I set out to see what was happening at Funk Bottoms by way of the Lorain County Reservoirs. Location: Oberlin City Reservoir Observation date: 3/30/08 Number of species: 5 Lesser Scaup 30 Red-breasted Merganser 12 Ruddy Duck 40 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Ring-billed Gull 10 On the way to Wellington, along West Rd., the highlight was a small flock (30) of mixed blackbirds containing Red Wings, Br. Headed Cowbirds, C. Grackles, and Rusty Blackbirds. At Wellington: Canada Goose 5 Gadwall 2 American Wigeon 5 Mallard 2 Canvasback 30 Redhead 40 Ring-necked Duck 50 Greater/Lesser Scaup 100 Bufflehead 5 Common Goldeneye 2 Red-breasted Merganser 15 Ruddy Duck 75 Pied-billed Grebe 5 Horned Grebe 30 Turkey Vulture 6 American Coot 50 Ring-billed Gull 30 Eastern Phoebe 1 American Robin Rusty Blackbird 1 American Goldfinch 1 From Wellington, I proceeded south towards Funk, hoping to catch some of the magic as reported last weekend. Unfortunately, it seemed that Funk, or at least access to it, was under water. I detoured around the area, with the help of my trusty DeLorme atlas and rerouted myself towards Brown's Bog (Lake)located on Brown Rd. Brown was a new area for me. There is a planked trail leading to the bog, and a 1/2 mile loop trail traversing through a really cool oak forest. Location: Brown Lake Observation date: 3/30/08 Number of species: 17 Red-headed Woodpecker 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 2 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Tufted Titmouse 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 1 Carolina Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 Eastern Bluebird 2 American Robin 4 Eastern Towhee 1 American Tree Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 4 Dark-eyed Junco 1 Northern Cardinal 4 Common Grackle 5 I headed further east on Brown and pulled into the access area at Shreve Lake WA, another new birding spot for me. Location: Shreve Lake Observation date: 3/30/08 Number of species: 9 Hooded Merganser 15 Red-breasted Merganser 6 Common Loon 12 Double-crested Cormorant 75 Turkey Vulture 10 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Bonaparte's Gull 35 Ring-billed Gull 10 American Crow 10 The Loons and Bonaparte's were the highlight here. One of the Boni's was in near breeding plumage. I continued eastward towards Killbuck Marsh WA but found that many of the roads there were also under water. It might be a week or two before access to Funk and Killbuck Creek is possible. See you on the trails, Chris Pierce N. Olmsted, 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]