Jeff Grabmeier and I visited Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge yesterday morning. There is not a lot of shorebird habitat, and we found probably fewer than 100 shorebirds althogether (exclusive of killdeer). Pool 2A may have been drawn down, as it does have some mud and some shorebirds. To get there, begin your hike at the parking area with the restrooms and pick up a trail map from the kiosk. Go north, then take the first left; continue past the observation platform. Take the next right. As you head north, look left into pool 8A. There are some shorebirds, but they are easy to miss in all the vegetation. The pool to the north of 8A is 2A. The mudflats and shorebirds are in the southeastern corner. You will have to peer through the willows that line the dike to get a look at the birds. There are a couple of places where the vegetation is lower, but a good vantage point is much to be desired. Species seen include: Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper - 3 in pool 8A Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Short-billed dowitcher - about 4 Long-billed dowitcher - one molting adult At Hoover, we were pressed for time. We checked the mudflats on the northeastern side at only one location by using the path that ends in the concrete "steps". We found a subset of the birds that others have reported, including one willet. We could not find a Baird's sandpiper at this location. Paul Gardner Columbus, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]