I headed over to the AEP Grasslands in Muskingum Co. this afternoon. It wasn't as birdy as it has been in previous years. I drove around for about 4 hours and managed to see the expected species in modest numbers. As far as raptors go : N. Harriers - 8 or 9 Red-tailed Hawk - 3 Rough-legged Hawk - 6 (2 dark, 4 light) Am. Kestrel - 4 Prairie Falcon - 0 Golden Eagle - 0 Short-eared Owl - 8 or 9 Also of note : 1 NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen on the NW side of the Wilds on Zion Ridge Rd. near the intersection with Rt. 146. I didn't see one where previously reported on Prouty. I suppose it could be the same bird, but that location is about 7 miles away from where this one was seen. The Short-eared Owls popped up around 4:00. Half of them were seen from the road that branches left off of Prouty on the other side of the locked yellow gate. A few years ago when there were big numbers of raptors in those grasslands, that used to be a terrific location for SE Owls. Perhaps there were many more behind the gate. Too bad that road is now off limits! Several of the ponds held Ring-necked Ducks and/or Gadwalls. Except for the numerous flocks of American Tree Sparrows, passerines were few and far between. Several E. Meadowlarks, and E. Bluebirds were noted. Bob Royse Robert Royse [log in to unmask] www.roysephotos.com ______________________________________________________________________ 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]