Sod farms abut Battelle-Darby Ck MP, and can be scoped from the Park
without risking the road traffic. Some of its trails overlook large sod
lawns on the estate west of Darby Creek Drive, and some corn fields have
recently been converted to sod on the south side of Kuhlwein Rd just
east of Park property.
        In my experience the fairly rarely-seen buff-breasted SPs seem to
prefer a couple of inches of grass, so they can crane their necks and
peer about without being too exposed. This makes them less likely at the
farms with grass no longer than the felt on a pool-table. Airports in
the vicinity--Darby Dan (view from quiet Murnan Rd) and Bolton Field
(view from pkg lot & Johnson Rd & Alkire) have longer grass than the
pool-table-felt sod farms, which may suit the birds better even if you
can't see their toes. The private airport on the east side of the park
may be visible from Alton Rd., I don't know; it's a place where I'd seek
permission first if conditions were good. Airport staff sometimes object
to birders peering therein; the Bolton folks are more used to that after
many years. Every county in the state has a public airport, and in the
less populous counties grass away from the runways can be good, and the
staff might even direct you to good habitat for birds, or not...most
people will be more likely to put up with your strange pursuit if you
honor their work and responsibilities.
Bill Whan
Columbus
p.s. In my memory, the largest number of buffies I've seen in Ohio was
at the east (far) side of the estuary just west of Sheldon Marsh, when a
dozen or more strayed in the narrow strip of dried mud and grass that
the changing water level provided that fall.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]