This morning (Thursday, Jan 3), I had a flock of over 40 cowbirds at my feeder. Three redwings, a grackle, and a starling were among them. I watched the feeder on and off through out the morning. After a while, the cowbirds left and the "regulars" returned. About 11:30, I saw my first redpoll of the year feeding on an upside down thistle feeder. As another Ohio Birds poster mentioned, it was really chowing down/stuffing itself. I once read that redpolls have an extra large storage area (not sure if they were referring to its crop or some other structure) that allows them to feed rapidly then return to a sheltered perch to process their food. Other birds of note recently, Jan 1, I observed 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding on poison ivy berries at the old electrical station on the drive to East Harbor State Park's beach. Near the channel of West Harbor (reached by driving past the entrance to East Harbor and going to the end of Rt 269) there were at least 43 Tundra Swans. Combining the totals of Middle Harbor, the lake shore at EHSP, and West Harbor I counted 39 Great Black-backed Gulls. _http://www.eastharborstatepark.org/maps.htm_ (http://www.eastharborstatepark.org/maps.htm) As Vic suggested to the list, I reported my sightings to eBird. If you have never done so, I urge you to try it. It just takes a moment and is a wonderful way to keep track of your sightings (lots better than the box full of checklists, scraps of paper, and various notebooks I usually use, but then loose track of). The following list was generated in the few moments it took me to report my feeder watch to eBird. Sheryl Young Sandusky Mourning Dove 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Blue Jay 1 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 European Starling 1 American Tree Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 3 Common Grackle 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 40 House Finch 3 Common Redpoll 1 American Goldfinch 14 House Sparrow 7 **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]