The little gull being seen at Hoover Res represents Franklin County's
first confirmed record. An experienced observer reported one at the
Greenlawn Dam back in the '80s, but without documentation or
confirmation, so that didn't really pass muster. Nearby, Ed Thomas's
wife and a friend reported a March bird in 1949 at O'Shaughnessy
Reservoir just north of here in Delaware County via an article in the
Auk, and Milt Trautman shot the first Ohio specimen over Buckeye Lake in
Licking County at a seasonal date very close to ours, 11/7/1970.
        So this is the county's thirteenth gull species, and the 337th on the
Franklin County bird list.  Our 2012 list exceeds 2011's already, and we
still have good chances at adding the following seasonal birds:
Eurasian wigeon
long-tailed duck
red-throated loon
golden eagle
red phalarope
Franklin's/Iceland/greater black-backed gulls
snowy and saw-whet owls
Selasphorus hummers
both crossbills
        Without any natural lakes or high elevations, and with a lot of habitat
eradicated by human activity, this county nevertheless has an  extensive
list.  This is largely explained by a long history of careful
observations and recordkeeping by active birders going back to the
mid-nineteenth century. Quite possibly this many species have occurred
in other central Ohio counties, but they came and went unnoticed, or at
least not reported.
Bill Whan
Columbus

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