I just returned from a conference in BONN and then a visit to family friends in HANNOVER Germany last week. I observed one White Stork flying but many had reported them returning to their breeding territories early this year. Also Eurasian Cranes were flying north up along the Rhein River valley which is also rather early for them. One of my colleagues from Petrograd (St. Petersburg Russia) said their winter was one of the mildest in memory although further east in Siberia, Mongolia, China it was one of the coldest winters in memory. I know a bit off topic but I thought you would all be interested. Scott Moody ______________________________________________________________________ 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]