Seekers: Hit the DEL button now if you have tired of my yearly pleas for birders to risk returning home with a very short list after a day spent looking for Smith's longspur. Outside of a few spotted by alert Amish farmers in Holmes/Wayne?Tuscarawas, this has been a no-show in Ohio for many years. I'm not aware of any radical changes in its occurrence as a spring migrant anywhere else, but while within the past 50 years it has been reliable in April in a number of spots in SW and central Ohio, usually corn-stubble fields with old foxtail and a few favored pastures, these spots are productive no more, probably mostly victims of "clean" farming. Six years ago, I devoted an entire issue of the Ohio Cardinal to this bird, its habitat preferences, and its history in Ohio, with testimony from witnesses to its occurrence. A few observers--the Cullens have been combing Wood Co, and Troy Shively areas in west-central parts of the state--have kept the faith that this bird still passes through Ohio. This weekend and the next define the prime time for this Ohio rarity. Search large agricultural fields, especially if they host patches of old matted yellowed grasses from last fall. If you can get permission to walk the fields, your chances are much better, because you may not see longspurs until you're almost on top of them. The white wing-patches of Smith's are usually very apparent, in flight and even on the ground. The males will have a lot of breeding plumage by now. Listen for a rattly call when they flush. They usually congregate rather than spreading out. You can walk to find them, or scope between rows of stubble. Weedy fields are scarce enough in today's chemical-laced agriculture to make any worth a look, especially at this prime time of year. As always, good luck! Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]