Thanks to Jim McCormack and all the other OOS folks who put on a great program despite inclement weather, at least in the morning. Some others saw the golden eagle at a distance before I left just before 3 p.m. Some also saw the northern shrike before the program officially began, but my group whiffed on the shrike and hadn't spotted the eagle as of the time I left. Seen by myself at The Wilds: American coot Trumpeter swan (not countable) Canada goose Gadwall Green-winged teal Mallard American black duck Northern pintail Ring-necked duck Bufflehead Hooded merganser Ruddy duck northern harrier Red-tailed hawk Rough-legged hawk American kestrel Mourning dove Belted kingfisher Red-bellied woodpecker Downy woodpecker Northern flicker Horned lark American crow European starling American goldfinch Eastern meadowlark Seen over Route 146 near Dillon Dam on the way to The Wilds from Licking Co.: Bald eagle Seen along Natural Resources road #7, beside the Dillon reservoir, on the return trip: Great blue heron Tufted titmouse Carolina wren Song sparrow Eastern phoebe (pair)** I checked Peterjohn. Apparently, it is not unheard of for eastern phoebes to remain in Ohio through Jan. 15 in mild winters - and this one certainly qualifies - but I know that I have never seen one here after December and before March, so the eastern phoebe was a real treat for me. I compared my January list to date with last year, and I'm ahead of last year by 8 species. (A trip to the Melvin Quarry yielded about the same waterfowl as I saw today at The Wilds.) Fun day. Special thanks to Jason Larson and Julie Zickefoose for leading the group I was with. And thanks again to all who worked to put this trip together. Great job and a very enjoyable day. Margaret Bowman Licking Co., OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]