeshore and didn't hear a single Pine Siskin.  The pulse of siskins
that was so evident here a couple of weeks ago seems to have gone on
through, although I know they're still being observed in the interior of the
state.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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