Warm spells in the past few weeks (I can't remember them somehow, but I'm sure they happened) and northward-moving waterfowl have combined to create some good birding here. I arrived -- and spent the majority of my available time - at the lower (eastern) end of the reservoir, where a sizable hole in the ice consolidated waterfowl into one relatively small area. Almost the entire upper reservoir is ice-free, I discovered, drawing considerably larger numbers (maybe five times those listed below for many species) but maintaining a similar species composition and proportion. I did not get around most of the upper end, including where Jim Glover reported the Greater White-fronted Geese yesterday. Other species may also have been present. The following were present on the lower reservoir: Canada Goose - small numbers Gadwall - 4 Am. Wigeon - 20-25 Am. Black Duck - 4 Mallard 60-80 N. Pintail - 75 Green-winged Teal - 20-25 Canvasback - 10 Redhead - 100+ Ring-necked Duck - 10 Greater Scaup - 2 Lesser Scaup - 55-60 Common Goldeneye - 25 Hooded Merganser - 30-35 Red-breasted Merganser - 40 Common Merganser - 5 Pied-billed Grebe - 1 Other species on note were Bald Eagle (1 adult), numerous Turkey Vultures and Killdeer in the area, territorial Red-winged Blackbirds, and many American Robins. Herring and Ring-billed Gulls were present (at least several hundred), about 80-90% the latter. Happy Birding! Eric Reiner Ashville, 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]