I went to the Mound Road access point and found the Caesar Creek water level at just about the top of its normal range. There was virtually no shorebird habitat and I did not see so much as a killdeer. The Osprey nest is still occupied. I got some pictures of Tree Swallows checking out nest crevices in the snags that stick up out of the water. On the walk in, I had a Blue-winged Warbler and a House Wren singing. (Click here<http://local.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&z=13&om=1&msid=104411027825639848188.000001121091b9b478454&msa=0>for an interactive map.) Over at Spring Valley, the weather got worse and the birds got better. In the persistent drizzle, I found a Marsh Wren, several Swamp Sparrows, bunches of Yellow Warblers and several Common Yellowthroats. I heard at least five Soras and two Virginia Rails, but was unable to coax them close enough to get pictures. I had a brief view of the American Bittern in flight, but there was no Little Blue Heron and no Sandhill Cranes. The most intriguing sighting of the day occurred on my way back down in the boardwalk. A small dull rail-like bird lifted out of the short vegetation, flew weakly for a few meters with dangling legs, and dropped back into the marsh where it disappeared. The intriguing part is that the tips of the secondaries were white. This might be seen on juvenile Soras or coot, but It is way too early for either, I think. Furthermore, I am inclined to dismiss coot altogether because it did not patter across the water to get airborne. The only other possibility is adult Yellow Rail. Yellow Rail surely passes through here in migration, but of course it is famously reclusive. My look at the bird was so cursory I am not about to take it the OBRC. Others in the area might want to keep their eyes open, though. Cheers, Bob -- Robert D Powell Wilmington, OH, USA [log in to unmask] http://rdp1710.wordpress.com Nulla dies sine linea ______________________________________________________________________ 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]