Andy rightly notes that the data set in eBird is heavily skewed by the uneven distribution in checklist submission. Popular birding sites and times of the year will continue to skew data until such time as enough observers are entering data on a regular say weekly) basis. Also, eBird, especially as pertains to Ohio is very much at the outset of its evolution as a data source. Little use was seen in Ohio prior to the release of eBird 2.0 in Jul/Sept. 2005, and the first implementation of custom checklist filters in Feb 2006. Monthly additions to the feature set have helped, especially the move to Google Maps last Nov. So if you have not looked at eBird in the past few months, you may wish to do so again. http://ebird.org/ With regard to Great Egret records, of the 900 presently in eBird for Ohio dating from 1924 through Dec 06, the distribution follows ... 510 (2006), 110 (2005), 130 (2004), 85 (2003), and the remainder earlier. Perhaps if we can double (triple?) last year's numbers, a more representative distribution of the Great Egret across Ohio could be achieved. Oh ... and a quick thank you for those of you making an effort to submit historical data. It was a treat the other day to come across a May 1947 Bewick's Wren from Oberlin. Something Peggy Schaeffer entered from her father's notebook. cheers Vic Fazio Shaker Heights, 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]