Andy Sewell, Brad Sparks and I birded central Ohio Saturday March 17. We found nothing out of the ordinary, but tree swallows and a fly-over sandhill crane were pleasant finds. We had 20 species of waterfowl plus pied-billed and horned grebes and the Old Reid Park mute swans and greylag geese. Wilson's snipe was a notable miss. Buck Creek Reservoir The reservoir was the least birdy I have ever seen it. I don't we saw 50 birds even including the gulls and Canada geese. We found no loons and no grebes except pied-billed. All species were duplicated at Old Reid Park. Old Reid Park This small park immediately west of the Buck Creek reservoir had more diversity than the reservoir. A herring gull seemed a bit out of place. Pied-billed grebe Canada goose American wigeon Gadwall Mallard Northern pintail Northern shoveler Ring-necked duck Greater scaup Lesser scaup Common goldeneye Bufflehead Hooded merganser Herrring gull Deer Creek Reservoir We did not see the northern shrike. All the waterfowl were sheltering in the lee of the wind. A flock of horned grebes included individuals ranging from full-basic to full-breeding plumage. Pied-billed grebe Horned grebe Greater scaup Lesser scaup Bufflehead Hooded merganser Red-breasted merganser Bonaparte's gull Tree swallow Deer Creek Wetlands This creation of ODNR, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever is located southwest of Deer Creek Reservoir near the intersection of Egypt Pike and Dick Rd. It held about 800 very skittish ducks. A lone fly-over sandhill crane was a gift from the birding gods. Wood duck Gadwall American wigeon Mallard Blue-winged teal Northern shoveler Northern pintail Green-winged teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked duck Lesser scaup Bufflehead Common goldeneye Hooded merganser Red-breasted merganser Ruddy duck American kestrel Sandhill crane Killdeer Horned lark Charlie's Pond area The sky-ponds in this area are much reduced, and we could find few waterfowl. A shallow slough just east of the river held a small flock of shorebirds. Distance, heat-shimmer and wind-shake precluded identification. They seemed to be yellowlegs and a smaller species. Pectoral sandpiper is probably the best guess. Gadwall Mallard Blue-winged teal Northern shoveler Hooded merganser Yellowlegs sp. Locations of sites mentioned can be found at the OOS website. Paul Gardner Columbus, 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]