Howdy All!

A very powerful weather system currently centered over North Dakota.  A rather
wicked cold front has spawned in the eastern Great Plains and will be producing
potentially violent storms with its passage.  The bad stuff should reach us here
in Ohio this afternoon.  It's moving from west to east at 40mph.  Tornado
activity has already been registered in Illinois.  About 50% of those storm
cells are producing hail and winds between 43 and 92 knots.  Hopefully some of
the venom of this front will be dissipated by the time it reaches our borders
here in Ohio.

This large system over the Dakotas is currently pulling a strong air flow up
from the South over Ohio.  It's probably a bit early to be thinking of Cave
Swallows, but I am mentioning it here because these are the kind of conditions
that often produce sightings of these birds here in the East (normally in
November).  I am not sure if we can expect anything out of the ordinary or not,
but it would not hurt to look.  Today winds will have a southerly component.  If
I was dreaming I would be wishing for a late Scissor-tailed Flycatcher or maybe
a Dickcissel or two.  Possibilities from the Midwest might include Snow Goose,
White-fronted Goose, White Pelican, or Franklin's Gull.  As the front passes and
the center of this system moves into Ontario we can expect to see some of the
more normal winter visitors coming to the state to camp out for the winter.  As
for the unusual, I would again be looking for jaegers and maybe a Sabine's
Gull.  Red-throated Loons, Red-necked Grebes, Long-tailed Ducks, and scoters are
possible, too.  After this has passed we may also find that we have a few more
Sharp-tailed and LeConte's Sparrows as well as some Orange-crowned Warblers.  I
almost forgot, this is the time of year when Sandhill Crane activity increases
in our neck of the woods.  Although not truly rare here, they are always a treat
to see.

And last, don't forget the birds of prey.  If I was in Minnesota, I would be
getting to Hawk Ridge near Duluth over the next couple of days to look for two
of my late Oct/early Nov favorites: Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk.  After
the winds change to West and then Northwest here in Ohio I am hoping a few of
these gems show up and birders here get to experience the joy of seeing them.
Time to be looking for Long-eared and Northern Saw-whet Owls is upon us now,
too.


Good birding!

-Greg Miller

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