June 21, 2007 I left home yesterday for a business trip until July 1. Lamentably, I have not found any time during the preceding week to survey our woods to check for breeding birds - too much to do in the way of farm projects and chores. Tree swallows seem to be doing very well in the "bluebird" boxes, actively feeding young in the boxes. I hope they are not all cowbirds. In daily morning walks around the fields (June 16 - 20) I saw no activity in the one box that actually had bluebirds in May. One notable sighting occured yesterday. Sunday night a young doe was struck and killed about 250 meters south of our house on Flint Ridge Rd. By Tuesday night the smell was detectable nearby, even to human noses (fortunately not as far away as the house.) During our morning walk with the dogs yesterday (Wednesday), as we walked up the hill and approached the roadkill site, a black vulture flushed from the roadside trees. I have never previously seen the species at our farm, although turkey vultures regularly patrol the skies. Black vultures are common in Licking County, particularly near Granville, and in eastern Muskingum County near New Concord. I have been expecting them any time, although not with any eagerness given their reputation (deserved or undeserved) for baby livestock depredations. Our lambs are generally born in the barn, not on pasture, so this is not a real concern to us. But I can imagine the reactions of my neighbors if black vultures become as common as they are some places. I have had many discussions with local folks in recent years following reports in the newspapers (complete with graphic details) about the species expansion northward. I hope they will not become as common as starlings, which used to be rather uncommon on our farm, but whose population has exploded the past couple years. Anyway, the presence of a single black vulture brings the "yard" list to 123 species. Bob Evans Geologist, etc. Hopewell Township, Muskingum County DeLorme 70 A1 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]