I visited the yellow-crowned night-heron nesting site in Columbus this morning, and am pretty sure they're back. The nests, never models of neatness, show every sign of fresh housekeeping. There are even freshly snapped-off twigs on the ground beneath the two main sites. For the first few days after they show up they are not reliably seen, but I or someone else will let the list know when they are present at the nests most of the time. Spectacular birds, and worthy of a pilgrimage if you haven't seen one. As the clouds finally cleared out yesterday, innumerable turkey vultures were seen during a trip back from Wayne Co; at least one or two were always in sight. A few black vultures contrasted markedly. This species never seems comfortable in flight. It's as if they suddenly discover they're frighteningly high, panic a bit, and only bursts of frantic flapping can reassure them they won't fall. Till then, their wings are held flat and rigid, clenched. Turkey vultures, by contrast, seem to be having a grand old time. They loaf along in the soft lap of the air, their wings tilted up and supple, their shoulders and primary tips flexing subtly to steer. They are never vexed, never in a hurry. In Ohio, we see migrating TVs in an astonishing nine months of the year, lots of them in fall, from Sept through December, and beyond--this winter they dawdled through into January. The Cincinnati CBC, for example, had an all-time record 350 on 30 Dec. But lots of birds take their time heading south: there's no hurry to grab good territories, find mates, etc. But unlike most migrants, TVs take surprisingly long to pass through in spring as well. We had some arrive here in mid-February this year, and they will be found as migrants at roosts or in leisurely flight through April and well into May. Why we can only guess, but I like to think it's their mellow temperament. Because they eat the dead, the entire landscape is their hunting-ground, and the whole year their season. There is no hurry. I have some experience with migrant vulture roosts because my parents have entertained large ones in their sycamores in central Athens for years, at times the largest reported in the state. A couple hundred TVs in the back yard is no big deal, but always fascinating to watch landing at dusk or rising as the thermals kick up in the morning. Recently black vultures have joined the throngs in the air. My mother heard odd noises on the deck one morning last week, and when she flung open the curtains surprised at least 20 black vultures, who promptly evacuated as one--need to lose takeoff weight, you know--over the entire structure as they evacuated the area. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]