I'm back on a library computer today after a week off-line.  Next week the Geek Squad is coming to our home to hook up a real computer, so this should be the last of the delayed reports.  Starting with yesterday, 3/19....a striking ad. male SURF SCOTER was at Lake Shore Park on the Ashtabula lakefront.  L. Erie was a mosaic of ice and water there with good bird activity in the harbor and near the power plant.  Also productive was the pond beside the Ashtabula mall.  At Conneaut, all the near shore areas were melted but offshore was pretty solid ice.  The roads to the spit were still closed, but viewing was best from the marina areas anyway.  Totals for Ashtabula/Conneaut were: 3 Am. wigeon, 25 n. shovelers, 25 redheads, 100 ring-necked ducks, 30 greater scaup, 200 lesser scaup, 1 surf scoter, 18 buffleheads, 16 c. goldeneyes, 24 hooded mergansers, ~200 red-breasted mergansers, 16 ruddy ducks, 5 horned grebes, 9 Am. coots, 35 Bonaparte's gulls,
 only 1 imm. great black-backed gull, and 2 belted kingfishers.  Also in Ashtabula Co., at the Pymatuning Res. causeway (Ohio side) waterbirds included 40 redheads, 105 lesser scaup, and a common loon.  I saw a nice total of 6 Am. kestrels in Ashtabula Co. and 2 more in Trumbull Co. yesterday--all hunting along roadside fields.  An imm. bald eagle was over the I-90/Rte. 11 interchange in Plymouth Twp.  I stopped at Orwell Marsh, it looked good but had few birds.  A trumpeter swan* and a pair of n. pintails were of interest.  I went towards Mosquito after that.  A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted in Bloomfield Twp. in Trumbull Co.  At Mosquito L/WA there was more open water than a few days ago, but fewer waterfowl also.  Fishing boats at the causeway here (and at Pymatuning) likely scattered the big flocks of divers that were there before.  Best birds at Mosquito were 2 n. harriers (including a gray ghost) and 30 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.  Now, here are
 some sightings from the last week, all from inland NE Ohio---FOS birds were n. shoveler, common loon, red-headed woodpecker, E. phoebe, tree swallow, barn swallow, golden-crowned kinglet, and purple finch.  Pine L. held 300 red-breasted mergansers on 3/17.  At Mosquito L. 3/15 birds included 79 tundra swans, 16 canvasbacks, 105 redheads, 160 ring-necked ducks, 10 greater scaup, 120 lesser scaup, 8 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, 26 buffleheads, c. goldeneyes, hooded & red-breasted mergansers, 30 ruddy ducks, 25 horned grebes, bald eagles, and rough-legged hawk.  Also on 3/15--the RED-THROATED LOON at Pine L. was an imm. and a different bird from the adult seen there 3/10; 2 n. harriers hunted a field in Poland Twp.  On 3/13--Pine L. had 200 lesser scaup and 20 common mergansers in addition to the imm. WHITE-WINGED SCOTER; the flooded area off of Lynn Rd. in Beaver Twp., Mahoning Co. was drying up but still had 100 n. pintails and 10 green-winged teal.  On the
 evening of 3/12 I heard a total of 13 Am. woodcocks in several spots in Coitsville Twp., Mahoning Co.  Later, Craig Holt, Lowellville


     
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