Birders who came to the area of Magee Marsh, n.w. Ohio, over the IMBD/Mothers' Day weekend found a good diversity of migrants but not huge numbers. Here's a brief update on the overall status of the migration here. As of today (Tuesday May 13) the main part of the second migration wave has not arrived here. Most of the migrant species are present, at least in small numbers, but we haven't yet seen the big influx of Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Bay-breasted, and other warblers that would characterize the mid-May wave. This field impression is borne out by results from the Black Swamp Bird Observatory's banding operation. This year, the first part of the migration has been unusually protracted, so that early-season migrants like Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows are still around in unusual numbers. Meanwhile, the mid-May explosion of Magnolia Warblers and their ilk has not yet begun, flycatchers and cuckoos are still scarce, and the invasion of Red-eyed Vireos has hardly started. (Yes, there are a few around, but not thousands yet.) This means that a LOT of migrants are still to the south of us. We haven't "missed" the big migration, it just isn't here yet. The winds have been mostly out of the north for the last several days, and will continue to be northerly part of this week, but right now (Tuesday May 13) they've shifted to the southeast. They're supposed to continue southerly through tonight and most of Wednesday. I expect a moderate fallout of migrants at Magee and other lakeshore migrant traps on Wednesday morning, May 14 (it's also supposed to rain, but often the best migration days are rainy here). Then the winds are supposed to swing around to the northwest again by Wednesday night and stay northerly through Thursday. Right now the predictions show the winds going to southwest by Friday morning and staying that way for a while, and on that basis, I think there should be a major arrival of migrants next weekend, May 17th and 18th. This should mean the biggest diversity of the season for the area, with best mix of warblers, a good arrival of vireos and flycatchers, and generally exciting birding. There are no guarantees, because the weather forecasts in this area change as often as the weather does! But right now it looks like Wednesday May 14th could be fair to good for migrants, and Saturday May 17th could be good to excellent. For those who happen to be in the area on Saturday, there will be a free bird-banding demonstration from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) nature center, located just north of Route 2 at the entrance to Magee Marsh. Just as a reminder, BSBO is posting regular updates and predictions about the migration on their birding pages, available through http://www.bsbobird.org/birding/ These pages also have directions and maps for many of the local hotspots, information on local lodging and restaurants, a downloadable bird checklist, and other resources. The main BSBO pages, just a click away from the birding pages, also have updates from the banding station, a bander's blog, and lots of other information. As Ohio's only bird observatory, BSBO is focused on research, education, and conservation, but it also has a lot to offer to birders who just want to have a good time in the field. Kenn Kaufman Rocky Ridge, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ 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]