My boyfriend, Brian McCafferty, and I are fascinated by Cleveland's industrial landscape, and the fact that despite the dirt and dust and pollution, it consistently harbors interesting wildlife, so today we cruised the back roads of the Flats, (as well as a few other neighborhoods) to see what we could see. We started at 1:30 p.m. at the old Sidaway Avenue suspenion bridge off Kinsman Road over Kingsbury Run, where yesterday Brian spotted an active Red-Tailed Hawk nest in the supports. Sure enough, one of the pair was on the nest, utterly unpreturbed by the nasty 'hood around it. We did not see the mate, but it looks like it will be a successful site for these two. Heading into the Tremont side of the flats, we found a great big mud puddle/mudflat along the river, behind chain-link fencing at the dead end of Jefferson Ave. There was a large flock of RB Gulls hanging out, but I was convinced I could find a shorebird or two mixed in, and I sure did. Working the edges of the pool was a single WESTERN SANDPIPER. I'm not an expert on the peeps, but this was unmistakable. The bird's bill was far too long to be a Semipalmated, and the coloring was wrong for a Dunlin. If you want directions to try and relocate this one, e-mail me off-list. I doubt it will stick around long, however, given the ephemeral nature of its feeding ground. A little downriver, we found another mudpuddle/flat on another dead end. On a nameless street, off Mahoning Ave, behind Cleveland's legendary punk-rock hangout, Pat's in the Flats, there was quite a collection of birds -- mostly the expected gulls, geese and a Killdeer, but at the back end of the puddle, Brian spotted something different. I got the scope on it and found myself looking at a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. I know they're pretty common migrants at this time of year, but it was cool to find one right in the heart of the city. If you go looking for this one, a word of caution: The road here his incredibly rutted and potholed, and criss-crossed by railroad tracks -- make sure your suspension can handle it, and drive with caution. Elsewhere... At Collision Bend, behind the Tower City Amphitheater: Great Blue Heron: 2 Spotted Sandpiper: 1 At Merwin Avenue: Black-Crowned Night-Heron: 5 We also hit Whiskey Island, but conditions were far too windy for our unprepared, jacket-less limbs to deal with. Sick of wind, we hit Elmwood Park in Rocky River, where we were unable to relocate the Scarlet Tanager reported earlier this week. We did see a pair of White-Breasted Nuthatches and a Chipping Sparrow, but nothing particularly notable otherwise. Not bad for an industrial wasteland. While you are unlikely to find spectacular numbers of anything (save for the gulls) in the city, you can and will be rewarded with some great, solitary surprises. -Leslie Basalla Cleveland urban birder _________________________________________________________________ Get a FREE Web site, company branded e-mail and more from Microsoft Office Live! http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/mcrssaub0050001411mrt/direct/01/ ______________________________________________________________________ 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]