Hi all, Tom Bain, Cheryl Harner and I went to Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area in Wayne County today, and were not disappointed. At the location described by others recently, we had six different Le Conte's Sparrows. One was exceptionally cooperative and teed up nicely for an extended period, allowing us ooh and ahh looks, and some photos although the light was not optimal. We met a nice gentleman there from Colorado, visiting Funk briefly while on travels to Cleveland for business, and he also was able to view the birds. If you try, park at the observation deck and walk along the dike headed south. About 1/2 mile down or so, there'll be a mowed path off to the right. The birds were in the wetland at the SW corner of these trails. There is a big patch or two of a conspicuous plant known as River Bulrush, Bulboschoenus fluviatilis, and the Le Conte's were in that, or some patches of Soft-stemmed Bulrush, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, of which there is also a patch or two. They seem to like these bulrushes. The River Bulrush is robust - four-five feet tall - and will remind you somewhat of corn plants without the cobs. Another plant that is abundant in this wetland, and forms most of the now brown biomass, is Water-plantain, Alisma subcordatum. These old plants are only a foot or two tall, cover much of the now exposed mud, and are loaded with fruit. Not my intent to turn this into the "Ohio Plants Listserve", but I think it is this combination of nice native wetland flora that has the Le Conte's hanging out here, along with a number of species of smartweeds and some tasty grasses that had plenty of fruit. We also flushed about 30 Wilson's Snipe from this wetland, and had nine Sandhill Cranes flying over. Later, we met David Kirsten and Beth McGuire at Wellington Reservior in Lorain County - just south of the namesake town a bit west of State Route 58. By far our best bird there was a Red-necked Grebe. There were plenty of American Coot, Ruddy Duck, a few Redhead, and a Lesser Scaup as well. Jim Jim McCormac Columbus, Ohio Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/ Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org ______________________________________________________________________ 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]