Hello folks - Just a few random notes on some 'common' bird movements here in NE Ohio. On my way to and from Garfield Park Nature Center today, I had (and have, daily) the now usual mixed flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and Brown-headed Cowbirds. Rusty Blackbirds are few and far between. Great Blue Herons are really starting to move; meaning they're back to their usual nesting haunts and fly out to feeding spots for the day and back to roost in the late afternoon/evening. Killdeer are spastic as ever, singles and duos sometimes stalking around on suburban lawns and leftover puddles. Muddy stubble cornfields are great spots for these shorebirds. Everybody loves Peents. Woodcocks have been back and invading shrubby fields for weeks now. You'll need a flashlight, boots, and a cell phone to call your wife/husband when the cops just don't believe you. Northern Mockingbirds are erupting out from thick shrubby winter haunts, with a few easily seen along Canal Road and at CanalWay Visitor Center. Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows are still present in decent numbers but are receding from feeding stations...my first Chipping Sparrow of the year was busting out it's trilling song from the Garfield Park Nature Center (GPNC) feeding area today. Some juncos will actually stay to breed while the much greater majority will soon be sending you postcards from Canada. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers are a bit more visible now, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler joined a small mixed flock today at GPNC. Turkey Vultures are the most common sky sentinels, with territorial Red-tailed Hawks floating around, and several Bald Eagles posting up along riverside haunts. Red-shouldered Hawks are starting to pass high in the sky in small numbers. We won't see Broad-winged Hawks for another couple of weeks - watch out, 'cause immature Red-shouldereds and even some paler Red-tails can be confusion species. Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks are soaring around neighborhood stakeouts like crazy, and some are riding thermals for fun. Doug Vogus just provided the list with a great review of some nesting raptor locations in the CVNP. Soon (April) we'll see hordes of thermal-riding raptors passing. That will be quite fun if you ask me. Northern Flickers seem to be appearing more regularly - 5 passed over the GPNC gardens almost in tow....they'll become more and more frequent a sight as it warms. Eastern Phoebes are returning to the region - not enforce, but still obvious and it's safe to say that at least one or three will be on your day list if you go out this week. Eastern Bluebirds have been here all year, but they're gaining in numbers at nest box trails - try Jackson Field of the South Chagrin Reservation if you want some close up views. American Goldfinches sure are morphing to gold. They're patchy as heck, and if you have thistle feeders you're sure to get a dozen or two currently-grubby looking flocks just ready to inhale some 'free' food. If you are lucky enough to have nesting Northern Cardinals in your backyard or your favorite local birding patch, you'll notice that males are becoming quite the beligerant breeding fools. Some will spend every hour of available daylight slamming themselves up against your windows. No, they've not gone mad, they're quite territorial. You can try putting up some sort of window sticker to fend the poor boys off, but the best advice is....yeah, good luck. Have fun. Buds are budding. cheers Jen Jen Brumfield Akron, Ohio [log in to unmask] Birding America / www.birding-america.com Illustrator/Naturalist, Cleveland Metroparks Nikon Birding Optics ProStaff/ nikonusa.com Editorial Advisor, A Bird's-Eye View / ABA personal site: www.meadowhawkart.com "Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will." - Lawrence Durrell "Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventure." - L. Drachman _________________________________________________________________ Exercise your brain! Try Flexicon. http://games.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_hmemailtaglinemarch07 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]