My husband and I made the trek up to see the Harris’ Sparrow at the Miller’s today. It was so worth the drive from Columbus! The two of us, plus a couple of other visitors, were immediately greeted by two of the Miller boys, their scope and binoculars at the ready. After about an hour in the mud, bitter cold, driving wind, and horizontal snow flurries, we took a lunch break. Of course, upon our return, we learned that the Harris’ had put in an appearance in our absence. RATS. But it only took about 15 more minutes, as the sun broke through, for the youngest Miller boy, Wayne, to spot the prize bird on the ground with a bunch of white-crowns. Wayne is the one who originally spotted the Harris’ weeks ago and he is quite enthusiastic about birding. A gracious and generous host indeed! My husband and I were # 353 and 354 in the guest book. Wayne said that birders have come from as far away as Indiana! Also at the Miller’s today were rusty blackbirds, a mockingbird, house finches, downy, American robins, killdeer, song sparrows, and nuthatches. On our drive there and back (via 161 – 62 – 39 – 401 – 406), we enjoyed seeing (from the warmth of our moving car) a great blue heron, flocks of red-winged blackbirds over corn-stubbled fields, a pair of turkey vultures, endless American crows, Canada geese in flooded fields, mourning doves, rock pigeons, several kestrels perched on power lines, Eastern bluebirds, mallards, hooded mergansers, common grackles, a flock of 8 wild turkeys in a field near Millersburg, European starlings, red-bellied woodpecker, and a pair of red-shouldered hawks. Even this blustery March day couldn’t put a damper on our enthusiasm for birding. A great day! Gerry Brevoort, Columbus --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.859 / Virus Database: 585 - Release Date: 2/14/2005 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]