I attend the auto tour with Chris Pierce today. The water levels were higher than normal levels, probably for the up-coming duck hunting season or for other resource management reason. Mallards- many song sparrow marsh sparrow field sparrow american goldfinch northern cardinal common yellowthroat sedge wren (??) barn swallow yellow-legged gull black-headed gull Red-necked phalarope-2 dowitchers- where hiding behind sedge, difficult to see greater yellowlegs lesser yellowlegs killdeer wood ducks- hen with a brood Bald Eagle Anyone else whom was out there today, please add to my list if I did list any birds. In my own opinion the plant communities (wetland) at Ottawa NWR is being choke out by massive population if reed canary grass and phargmites. As a result of these two plants the wildlife have a difficut time moving through the wetland, due to the thick biomass which is produced by the plants. But we have to understand that Ottawa NWR is a large tract of land and very difficut to manage and control the plant communities. Jeremiah Roth Conservation Biology ______________________________________________________________________ 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]