Today (Saturday Nov. 1) I made a brief check of some areas on the Lake Erie shoreline just east of Toledo. In the area of the Bayshore power plant were at least 2000 gulls -- about three-fourths Bonaparte's, the rest Ring-billed and lesser numbers of Herring Gulls. One sharp-looking adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was there also, moving around the area, and I picked it up repeatedly on scans of the flocks. The absence of Great Black-backed Gulls was noticeable; they should move into the area in numbers sometime in the next couple of weeks. At least 20 Forster's Terns were still there but I saw no Common Terns. Most of the Bonaparte's Gulls were pretty far out, but I sifted through the closer ones carefully without finding any unusual small gulls among them; this would be a good situation to look for something like Little, Black-headed, or Sabine's Gulls. Along with the juncos, kinglets, and other migrants on the lakeshore near the power plant I saw a single Warbling Vireo -- this is notably late for the species, although not record-late. Also somewhat late were a single House Wren in the woodlot at the end of the road at Metzger Marsh, and a Nashville Warbler that Kim saw today at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory center (just off Rt 2 at the entrance to Magee Marsh). American Tree Sparrows have returned in small numbers (nothing like the abundance that they'll achieve in late November) and a lot of Swamp Sparrows and White-throats are around, but more noticeable today was a big movement of Song Sparrows. This species is present all year in Ohio, but every spring and fall we're reminded of the fact that major migratory populations pass through our state. Interesting to me was the fact that I spent three hours in prime spots along the lakeshore and didn't hear a single Pine Siskin. The pulse of siskins that was so evident here a couple of weeks ago seems to have gone on through, although I know they're still being observed in the interior of the state. 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]