On the way back to Cincinnati after a weekend visit to family in the area, we encountered a small flock, maybe 20 birds, of Bonaparte's Gulls feeding in a tilled corn field. At least one in non-breeding plumage but all others seen had the full black cap. They were on the south side of National Rd, due west of Cridersville, a small burg along the Allen and Auglaize county line (DeLorme 45C6). They were bobbing and weaving above the field in the strong north winds and would come down to grab some apparently worthwhile snack. We stopped the car and watched for a few seconds and got some very nice close looks. Actually probably as close as I have ever seen them. We were not far from Bresler Reservoir as the gull flies, maybe 10 minutes by car, but it was still an unusual sight. Who knows what other migrants pass through unnoticed between the barns and fields of western rural Ohio? My father-in-law's property in Allen County nearby had a few interesting birds including a Wood Duck, a possible Green Heron, two pair of Northern Flickers tussling over a nest box, an Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebirds, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglets, American Tree Sparrows, and Eastern Towhees. Bill Zimmerman Cincinnati ______________________________________________________________________ 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]